OurStage.com, Radio One and Grammy Award-Winning Artist T-Pain Team to Find the Next Hip-Hop Star

OurStage.com, Radio One and Grammy Award-Winning Artist T-Pain Team to Find the Next Hip-Hop Star

OurStage Artist to Receive Production Deal with Nappy Boy Digital

BOSTON, Nov. 6 /PRNewswire/ -- OurStage (www.OurStage.com), a music discovery destination providing professional opportunities for up-and-coming talent, and Grammy Award-winning artist T-Pain today announced they will join forces to discover the next hip-hop or R&B star. Artists can submit their music at http://www.ourstage.com/go/tpain beginning today for a chance to record a single with T-Pain that will be distributed through his online label, Nappy Boy Digital.

"Thanks to the Internet, this is a new day and age for artists hoping to be heard," says T-Pain. "That's what inspired me to form Nappy Boy Digital. This is a label designed to break down barriers and introduce new voices to the masses. I'm looking forward to working with OurStage to find an exciting new artist and take him or her to the next level."

"We are thrilled to work with an accomplished artist like T-Pain. It continues to be our priority to work with top-notch artists and production companies who graciously offer insight and professional opportunities to OurStage artists," said Ben Campbell, CEO, OurStage. "We strive to further enhance the value of OurStage through key partnerships that are mutually beneficial to both our artists and industry professionals."

To enter, artists must download T-Pain's "Everybody Else" on OurStage, listen to the first 30 seconds and then complete the song with their own lyrics. In addition to the winning song being posted on T-Pain's Web site, the winner will receive a one-track recording contract with Nappy Boy Digital, with the option to extend. In addition, all entries ranked in the Channel's Top 10 will be featured on Radio One affiliate stations in December. T-Pain will play top entries and announce the winner on-air.

T-Pain, who was recently lauded with Songwriter of the Year and Producer of the Year honors at the BMI Urban Awards, is currently gearing up for the November 11th release of his highly anticipated new album THR33 RINGZ. The much-buzzed-about disc features collaborations with artists such as Lil Wayne, Chris Brown, Ludacris, T.I., Kanye West, Akon, Diddy, Mary J. Blige, and Ciara, among others. As recently pointed by Billboard, over the course of the past two years, T-Pain has enjoyed 27 top 10 songs collectively on the Billboard Hot 100 and Hot R&B/Hip Hop Songs charts. His success story continues with "Can't Believe It," the lead single from THR33 RINGZ, which has sold more than a half-million digital copies in only nine weeks.

OurStage recently launched an iPhone app called OurStage Radio. The company also recently released Sort 4 judging and Partyline, two new social tools that further connect artists, fans and industry professionals. Through relationships with Live Nation, AOL Music, Noise Pop, Bonnaroo, Bumbershoot, CMJ and more, OurStage has awarded more than 75 slots to popular OurStage acts at major national music festivals and numerous mentoring sessions with top recording artists such as John Legend and G. Love. In addition, the company is enjoying major success with its jobs Marketplace, through which OurStage artists have secured gigs opening for Maroon 5, Counting Crows, Matt Nathanson and more.

About T-Pain

The Tallahassee native burst on scene in 2005 with his debut Rappa Ternt Sanga and the unforgettable singles "I'm Sprung" and "I'm N Luv (Wit A Stripper)," a song that maintains the title of the highest-selling ring tone. T-Pain's success story continued with 2007's Epiphany, which spawned the #1 airplay record of the year, "Buy U a Drank" (featuring Yung Joc) and the ubiquitous #1 hit "Bartender." He also made headlines as a producer and featured artist on tracks such as Flo-Rida's "Low," Chris Brown's "Kiss Kiss" and Lil Wayne's "Got Money." Last year also saw T-Pain record the chart-topping hit "Good Life" with Kanye West, a track that earned him his first Grammy for Best Rap Song and also garnered a BET Award, the latter an event on which he was the most nominated artist of the night.

About OurStage, Inc.

OurStage is a music discovery destination dedicated to new artist and new music discovery. On OurStage, artists, fans and industry professionals all come together - to discover, judge, & enjoy the best new music and the best new artists online - as ranked by the fans - in the company's proprietary, game-proof judging engine. Users are able to discover top ranked, categorized music without having to search through thousands of songs. Top-ranked artists receive significant career-building promotion and support from established artists, industry professionals, and a broad assortment of partners, including AOL Music, Bonnaroo, Bumbershoot, PLUG Awards, Newport Folk Festival, JVC Jazz Festival Newport, Paste Magazine, CMJ, Noise Pop, and many others. Founded in 2007, OurStage delivers music and related content to more than 2 million fans in 140 countries each month - and has over 300,000 registered users.

About Nappy Boy Digital

Acclaimed artist and producer T-Pain steps to the forefront of the digital music world with his full service independent record label, Nappy Boy Digital. Nappy Boy Digital provides a direct artist to consumer connection as well as an immediate outlet for T-Pain to release his latest and greatest tracks. Without the constraints of the traditional major label machine, Nappy Boy Digital delivers new music directly into the hands of millions of online music lovers via major digital download sites. T-Pain's longtime rap collaborator, Tay Dizm, is Nappy Boy Digital's first signing. The Miami-born MC has appeared on both of T-Pain's full length releases, Rappa Ternt Sanga (2005) and Epiphany (2007) and toured the globe extensively alongside T-Pain. Dizm's debut single, "Beam Me Up," was produced by Atlanta hitmaker Bangladesh and features T-Pain and heavyweight Florida rapper, Rick Ross.

About Radio One, Inc.

Radio One, Inc. (www.radio-one.com) is one of the nation's largest radio broadcasting companies and the largest radio broadcasting company that primarily targets African American and urban listeners. Radio One owns and/or operates 53 radio stations located in 16 urban markets in the United States. Radio One also owns Magazine One, which publishes Giant Magazine (www.giantmag.com), interests in TV One (www.tvoneonline.com), a cable/satellite network programming primarily to African Americans, Reach Media (www.blackamericaweb.com), owner of the Tom Joyner Morning Show and other businesses associated with Tom Joyner, and Interactive One, which includes the highly popular social networking websites BlackPlanet.com and MiGente.com and additional websites targeted to African Americans such as NewsOne.com, TheUrbanDaily.com and HelloBeautiful.com. The company is led by Chairperson and Founder Catherine L. Hughes, and her son, Alfred Liggins, III, who is Chief Executive Officer and President.

For more information, please contact:
Ayn Allen / Laura Lazear
mPRm Public Relations for OurStage
aallen@mprm.com / llazear@mprm.com
323-933-3399

Source: OurStage, Inc.

CONTACT: Ayn Allen, aallen@mprm.com, or Laura Lazear, llazear@mprm.com,
both of mPRm Public Relations, +1-323-933-3399, for OurStage

Web Site: http://www.ourstage.com/
http://www.radio-one.com/

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