Money is the latest music sensation. She has no deal at present but has recorded with Timbaland.

A California native, Money grew up in a musical family with both her father and sister looking to be future singers. Raised on everything from jazz to gospel, r&b to rock ‘n roll, Money’s biggest influence was Prince. While taking dance classes at the famed Millenium Dance Studios in Los Angeles, Money met choreographer Dave Scott (You Got Served, Stomp The Yard) and his partner, stylist coordinator Keisha Gamble. Both saw potential in Money and quickly became in charge of her artistic development. Scott later introduced Money to the legendary Walter Milsap III, a meeting which would change her life forever.

Walter Milsap III is a household name among musicians from all genres, Milsap has been creating, writing, and producing music for well over a decade. Having worked with Brandy, J. Lo, Alicia Keys, and Beyonce to name but a few, Milsap can recently be seen on Timbaland’s Shock Value album with a solo production of the track “Fantasy” featuring Money. Milsap and Money were only in their 2nd week of recording together when they decided to come with a fresh and different sound to their next track hence “Fantasy” was born. Recorded just last February, Milsap took the song with him to a scheduled meeting in Las Vegas with Timbaland. Milsap played the track for Tim and right away Timbo wanted Money to fly out to meet with her. Impressed with her style, voice, and overral vibe, Tim asked her to be on his upcoming album Shock Value. Before she knew it Money went from the very beginnings of her career to a having a full feature on one of the year’s biggest album.

Money’s MySpace site

XM and MySpace announced the launch of “Show Us What Ya Got!” – a US coast-to-coast online search for the hottest unsigned hip-hop and R&B talent. Aspiring artists are encouraged to submit their original song for the opportunity to perform at The Mix Show Power Summit, the industry’s premier event, in October, where one grand prize winner will receive a mix tape created in coordination with a high profile DJ, on-air XM appearance and more.

Visit the XM MySpace site at http://www.myspace.com/xm to review contest details, and enter their original song with the opportunity to become the next hip-hop star. All entries for the competition must be submitted between now and August 31, 2007.

The entries will be reviewed by a panel of judges comprised of music editors and industry artists who will select five finalists and post their entries on the XM MySpace community page for open voting.

Video blogs will be posted regularly, featuring advice and trends in the urban music industry from DJ Enuff, founder of Heavy Hitters DJs; Rene McLean, chief executive officer of The Power Summit; and Bryan Leach, senior vice president of Urban J Records and president of Polo Grounds Music. Video blogs with behind-the-scenes advice on hip-hop and radio industry will also be available by on-air talent from XM’s urban channels, including: Mz. Kitti, DJ “Funkregulata” Celo and DJ Furious Styles from RAW (XM 66), XM’s uncensored hip-hop channel; Lisa Lisa, Tiff Square, and Nina Nine from The City (XM 67), XM’s hip-hop and urban channel. Members from the MySpace community can then view blogs and vote for their favorites among the top five finalists.

Three finalists will then be selected for superstar treatment, including a free trip to The Power Summit, held Oct. 24-27 in the Dominican Republic, to perform for an intimate audience of the top record industry elite and biggest DJs in the country. Past performers include Kanye West, Eminem, 50 Cent and Alicia Keys. Leo G, program director for XM’s RAW channel, will be among the panel of on-site judges to watch the performances, provide on-the-spot commentary and award a grand prize finalist. The live performance will be broadcast live on the XM MySpace community page reaching MySpacers around the globe.

For more information or to submit for the opportunity to be a hip-hop music star, visit http://www.myspace.com/xm.

Chat, news, views about Lupe Fiasco, Kanye West and Pharrell Williams collectively or individually. Follow the link to have your say on CRS!

Having already released one song via an online mixtape, CRS (Child Rebel Soldiers), the hip-hop supergroup featuring Lupe Fiasco, Kanye West and Pharrell Williams, is hoping to do an entire album.

“Us Placers,” which samples Thom Yorke’s “The Eraser,” was performed by Fiasco earlier this month during his set at Lollapalooza in Chicago. “Now [our labels are] working it out, whoever is going to pay is going to pay a whole hell of a lot. Everybody is excited, [but] ‘Us Placers’ is the only record we have.” Says Lupe referring to record companies noticing the momentum the track has received from the internet.

Fiasco has pushed back the release of his sophomore album, “Lupe Fiasco’s The Cool,” from October 30 to November 20. Work is continuing on the album with producers from his 1st & 15th camp, including Pro and Soundtrack. Previously, Fiasco had avoided big-name producers (“It’s too expensive,” he says), but “now we’re doing CRS, [so] I can get all the music for free.”

The rapper says he is going to stop releasing mixtapes and may not have many more studio albums in him.

“I’m just wearing down,” he admits. “I’m never doing mixtapes again, not even Internet ones. My whole energy for making hip-hop music is slowing down. I’ve been doing it for seven years. I still don’t think I’m famous. I’ll do what I have to do to promote my next album, but I’m not enthused about doing seven albums. I’ll do my three, and then I am going to keep moving to the next phase of life and maybe grow trees.”

Chat, news, views about Lupe Fiasco, Kanye West and Pharrell Williams collectively or individually. Follow the link to have your say on CRS!