MTV2 TAKES GROUNDBREAKING HIP-HOP MUSIC SERIES TO NEXT LEVEL WITH MTV NEWS PRESENTS
 

MY BLOCK: CHICAGO
 

ASYLUM RECORDS CD SOUNDTRACK RELEASE AND A “YOUR BLOCK” DIY VIDEO UPLOAD CONTEST ON MTV2.COM

MTV2 and Asylum Records to Release My Block: Chicago Compilation Soundtrack CD on October 10th

 “Your Block” Contest Gives MTV2 Viewers Chance To Have My Block Profile Their Local Hip-Hop Scene On-Air

My Block: Chicago Premieres on October 9^th at 12 PM ET / PT On MTV2

New York, NY – October 5, 2006 – MTV2 announced today that Chicago will be the next destination in the groundbreaking MTV News Presents My Block series.  From the Hyphy movement in the Bay area, to the chopped and screwed sound in Houston, to the rhythms of Reggaeton in Puerto Rico, the latest episode of My Block follows MTV News’ Sway Calloway to “Do or Die” Chi-Town to explore the sights, sounds and style that represent the Windy City’s biggest hip-hop artists - Common, Twista, Lupe Fiasco, Rhymefest, Shawnna and gets the scoop on “Footworkin’” and “Jukin’.”  Set to premiere on Monday, October 9 at 12 PM on MTV2, My Block: Chicago will also serve as the kickoff for a DIY viewer video upload contest on MTV2.com called “Your Block” as well as the release of the Asylum Records My Block: Chicago CD soundtrack on October 10th.

“We are extremely excited to expand on the success of the My Block franchise” stated David Cohn, GM, MTV2. “With My Block: Chicago, the MTV2 Asylum records My Block CD soundtrack and the “Your Block” video upload contest on MTV2.com, we are exposing our viewers to up and coming hip-hop movements exploding locally across the country and letting them put them the spotlight on the music scene in their own communities.”

“Our goal in partnering with MTV2 for My Block: Chicago – The Soundtrack is to please both the true, educated fans of hip-hop as well as the novices new to the game,” stated Todd Moscowitz, President ofAsylum Records. “Just like the critically acclaimed series, the MTV2 My Block soundtracks will take fans on a ride through the past, present and future of a city’s hip-hop history, lifestyle, and culture.” 

Asylum Records and MT2 Presents My Block: Chicago – The Soundtrack

For the first time ever, MTV2, together with Asylum records, will release a My Block: Chicago – The Soundtrack on October 10^th and feature 15 tracks by some of the hottest and most respected artists from the Windy City including Common, Lupe Fiasco, Twista, Kanye West, and much, much more.  MTV’s My Block: Chicago – The Soundtrack showcases essential tracks from Chicago’s celebrated hip-hop history as well as exciting, fresh new sounds from the streets of Chi-town.  The first single from My Block: Chicago – The Soundtrack is “Got What You Need” by one of Chicago’s hottest MC’s on the rise, Gemini. 

1. “I Gotcha” – Lupe Fiasco
2. “Let’s Get It Poppin’” – GLC
3. “Girl Tonight” – Twista featuring Trey Songs
4. “Candy” – Gemini
5. “Bullet” – Rhymefest featuring Citizen Cope
6. “Pills” – Lupe Fiasco
7. “Po Pimp” – Do or Die featuring Twista
8. “Gangsta” – Speedknot Mobstaz
9. “Overnight Celebrity” – Twista featuring Kanye West
10. “Hay” – Crucial Conflict
11. “Got What You Need” – Gemini
12. “In tha Chi” – Shawnaa featuring Johnny P. and Syleena Johnson
13. “Go” – Common
14. “South Side” – Gemini
15. “Money and Murder” – Speedknot Mobstaz featuring Twista

“Your Block” Contest on MTV2.com

MTV2 will also extend the My Block idealogy to the viewers with a DIY video upload contest called “Your Block.” Beginning on October 9 at the end of the airing of My Block: Chicago on MTV2, viewers will be given information about the contest and be directed to MTV2.com to post a 3-5 minute video of “their block,” where they can profile the hip-hop slang, car culture, and the hot hang-out spots in their local scene.  Select “Your Block” videos will be posted on MTV2.com and may even air on MTV2’s various multiplatform "screens". The contest will run from October through November with the top 5 finalists being selected by an internal "My Block" committee at MTV News and MTV2.  The final five “Your Block” finalists will then be put to a vote by MTV2.com users. The winning clip receiving the most votes will get the full "My Block" treatment in which Sway and a crew from MTV News will produce a segment on the winning neighborhood that will air during MTV2’s Sucker Free Sunday right before the airing of the next episode of My Block in early 2007. Additional prizes to be announced.

