News Bits: Diddy, Danny Brown, Zion I

Diddy’s long-delayed Last Train to Paris is now set to drop this December, according to rap-up.com.

A new track from the album, “Shades” featuring Justin Timberlake and Lil Wayne, leaked yesterday (Sept 21).

Detroit rapper Danny Brown recently sat down with the Los Angeles Times to discuss possibly signing with G-Unit, and what it’s like working with 50 Cent.

“I don’t know,” said Brown, who met Tony Yayo through a producer, when asked about signing to the house 50 built. “Hopefully. We talk a lot about what we want to do with G-Unit, and how 50 is trying to build it by signing new artists and changing the whole brand. At the end of the day, the music [and stuff] that I rap about it isn’t far from what G-Unit always does, nor is it very far from Eminem in terms of subject matter and wordplay. It’s just a different approach to the same thing.”

“He’s the smartest person I’ve ever met,” said Brown of 50. “I pretty much just watch and listen to whatever he says. You can learn a lot by not talking and just asking questions. I study the music business — it’s a fickle place and it’s hard to stay relevant. You have to pay attention to what’s going on in the streets and be able to adapt with the times and reinvent yourself. Aesop Rock once said something that’s always stuck in my head: When an author writes a book, he doesn’t write the same book twice. So I ask myself, what does Danny Brown need to do next?”

Finally, Oakland duo Zion I is gearing up for a November 9 release for their next album, Atomic Clock.

Inspired by reggae and dub music, the album is described by Zumbi AKA Zion as “reflective and internal.”

The album will reportedly make use of live musicians as well as Amp Live’s production.

“The Atomic Clock is the most precise timing device on the planet and I thought that applied to the immaculate timing and rhythm it takes between musicians in one room to make good music,” explains Zumbi. “But also, I feel that time is speeding up on the planet and it seems like it’s dilating and contracting really quickly. We’re living in such an interesting time and I think time is on everyone’s mind in one way or another. Everything is exponential now.”

Below are a list of upcoming Zion I tour dates:

Zion I On Tour

9/24: Santa Barbara, CA – West Beach Festival 2010
9/25: Page, AZ – Powellapolooza
10/5: Flagstaff, AZ – Orpheum Theatere
10/6: Tucson, AZ – Rialto Theater
10/7: Santa Fe, NM – Santa Fe Brewing Company
10/8: Seaside, CA – CSU Monterey Bay
10/9: San Francisco, CA – Summersalt Music Festival
10/12: Baton Rouge, LA – Varsity Theatre
10/13: Oxford, MS – Proud Larry’s
10/14: Athens, GA – Last Call
10/15: Tallahassee, FL – Floyd’s Music Store
10/19: St. Louis, MO – Gargoyle
10/20: Columbia, MO – Blue Note
10/21: Carbondale, IL – Copper Dragon
10/22: Madison, WI – Majestic Theatre
10/23: Grand Rapids, MI – Orbit Room
10/25: Millvale, PA – Mr. Small’s Theater
10/27: State College, PA – State Theatre for the Arts
10/28: Syracuse, NY – Wescott Theatre
10/29: Providene, RI – Lupo’s Heartbreak Hotel
10/30: Towson, MD – Recher Theater
10/31: Norfolk, VA – Norva
11/1: Brooklyn, NY – Brooklyn Bowl
11/2: New Haven, CT – Toad’s Place
11/4: Charlottesville, VA – Jefferson Theater
11/5: Richmond, VA – The National
11/6: Ashville, NC – The Orange Peel
11/7: Boone, NC – Legends