Fresh out of the UK, pop sensation Daley brings us the single “Alone Together” featuring Marsha Ambrosius.

Ed Sheeran may only be bubbling under in the States, but in his native England, he’s a national treasure. Established as an independent artist in the mid-naughts, the 21-year-old has rocketed to the top of pop consciousness over the past year, breaking with his smash singles “The A-Team,” “You Need Me, I Don’t Need You” and “Lego House.”

But it was with his debut album + that the fire-haired singer-songwriter became a cultural phenom, rocking the U.K. charts before achieving triple-platinum status. With his Stateside debut planned for release via Atlantic Records this summer, Ed most recently released his collaborative EP Slumdon Bridge with Yelawolf and is already at work on his sophomore album. While in New York City earlier this month, he spoke with YRB about his connection with hip-hop, linking with Catfish Billy, his upcoming tour with Snow Patrol and what we can expect from him in 2012.

YRB: How does it feel to be in NYC? What have you been up to?
Ed: Not much, really. Radio interviews, just ate a burrito from Chipotle, which was wicked. Now it’s my press day and I’ve got a gig later again. But it’s wicked to be playing here. It’s the mecca for songwriters to come and play. So it’s a good thing.

YRB: How is it to be in America, having had all this success in the UK? Does it feel like people don’t know you here yet?
Ed: To be honest, I love work and starting off at the beginning again is kind of perfect for me because I get to do small, intimate shows again and really show people who I am, rather than in England, I’ve done that and people now know. The music’s still there, but maybe the excitement’s gone because it’s out in the open. Now, I get to do it all again. It’s quite fun working from the ground up.

YRB: You’ve been releasing music for more than a half-decade, and it’s sort of been a slow build. Was there a breaking point where you realized things were on the up and up?
Ed: When I realized my collaboration project last January, and that charted independently, I thought things were going to start getting better from there.

YRB: What was going through your head when it came time to sign with a label?
Ed: I just kind of went with Atlantic, because they actually had shown an interest before any of that. They offered me a deal in November. I just didn’t take it because I wanted to do all of my independent stuff first. But as soon as I achieved what I wanted to achieve, I went with Atlantic because they’re the best label, in my opinion.

YRB: You perform by looping your instruments, which seems very technical. When was the first time you experimented with doing that?
Ed: When I was 14. I saw Gary Dunne play a sampler and I was just like, that’s wicked. I need to get one and started gigging with it from then. I wasn’t that good to begin with, but the more you practice, the more it becomes second nature.

YRB: Do you ever have mishaps with that these days?
Ed: Yeah. Yesterday, for example, I was stepping over it and I pulled out the power switch on the last song. That’s something that went wrong, I guess.

YRB: You seem to have a strong interest in hip-hop. Have you always been a hip-hop fan?
Ed: Yeah, as far as I can remember, I’ve been really into rap. I think it’s just the rhythm of it. I was into the commercial stuff to begin with, so I was really heavily into Eminem and Jay-Z, and then I got into UK hip-hop in rap, people like Devlin and Wretch 32. More recently, I’ve kind of gotten into Biggie and Big Pun and Yelawolf. I’m kind of discovering new people every day to listen to.

LA street fashion mixes with technology in the second limited edition timepiece from G-Shock & The Hundreds. The GWM5600TH-1 is a simple design that packs a powerful punch. The face of the watch is black and features the G-Shock name in white along with white straps with black writing. The Hundreds motto is “Drawing Lines,” so it is only appropriate that they conveyed that message through the use of the sharp contrast of black and white. The G-Shock x The Hundreds timepiece will be available for purchase March 2012 and will retail for $160.

XXL Freshman candidate Rockie Fresh has announced that he will be embarking on a month long tour with LA rapper Casey Veggies and Boston’s The Dean’s List. Rockie was recently featured on our website in an interview where we talked about his beginnings and where he wants to go in his music career. The tour begins February 26 in Rockie’s hometown Chicago, IL with SXSW performances on March 15 and 16.

Check out the video for Spank Rock’s “Car Song” featuring Santigold. For behind

the scenes pics and clips go to V Magazine.

by Gina Ponce // Photography by Odessy Barbu // Styling by Rhonda Spies // Grooming by Barbara Guillaume for Exclusive Artists/Redken

Johnny Whitworth has taken on his latest role with a vengeance, drawing from anything he deemed fit to bring out his inner villain in Ghost Rider’s Blackout.

Taking a strong interest in movies at an early age, Johnny Whitworth got bit by the acting bug before he even hit double digits and spent his time growing up in the South, plotting his Los Angeles move until it actually happened during his teen years. Even though he found an early hit in 1995’s cult classic Empire Records, Whitworth went on a brief Hollywood hiatus before appearing in The Rainmaker, Gamer and 3:10 to Yuma. After working with some of the big screen’s most acclaimed stars in recent years, like Bradley Cooper and Robert De Niro in Limitless, co-producing and starring in Valley of the Sun and becoming a familiar face on CSI: Miami, Whitworth has taken on Nicolas Cage in the latest film rendition of the Ghost Rider comic, which he promises will be a whole new experience.

YRB: How did you first get into Hollywood? Did you always want to be an actor? Johnny: Yes, definitely, from when I was like six years old, actually. My mom put me as an extra in the film North and South ‘cause it was filming in South Carolina where I lived at the time. She knew that I wanted to be an actor, and at that time, it was a “movie star” because I didn’t really know any difference. It was like I wanted to do what Eddie Murphy was doing, and HBO had gotten really popular, and there was Beta and VHS and Beverly Hills Cop was going off. So I wanted to do that, and then I kind of evolved a little later once I saw The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. I saw Eli Wallach taking a bath in that, him being really dirty, and it just seemed like it felt so great for him to get in the bath and then I was like, okay I wanna be an actor, like I understood what could be done with it.