MTV2’s My Block: Chicago Featured Guests and Segments:

Chicago hip-hop legend, Common takes viewers to his block to visit his mother, the liquor store hood’ spot where he used to chill in his younger days, Sunday church service and even shows off his b-ball skills as he reminisces about his days as a Chicago Bulls ball boy during the golden era of basketball legend, Michael Jordan.

Fueled by uptempo, “ghetto-techno” beats, “Footworkin’” is a high-energy style of dance that is part of the “Juke” culture originating and proliferating out of Chicago’s south side. Sway goes to a real live block party on the Southside and gets a foothold into this indigenous Chi-town phenomenon.

As the hottest rising star out of Chi-town, Lupe Fiasco brings a new level of freshness and perspective to hip-hop. Viewers will see how his skateboard and unique style is making him the most buzzed-about artist of 2006 as he teaches Sway how to skate and then takes him to the Westside ghetto, where he discovered rhyming and, subsequently, found salvation away from the drugs and prostitution in the streets.

Twista, a machine-gunning lyricist who once was the Guinness Book of World Records’ fastest rapper alive, takes the audience to one of Chicago’s institutional music landmarks, George’s Music Room, a place that launched many careers, including his own in the early 90s.

Newcomer Rhymefest brings Sway to his Southside hood and discusses his incredible journey as a lyricist who once took down Eminem in an MC battle and then collaborated with Kanye West on the hit, “Jesus Walks.” As Rhymefest and Sway walk through the hood, this MC breaks down the myth of rappers engaging in “poverty pimpin’.”

My Block “gets some” with one of the baddest chicks in the rap game, Shawnna. Down with Ludacris’ DTP crew, Shawnna explains what it means to be a woman – and a mother – in a rap industry dominated by men. Plus, Sway meets Shawnna’s father, blues legend Buddy Guy, and gets a little taste of Chicago’s illustrious blues history.

On “MY BLOCK: CHICAGO – THE REMIX,” exclusively on Overdrive, viewers get more of Chicago’s blues history from the legend Buddy Guy (“BUDDY GUY RAW”) and more about the responsibility that rappers have to their community, from Rhymefest. Plus, the audience will get to discover two of Chicago’s newest artists, Ivy League grad Naledge, the flagship artist on renown label Rawkus Records, and Kid Sister, a hipster rapper whose style is earning her comparisons to MIA and Lady Sovereign.

Now reaching over 63 million homes, MTV2 reflects the way our audience consumes media. The look and feel of the network is fast-paced, multitasked, and predominantly inspired by the internet and the world of video games. MTV2 is the premier destination for our audience to find the hottest mix of music videos, long form music programs, exclusive access to their favorite bands, and ground breaking music before it hits mainstream while combining their other passions through a compelling line-up of creative lifestyle and cross platform programming.

MTV Networks, a unit of Viacom (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), is one of the world’s leading creators of programming and content across all media platforms.  MTV Networks, with more than 130 channels worldwide, owns and operates the following television programming services – MTV: MUSIC TELEVISION, MTV2, VH1, mtvU, NICKELODEON, NICK at NITE, COMEDY CENTRAL, TV LAND, SPIKE TV, CMT, NOGGIN, VH1 CLASSIC, LOGO, MTVN INTERNATIONAL and THE DIGITAL SUITE FROM MTV NETWORKS, a package of 13 digital services, all of these networks trademarks of MTV Networks.  MTV Networks connects with its audiences through its robust consumer products businesses and its more than 150 interactive properties worldwide, including online, broadband, wireless and interactive television services and also has licensing agreements, joint ventures, and syndication deals whereby all of its programming services can be seen worldwide