What's New(s)?

Jay-Z Sells Out

The tallies aren't official yet, but it looks like Jay-Z has another Billboard #1 album on his hands with Magna Carta...Holy Grail. According to HitsDailyDouble, Hov's album moved more than 500,000 copies in its first week, and that's without even counting the million-plus sales for the Samsung app deal (which Billboard decided not to factor into first week sales). If these numbers hold, Jay-Z will nab his 13th number one album, placing him just six behind The Beatles for the all-time mark. Check out an interview Jay did with BBC radio's Zane Lowe about the album and help yourself to a live-cut of "Holy Grail" featuring JT.

Zane Lowe/Jay-Z Interview

"Holy Grail" ft. Justin Timberlake (Live)

RiFF RAFF takes aim at Spring Breakers

Houston artist and all-around rap-weirdo RiFF RAFF in a video posted on TMZ let it be known he's planning on suing the makers of Spring Breakers for between $8 and $10 million. RiFF RAFF was hesitant to say he's going after James Franco, clarifying "Not necessarily James Franco, but there's a lump sum that's made per movie. James Franco is cool, he drops four or five movies a year, he has the money-- it's not about him. I just need my money." RiFF RAFF has previously claimed (in a roundabout way on the soap opera "One Life to Live) that Franco's otherworldly Alien character was appropriated from his on rap persona. Below is the booming "Dolce & Gabana" from the recently released NEON iCON.

Nas honored by Harvard

This morning, the W.E.B. Du Bois institute announced the formation of the Nasir Jones Hip-Hop fellowship, aimed to "fund and enrich artists and scholars with connections to hip-hop," hoping to show that "education is real power." Upon receiving the honor, Nas said:

“In my rollercoaster of a life I’ve endured good and bad for sure, and I’ve truly been blessed to have achieved so much thru art in my short life thus far. But I am immensely over-the-top excited about the Nasir Jones HIP-HOP Fellowship at Harvard. From Queens, NY to true cultural academia. My hopes are that greed for knowledge, art, self-determination and expression go a long way. It is a true honor to have my name attached to so much hard work, alongside great names like Henry Louis Gates, Jr. and W.E.B. Du Bois and to such a prestigious and historical institution, and all in the name of the music I grew to be a part of.”

Nas previously name-checked Ivy institutes Harvard and Yale in his 2002 track "Book of Rhymes," so take a stroll down memory lane with the song.

Mazzy Star debut new song

California dream-pop royalty haven't released an album since 1996's stripped-down Among My Swan, but that's about to change. Today, the band released the mostly acoustic and winsome "California" in anticipation of new album Season of Your Day; slated for a September 24th release via Rhymes Of An Hour. Lead-singer Hope Sandoval's voice is as haunting as ever on the song, floating back to "somewhere distant," and hovering over the ocean. You can find the track here and an official tracklist for the record below.

1. “In the Kingdom”
2. “California”
3. “I’ve Gotta Stop”
4. “Does Someone Have Your Baby Now”
5. “Common Burn”
6. “Seasons of Your Day”
7. “Flying Low”
8. “Sparrow”
9. “Spoon”
10. “Lay Myself Down”

Check back in again tomorrow for more of the newest in new(s).