WA Deathrow Crooked I - Hood Star (Artwork)

[EFFeX]

There is ONE good thing about this release IF it does drop...

People can no longer use the argument "Crooked I doesn't have an album in stores."

 

[Jaydc]

There is ONE good thing about this release IF it does drop...

People can no longer use the argument "Crooked I doesn't have an album in stores."

 

But if it does contain all the leaked material people are going to reference how its not a very good album

[Jimmy H.]

There is ONE good thing about this release IF it does drop...

People can no longer use the argument "Crooked I doesn't have an album in stores."

 

Well, at least, we can say there's a solo project but I don't view collections of music from 5 or 6 years ago with limited or no input from the artist or his current label as "albums" but everyone has their own opinions. I'd just be happy to have a Crooked I record in stores. I could care less if the material is already leaked because like I said, I don't own it. I just hope the quality is better than the Snoop disc they put out. 

[EFFeX]

There is ONE good thing about this release IF it does drop...

People can no longer use the argument "Crooked I doesn't have an album in stores."

 

Well, at least, we can say there's a solo project but I don't view collections of music from 5 or 6 years ago with limited or no input from the artist or his current label as "albums" but everyone has their own opinions. I'd just be happy to have a Crooked I record in stores. I could care less if the material is already leaked because like I said, I don't own it. I just hope the quality is better than the Snoop disc they put out. 

Yeah, I hear what your saying.

I wouldn't really consider it an album either, but at least I don't have to hear that "I can't buy his shit" argument anymore lol.

I'm not expecting any of the leaked material to sound much better than what we've heard, but you never know.

[The Flying Dutchman]

There is ONE good thing about this release IF it does drop...

People can no longer use the argument "Crooked I doesn't have an album in stores."

 

People who still say this should buy Young Boss 2, or Block Obama 2

[JohnnyL]

There is ONE good thing about this release IF it does drop...

People can no longer use the argument "Crooked I doesn't have an album in stores."

 

Well, at least, we can say there's a solo project but I don't view collections of music from 5 or 6 years ago with limited or no input from the artist or his current label as "albums" but everyone has their own opinions. I'd just be happy to have a Crooked I record in stores. I could care less if the material is already leaked because like I said, I don't own it. I just hope the quality is better than the Snoop disc they put out. 

Yeah, I hear what your saying.

I wouldn't really consider it an album either, but at least I don't have to hear that "I can't buy his shit" argument anymore lol.

I'm not expecting any of the leaked material to sound much better than what we've heard, but you never know.

 I would consider it an album, had they decided to release either version of "Untouchable" or "Say Hi to the Bad Guy," as those were official proposed albums.  But yeah, this whatever it is they're trying to put out is a compilation in my opinion.  I'll probably still support it since it will still be a full-length retail Crooked I release that I can find in a store.  And after all these years, even that seems like an achievement.  But since Crooked I's intention is to block it, I guess we'll have to see if it even gets released first.

[Young Old Head]

There is ONE good thing about this release IF it does drop...

People can no longer use the argument "Crooked I doesn't have an album in stores."

 

People who still say this should buy Young Boss 2, or Block Obama 2

yeah, since it's a mixtape and an e.p. and they r available everywhere...

[Dre-Day]

crooked has been paid for his work, death row paid these cats salaries. if they dropped an album or not they got paid. plus crooked dont have legal rights to this music as far as i know

The other thing is, when Lavi was in charge I think she probably would have nixed the album at Crooked's request, even if she thought she was legally in the right.  She seemed to care about establishing relationships with the artists.  I don't know that that's the case with the current management.  If they feel they have the legal right to put out this "Hood Star" album, I doubt they'll give much of a shit if Crooked I is happy about it or not.  I guess it will all boil down to how confident do they feel that they have the legal right to put it out.  If they feel it's within their rights, I'm sure they'll release it.  I doubt they will feel especially inclined to do Crooked I any favors. 

not really.
she was just talking shit

Lol.  Well, what's your basis for saying that?  Sure I'm taking her at her word to an extent.  But my point is, if you look at the way the company has been run since she left, it's gone more downhill.  You need look no further than that Kurupt album for proof of that.  While any company is going to look at making a profit as the bottom line, at least Lara Lavi arranged face to face meetings with Crooked I and many of the other former artists, to try to win them over.  I would almost guarantee that there's been none of that since she's left.  Because all that's going down now is the investors scrambling to recoup any amount of money they can.  That's all that Kurupt "Against the Grain" rehash was.  It was never part of the originally planned releases from Wideawake.  It was a knee-jerk reaction to put something out to try to make some money quickly.  And that's probably all this "Hood Star" album is going to amount to.  It doesn't seem like it's being handled with any care.  It's not exactly "Say Hi to the Bad Guy," and it's definitely not "Untouchable." It's just a random collection of tracks put out in haste to make money.  People with that mentality are just trying to make their money back, they definitely don't give a shit about the artist.

the interviews & the reality.
she knew exactly what to say.

