RollnSmoke Scoop

On Sunday, November 29, at 8 PM, HBO will air a four-hour concert special in honor of the 25th Anniversary of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame which will feature appearances by Stevie Wonder, Mick Jagger, U2, Black Eyed Peas, John Legend, Lenny Kravitz and Annie Lennox, among many others.

After a free gig earlier this month at The Berlin wall, U2 members headed to the South of France for a song-writing session. They are still debating whether their next record will consist of songs from the last album sessions or whether they will come up an entirely new set of tunes. Says Bono, “I would like to put out an album quickly, but we’re only going to do it if it’s great.”

For the first time since 1999, the all-female music festival Lilith Fair will resume next summer. Peter Gabriel is prepping his first album since 2002 which will consists entirely of covers.

RollnSMoke Scoop : Lil Wayne's Woes

The bestselling rapper of 2008, Lil Wayne, will be forced to take a break from the studio next February to serve eight months in prison on gun charges. Next year he will also appear in an Arizona court to face separate charges related to a 2008 incident where border police found marijuana, cocaine and MDMA on Lil Wayne’s tour bus. And just last week, new copyright infringement charges were brought against him. Lil Wayne’s latest album, REBIRTH, which has already suffered numerous delays, is scheduled to be released shortly before he heads to prison.

RollnSmoke Scoop

With her most recent covers album “Love is the Answer” climbing the charts, Barbara Streisand has become the only artist with a #1 Album in five consecutive decades. Bob Weir and Phil Lesh have recruited John Kadlecik (lead guitarist from a Grateful Dead tribute band) for a new band called Further which features an all-Dead set-list.

Bono (of U2 fame) has come out in support of President Barack Obama’s Nobel Peace Prize win, penning an op-ed column in this weekend’s New York Times celebrating Obama’s goal of eradicating world hunger and crediting the President for helping “rebrand America.” “I will venture to say,” Bono writes. “That in the farthest corners of the globe, the president’s words are more than a pop song people want to hear on the radio. They are lifelines.”

On November 10 Wyclef Jean is set to release “From the Hut to the Projects to the Mansion,” a 13-track EP featuring all-new material produced by DJ Drama, which will feature guests appearances by Eve, Timbaland, Maino and Cyndi Lauper, among others.

RollnSmoke Scoop

Jay-Z notches his 11th Number One album with THE BLUEPRINT 3, pushing him ahead of Elvis Presley as the solo artist with the most number one albums. Jay-Z has the second-most Number One albums among all acts behind The Beatles who have 19.

R. Kelly is scheduled to release several tracks written by Michael Jackson by year’s end. Additionally, the soundtrack to the Michael Jackson documentary THIS IS IT, due October 27th, will include at least five previously unreleased songs.

Artists are eligible for The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame 25 years after their debut release, and notable names for next year’s ballot include The Red Hot Chili Peppers, LL Cool J, Abba, Donna Summer and Jimmy Cliff. Time flies when you’re having fun!