YRB: Empire Records was one of your first films and it became a big hit. Did that early success come as a surprise to you? Johnny: No, ‘cause the cast was young, it was a fun movie. We had fun doing it and I think that translated to the movie.

YRB: You’ve played many different types of characters in your career. Has there been a favorite? Do you prefer a particular genre? Johnny: I haven’t done my favorite yet. I like ironic drama. I like a character that’s got a sense of irony in life and in being overly realistic. When I meet people like that I gravitate towards them because that is my sensibility. So when those opportunities [come about], where I can play those kinds of guys, I feel it’s intriguing. But I want to be able to do everything.

YRB: What can people expect from Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance? Johnny: It’s a kind of wicked, badass ride. It’s a fun comic book movie with lots of action. I’m a fan of the genre and it was a pleasure being in it and playing the character that I played, and I love Nic. So you’re basically in for a wild ride, plus Nicolas Cage.

YRB: Was there a different approach to the sequel from the previous Ghost Rider? Johnny: Oh, absolutely. The first one, they didn’t even regard that one. The only thing that’s similar to that movie and our movie is Nic playing Johnny Blaze. And thankfully, ‘cause Nic is badass. But it’s a different tone in general; it’s darker, it pushes the limits. The other film – I kind of agree with it – Nic had said it was a ‘grim fairytale.’ He kind of categorized that. And this one is just wicked, hell, fire…it’s about a superhero sucking out soul, so it’s gotta be dark.

The 14th Annual Punk Rock Bowling and Music Festival will take place Memorial Day weekend in Downtown Las Vegas. Rancid, NOFX, Real McKenzies, Toys That Kill and, The Adicts are just a few of the bands confirmed to perform at the festival. The daily line up will be announced on February 24, this is also when the 3 day festival passes ($100) will go on sale at 1pm PST. Single day tickets ($40) will be sold based on availability March 5 at 1pm PST.

To purchase tickets, register for Punk Rock Bowling and for more information, visit:www.punkrockbowling.com

Future is inviting one lucky winner to hangout with him VIP style during NBA All-Star Weekend in Orlando (2/24-2/26). The winner of the contest, and a guest, will be flown to Orlando where they will  receive a chance to “ball out” with Future and attend a special concert during that weekend.

ENTER HERE: http://www.futurefreebandz.com/

This week Diplo and Usher released their collaborative track which they have titled “Climax.” Usher has described the track as a “strip club classic” while Diplo refers to it as “some next level electrosoul,” adding that “in 9 months there is gonna be a lot of new babies this song is responsible for.” Take a listen and let us know what you think!

Source: HYPETRAK

By Stephanie Amy Collazo

Day 26 has come a long way since they were first introduced to us on MTV’s Making the Band 4. Since 2007, they have released two studio albums, lost a member, switched labels and now – after a short break from the limelight – the foursome is back with their third album, A New Day. We met up with them in the Atlantic Records offices in N.Y.C. to catch up about the new album and their Valentine’s Day plans.

YRB: What have you been up to since dropping your last album, Forever In A Day?

Willie: Well, we took a little break to do the family thing initially. Since 2006, with the reality show into the album and the tours, then back to the studio [and] the [second] album, we never slowed down. So we took a little time for that, and in the process of that, we lost a member and we ended up switching labels, which was another break for us. I did a movie and a play I’ve been writing and other things – now it’s back to the studio, just gearing up.

YRB: Bands and artist who come from talent show competitions are sometimes scrutinized for their way of getting signed. Have you received any negative commentary?

Brian: Of course, it comes with the territory. If you don’t have people scrutinizing you then you’re not doing your job right.

Willie: I think the biggest thing with that is the thought process for other people. As people getting famous from reality shows they think that people give it to them overnight. What they don’t know is that we were all doing this way, way before we ever showed up on television. I was in a group called Kwiet Storm; we had a video on BET in 2001. Rob was signed to Wyclef, and that was all before. People don’t know that we were artists before making the band. I think that’s what really makes people not believe it as real. The fact that they think, ‘Oh, they’re just walking around getting cheesecake for Diddy.’ It’s a journey; it’s a real struggle. I feel that if people knew the real story they’d think, ‘Oh, those are just some grinding dudes that took a chance, and that’s where the reality TV show comes in.’

Robert: What makes up for all that is that we have amazing fans, the best fans in the world, so it’s hard to pay attention to all the negative stuff because we have so many people lifting us up. We pretty much focus on that.

YRB: A lot of artists that come out of those talent shows tend to fall off, how have you guys been able to hold it together?

Willie: We had fell off. [Laughs]

Mike: We went left when we should have went right. [Laughs]

Willie: You have got to stay true to God first, and you never know when your opportunity is coming. You’ve got a group of guys coming from multiple situations and continue to win.

Robert: This situation is a hard one to make it through as a group, in any way this is a hard situation for you to make it. So if you are expecting to come here and for it to be easy, you’re not going to last anyway. Ours is just a little bit harder than normal. We expect a struggle; we expect it to be hard.

YRB: We know that the dynamic of your group has changed from when we were first introduced to you. What would you say the experience of losing a member has taught you as a group and individually?