To the extent of how genuine she was being by saying she wanted to build relationships with the artists, I don't know.  It's impossible to know what another person's true motivation is.  But, she's the only one who even made the appearance of trying to reach out to the former artists.  The people in charge clearly don't care about that aspect at this point.  From that last interview, that investor from the bank clearly said that he doesn't want anything else to do with Death Row.  He said he'd sell it to anyone that would give him his money back for it.  That's the kind of mentality that caused them to release that latest Kurupt album, and probably this Crooked I album too, if it manages to get released.

apparently Crooked I has been approached by wideawake:
http://www.dubcnn.com/interviews/sabrina/

my bad, i guess i was a bit biased

[woof]

apparently Crooked I has been approached by wideawake:
http://www.dubcnn.com/interviews/sabrina/

looks like Crooked I is ok with this release


Dubcnn: Can you go into further detail about your involvement with Death Row Records?

Well, as you know, technically under the new ownership it’s WIDEawake / Death Row Records. But anyway, we just finished up the artwork for Crooked I’s upcoming album, “Hood Star”. By the way, I’ve got to clear something up about that – an image was leaked recently from the album and it’s disappointing because it wasn’t portrayed the right way in the message board forums. It’s confusing to everyone because the image that people are seeing is not the final layout for the album. There is a lot of talk going on about it because people are just confused, and I get that. There was also a one-sheet that was leaked along with the image and people are mistaking it as part of the album’s artwork, which it is not.

The full album artwork is based around a comic book theme with multiple pages and as of now it has only been seen by a few. I’m excited for people to finally see the real “Hood Star” layout in its full comic book style so they can actually see the album’s artwork in its entirety because what they’ve seen so far is not the proper presentation.

I can tell you this: WIDEawake sent the graphics to Crooked I’s people to get approval from him and permission to use his likeness in the graphics and it all came back approved, with the exception of him requesting that all red be removed from the cover completely -- which is funny to me (laughs). So the album is coming out June 15th with a very dope design and everyone will be happy because it represents Crooked I, C.O.B, Long Beach, comic book fans and the whole west coast in general.

It was an honor to do the project and I’m looking forward to its release. But, let me stress again, what you have seen so far is not the full album artwork presentation. So just keep an eye out.


Dubcnn: So you can expect that people will ask if you know what the tracklisting is for Crooked I’s “Hood Star” because there’s been speculation that –

I’m sorry, I don’t mean to cut you off, but yes, I know what the tracklisting is because, like I said, the company I work with did the artwork so you’re hearing this from the horse’s mouth. But there’s no way that I could jump the gun and give information right now about the song titles because, as I’m sure you understand, it could compromise our relationship with WIDEawake / Death Row. But Crooked I is one of the dopest MCs, hands down, and so you know the album will not disappoint.

You know, this new transition with Death Row Records has really been criticized by some fans and even the media, which I think is unfair. I deal with these people directly and I can tell you first hand that they have nothing but good intentions. John Payne is one of the nicest, most genuine and down-to-earth people you will ever meet. Instead of trying to hate them, I wish more people would support them and appreciate their efforts because they are releasing all the music from the Death Row vaults. As a fan, I can’t wait to hear the unreleased Death Row Tupac stuff.

[JohnnyL]

crooked has been paid for his work, death row paid these cats salaries. if they dropped an album or not they got paid. plus crooked dont have legal rights to this music as far as i know

The other thing is, when Lavi was in charge I think she probably would have nixed the album at Crooked's request, even if she thought she was legally in the right.  She seemed to care about establishing relationships with the artists.  I don't know that that's the case with the current management.  If they feel they have the legal right to put out this "Hood Star" album, I doubt they'll give much of a shit if Crooked I is happy about it or not.  I guess it will all boil down to how confident do they feel that they have the legal right to put it out.  If they feel it's within their rights, I'm sure they'll release it.  I doubt they will feel especially inclined to do Crooked I any favors. 

not really.
she was just talking shit

Lol.  Well, what's your basis for saying that?  Sure I'm taking her at her word to an extent.  But my point is, if you look at the way the company has been run since she left, it's gone more downhill.  You need look no further than that Kurupt album for proof of that.  While any company is going to look at making a profit as the bottom line, at least Lara Lavi arranged face to face meetings with Crooked I and many of the other former artists, to try to win them over.  I would almost guarantee that there's been none of that since she's left.  Because all that's going down now is the investors scrambling to recoup any amount of money they can.  That's all that Kurupt "Against the Grain" rehash was.  It was never part of the originally planned releases from Wideawake.  It was a knee-jerk reaction to put something out to try to make some money quickly.  And that's probably all this "Hood Star" album is going to amount to.  It doesn't seem like it's being handled with any care.  It's not exactly "Say Hi to the Bad Guy," and it's definitely not "Untouchable." It's just a random collection of tracks put out in haste to make money.  People with that mentality are just trying to make their money back, they definitely don't give a shit about the artist.

the interviews & the reality.
she knew exactly what to say.

