YEP! You read that right.

The South By Southwest (SXSW) music conference always has a few major surprises, but this year fans will get a rare treat as the legendary Prince is slated to headline an exclusive concert. This Saturday (March 16), Prince will close out Samsung’s SXSW festival and bringing along Hip-Hop legends A Tribe Called Quest for the ride, too.

The event is taking place at La Zona Rosa in downtown Austin as part of an innovative marketing strategy from Samsung. A randomly selected group of 250 Samsung users that participate in the tech company’s “Samsung Galaxy Experience” at the festival will get a chance to witness the iconic musician live. Attendees who have the coveted (and expensive) Platinum and Music badges for the festival will also gain exclusive entry to the private party.

CRAZY right?

Word is Prince will also be accompanied by a 22-piece band and will have a special stage remolded just for his show. Also hearing the rumble of Tribe on the road later this spring as they join the massive lineup for Yahoo’s On The Road tour featuring Kendrick Lamar, Jay-Z, Frank Ocean, Nas and plenty others.

Looks like I’m gonna miss the show in Austin, but I’ll be looking forward to catching the Yahoo show for sure. Looks like brands are upping their budgets again. Let’s see what’s happens in 2013.

Read more at Hip Hop Wired

Springsteen is also featured on the cover of the latest issue of Rolling Stone where he’s interviewed by fellow Jersey native Jon Stewart. I checked it out yesterday, it’s a pretty good read.

For those that don’t know South By Southwest is a HUGE music festival that happens in Austin, Texas around this same time of year. It caters to just about every genre of music and everyone flocks there to perform, or see some of the new upcoming artists do their thing. Austin is also the coolest city Texas has to offer (no disrespect). There’s what seems like a hundred or so venues that cater to live music, and there’s a bridge you can hit around sunset every evening that thousands of bats live under to see them make their way into the night sky.

I’ve been blessed to attend the festival since 2007 as a spectator as well as a performer. I’ve had some great times, and met some amazing people there as well.

However this year I won’t be making that trek and I wanted to post this since EVERYBODY is blowing up my cell phone today with texts and calls as well as facebook and twitter. Artists and promoters are inviting me to their events, people are asking me where I’m performing etc. I appreciate all the love though, I really do. Wish I was out there rocking with y’all time go round.

I’ve seen some great event lineups including Red Bull Music Academy events and even a Nike event with Nas WOW!

I have SEVERAL friends and fam out there, and if you’re there for the week, make sure you check em out: Boog Brown, Homeboy Sandman, Clan Destined, Lyric Jones, Stanza, 4th Pyramid, etc.

I hope everyone has a GREAT time. Just remember not to get caught up in the hype, take in what new information you can, and do your best to form some real bonds with amazing, interesting people.

Also, remember to apply all the motivation you’ll walk away with to your life, not just the few days you’re away at the festivities. All too often people are only enthused and ‘making moves’ when surrounded by others who are doing the same; the real test is if you can continue to be just as motivated when you”re back in ‘real life,’ surrounded by people who just don’t get it.

Say hello to everyone for me!

If you haven’t already, make sure you check out Homeboy Sandmans’ new EP “Subject Matter” available now on Stones Throw Records. If your in Austin for SXSW you can catch Boy Sand rocking the Stones Throw as well as the A3C showcases. Tell him Señor Kaos sent you. BONG!

Shouts to the good people over at Unique Squared. Soul Wallace, AJ, Presyce, Tom and the rest of the gang.

During this year’s SXSW Festival leading pro audio company Unique Squared, in partnership with Quality Control Marketing, parked a massive tour bus on Austin’s streets to serve as a state of the art recording studio. Throughout the festivities some of hip-hop’s most notable emcees stopped by the Mobile Studio to record exclusive songs over all-original production. The result is The Official SXSW Mixtape, a 30 track collection that captures the energy and creativity of SXSW.

To witness artists selecting beats, writing and recording in such a short period of time was extraordinary and a testament to Unique Squared’s ability to create a unique and creative environment. It’d be an understatement to say this was a Herculean task on everyone’s part, thank you to all the partners and artists that helped make it possible.

Here’s some footage of Bone performing Crossroadsfrom the Fader Fort at SXSW