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Rick Rubin will be the focus of a new documentary series on Showtime. Titled Shangri-La, the Morgan Neville-directed series intends to showcase the Def Jam Recordings co-founder's creative process and highlight his various career milestones. 

The series is set and named after Rubin’s Malibu recording studio.

A “work-in-progress” cut is expected to be unveiled at the 2019 SXSW Festival this March, while the official version will air later this year on Showtime.

Rubin will serve as an executive producer. 

Outkast MC Big Boi has joined The Public Good Projects' Therapy Pets campaign in an effort to debunk the stigma surrounding mental health.

The roughly one-and-a-half minute animated short stars Big Boi as "Captain Owl," a cartoon owl who navigates his aircraft while trying to find the right words to describe a condition that affects more than 40 million people across the country. 

Daddy Fax Sacks elaborated on the clip in a Twitter post. 

“Being a dad and a man of words I wanted to help bring attention to the importance of choosing good words to talk about mental health," he wrote on January 9. "So I teamed up with some of my friends to put together an animation featuring my owls."

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Celebrated producer Blockhead (real name Tony Simon) has resurfaced with the first single from his forthcoming Free Sweatpants album. Titled "Kiss The Cook," the track features longtime friend and collaborator Aesop Rock. 

The two hip-hop vets teamed up in 2007 for Rock's None Shall Pass album on the title track, "Bring Back Pluto," "Coffee" and "Flumes," among others. 

Their undeniable chemistry is evident on "Kiss The Cook" and will satisfy fans of both artists. 

Free Sweatpants also boasts guest spots from Open Mike Eagle, Armand Hammer (ELUCID and billy woods), Homeboy Sandman, Breezly Brewin, TREE, Vic Spencer, Hemlock Ernst and MarQ Spekt.

The album is expected to arrive on January 18 via Backwoodz Studioz. 

Check out the track below.

Turntable magicians DJ Jazzy Jeff, Skratch Bastid, DJ Craze, Nina Las Vegas and DJ Nu-Mark will serve as judges at the Red Bull 3Style World DJ competition in Taipei, Taiwan later this month. 

Between January 23 and 27, two dozen turntablists — who won the regional competitions in their respective countries — will battle it out for title of World Champion. 

The Grand Finale is scheduled for Sunday (January 27) at 6 p.m. local time. 

Check out the competitors below.

2019 Red Bull 3Style World Finalists

Doc Trashz, Italy

Ronfa, Switzerland

ONDRASH, Czech Republic

Ebro Darden has been appointed the Global Editorial Head of Hip Hop and R&B at Apple Music. According to Billboard, his position is effective immediately.

Darden will be supervising a group of hip-hop and R&B editors conceptualizing editorial strategies for artists, albums and singles released in the United States and overseas. 

The Hot 97 radio personality follows Carl Chery who served as Apple Music’s head of artist curation for hip-hop and R&B until last April when he made the jump to Spotify. 

Darden already hosts a Beats 1 Radio show on Apple Music Monday through Friday, 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. ET and will continue his rol

Before the holidays took over, illustrious hip-hop producer 9th Wonder gifted his fans with an early Christmas present — a new album titled Zion III. Bursting at the seams with 42 tracks, the mostly instrumental album delivers 9th's  signature jazz-infused production style and a handful of cuts featuring MCs King Draft and Swank. 

The project serves as the follow-up to 2017's Zion II and the 2016 original. He announced the album's impending arrival on December 20 via Instagram and provided a little insight into the cover art, which features a vintage photograph of a young woman. 

“Zion III. The Spirit Of BrightLady,” he wrote. “37 beats. 5 songs introducing @kingdraftmusic & @swank252. MIDNIGHT. Brought to you by the good folks at @jamlarecords #ForTheSis