More pics are below.
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Russell Simmons, T.I, Young Jeezy & LL Cool J and others will be celebrating Barack Obama’s inauguration at a Hip Hop Inaugural Ball. The Hip-Hop Summit Action Network announced the black tie charity gala will take place on January 19, 2009 at 8:00pm, at The Harman Center for the Arts, 610 F Street, N.W., Washington, DC. Russell Simmons, HSAN Chairman and Co-founder, emphasized, “The Hip-Hop Inaugural Ball will be a fantastic gala and upscale party in celebration of Barack Obama being inaugurated President of the United States. We are also recognizing the outstanding contributions of T.I., LL Cool J and Young Jeezy in helping to turn out the largest young adult vote in American history.”

The Hip-Hop Inaugural Ball will kick off with a star-studded red carpet and celebrity sponsorship reception at 8pm at the Harman Center, followed by an awards presentation and a VIP black tie gala and party on all four levels of the venue. DJ D-Nice will serve as the Hip-Hop Inaugural Ball Celebrity DJ throughout the whole night. Tickets can be purchased on a first come, first served basis by going to www.Hiphopinaugural.org or www.HSAN.org.

Jay-Z will be performing In D.C. the 19th(day before the Inauguration). The show will be at the Warner theater at 8 pm, ticket go on sale Friday on LiveNation.

Some nice shots of Beyonce are below. Props BeyonceWorld
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(Mr. Blaichman)So with his partners, Jay-Z and Abram and Scott Shnay, he envisioned a hotel with a pool, gym, spa and multiple restaurants under a brand called J Hotels. But since his mortgage brokers started shopping in late summer for roughly $200 million in financing, they have only one serious prospect for a lender.

“That rug has been pulled out from under their feet,” said David Johnson, a real estate broker with Eastern Consolidated who was involved with selling the site for the proposed hotel to Mr. Blaichman, Jay-Z and their business partners for $66 million, which included the property and adjoining air rights. Mr. Johnson said that because many banks are not lending, the only option for many developers is to take on debt from less traditional lenders like foreign investors or private equity firms that charge interest rates as high as 20 percent.

Full Story: NY Times

I also had to put off construction of RealTalkNY strip clubs, damn this economy.

Photos by Nigel D.

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Hot 97 & Big League Entertainment brought out 3 Kings of the south to perform in NY this weekend. T.I., Young Jeezy and Ludacris have all dropped successful albums this year and continue to be on top of their game. The concert also featured Harlem native, Jim Jones along with his Dipset crew. Surprise guest included Busta Rhymes, Ron Browz & Kid Cudi. I arrived late so I missed out on Dipset and Kid Cudi.

Luda along with performing his various hits, had Busta Rhymes and Ron Browz come out to perform. Young Jeezy came out get the crowd hype with hits like, “Who Dat,” & “My President Is Black.” T.I. came out with some extra attitude talking about haters, why he is real and being signed with L.A. Reid. Overall it was a cool concert and showcased the top talents from the South.

Check below for more pics, including some of the females in attendance.

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