To the extent of how genuine she was being by saying she wanted to build relationships with the artists, I don't know.  It's impossible to know what another person's true motivation is.  But, she's the only one who even made the appearance of trying to reach out to the former artists.  The people in charge clearly don't care about that aspect at this point.  From that last interview, that investor from the bank clearly said that he doesn't want anything else to do with Death Row.  He said he'd sell it to anyone that would give him his money back for it.  That's the kind of mentality that caused them to release that latest Kurupt album, and probably this Crooked I album too, if it manages to get released.

apparently Crooked I has been approached by wideawake:
http://www.dubcnn.com/interviews/sabrina/

my bad, i guess i was a bit biased

 No problem.  I appreciate the acknowledgment.  But even I have to admit, I find these conflicting reports a little confusing.  First Crooked I says in a live interview that he's probably going to block the release of this.  Then, this person says that Crooked's people did indeed approve the artwork.  Naturally my first thought is, if Crooked I is opposed to this being released, why in the world would he or anyone who represents him give approval for the album's artwork?  On one hand, I'm happy to know that a. that album cover isn't the finished work and b. perhaps Crooked I is now on board with this project, but on the other hand, part of me is still waiting to hear something else official from Crooked I's camp.  It's not that I think that Sabrina is lying or that Crooked I has definitely changed his mind, I'm just wondering if both parties are completely on the same page.  I hope so.  But I guess we'll have to wait and see.  Hopefully we'll see a track list for this thing pretty soon, too.

[Dre-Day]

yeah it's confusing

[Zeus]

Im guessing he approved it before Slaughterhouse got their deal with Shady, now he probly wants to distance himself as much as possible from DR.

[U.N.T.O.U.C.H.A.B.L.E.]

crooked has been paid for his work, death row paid these cats salaries. if they dropped an album or not they got paid. plus crooked dont have legal rights to this music as far as i know

The other thing is, when Lavi was in charge I think she probably would have nixed the album at Crooked's request, even if she thought she was legally in the right.  She seemed to care about establishing relationships with the artists.  I don't know that that's the case with the current management.  If they feel they have the legal right to put out this "Hood Star" album, I doubt they'll give much of a shit if Crooked I is happy about it or not.  I guess it will all boil down to how confident do they feel that they have the legal right to put it out.  If they feel it's within their rights, I'm sure they'll release it.  I doubt they will feel especially inclined to do Crooked I any favors. 

not really.
she was just talking shit

Lol.  Well, what's your basis for saying that?  Sure I'm taking her at her word to an extent.  But my point is, if you look at the way the company has been run since she left, it's gone more downhill.  You need look no further than that Kurupt album for proof of that.  While any company is going to look at making a profit as the bottom line, at least Lara Lavi arranged face to face meetings with Crooked I and many of the other former artists, to try to win them over.  I would almost guarantee that there's been none of that since she's left.  Because all that's going down now is the investors scrambling to recoup any amount of money they can.  That's all that Kurupt "Against the Grain" rehash was.  It was never part of the originally planned releases from Wideawake.  It was a knee-jerk reaction to put something out to try to make some money quickly.  And that's probably all this "Hood Star" album is going to amount to.  It doesn't seem like it's being handled with any care.  It's not exactly "Say Hi to the Bad Guy," and it's definitely not "Untouchable." It's just a random collection of tracks put out in haste to make money.  People with that mentality are just trying to make their money back, they definitely don't give a shit about the artist.

the interviews & the reality.
she knew exactly what to say.

To the extent of how genuine she was being by saying she wanted to build relationships with the artists, I don't know.  It's impossible to know what another person's true motivation is.  But, she's the only one who even made the appearance of trying to reach out to the former artists.  The people in charge clearly don't care about that aspect at this point.  From that last interview, that investor from the bank clearly said that he doesn't want anything else to do with Death Row.  He said he'd sell it to anyone that would give him his money back for it.  That's the kind of mentality that caused them to release that latest Kurupt album, and probably this Crooked I album too, if it manages to get released.

apparently Crooked I has been approached by wideawake:
http://www.dubcnn.com/interviews/sabrina/

my bad, i guess i was a bit biased

 No problem.  I appreciate the acknowledgment.  But even I have to admit, I find these conflicting reports a little confusing.  First Crooked I says in a live interview that he's probably going to block the release of this.  Then, this person says that Crooked's people did indeed approve the artwork.  Naturally my first thought is, if Crooked I is opposed to this being released, why in the world would he or anyone who represents him give approval for the album's artwork?  On one hand, I'm happy to know that a. that album cover isn't the finished work and b. perhaps Crooked I is now on board with this project, but on the other hand, part of me is still waiting to hear something else official from Crooked I's camp.  It's not that I think that Sabrina is lying or that Crooked I has definitely changed his mind, I'm just wondering if both parties are completely on the same page.  I hope so.  But I guess we'll have to wait and see.  Hopefully we'll see a track list for this thing pretty soon, too.

THE VIDEO INTERVIEW IS VERY RECENT SO I BELIEVE HE WILL TRY & BLOCK IT STILL, BUT YOU NEVER KNOW THESE DAYS

[jonathandubcnn]

The album is coming out on the 15th... 

[EFFeX]

Wide Awake must have cut him a nice check.