Hip Hop mogul Jay-Z has reportedly bought his way out of album obligations with Def Jam records.

Jay-Z had one contractual album left with the label, presumably the "Blue Print 3" release. However, it appears as if Jay is ready to move on and will allegedly be releasing the highly anticipated LP via his Live Nation partnership, Roc Nation. 

Speaking to RapRadar.com, Jay confirms the move which allegedly ran him about $5 Million.

"I can honestly say, working with Doug Morris and LA Reid has been a unique and fulfilling experience and I respect them immensely.  I've been in the family for almost my entire career.

Doug and I spoke directly and had one of the most unique "negotiations" ever.Doug won the toss but, we both won in the end..

I thank him for allowing me to be a completely independent artist. Not every artist can say they own or are given the opportunity to own all of their music."

This may come as yet another blow to Def Jam as the struggling label may soon be slammed with a lawsuit by it's former co-founder, Russell Simmons. 

Sometimes actor and sometimes rapper Nick Cannon may be taking Emimen's comments in a recent track slightly more serious than his wife, Mariah Carey.

 

After taking offense to Em's lyrical tirade on "Bagpipes From Baghdad," Cannon took to his blog with a lenghty post firing back at Eminem.

When asked by a paparazzi what she thought about Eminem's comments, Carey replied "Who?...I don't eat candy."

There you have it folks, the comeback of the year. 

Relapse Predicted To Sell 600k-650k First Week

In related news, Em's latest effort, "Relapse," is expected to sell 600,000-650,000 copies in the U.S. during it's first week of release, making it the biggest debut so far this year. 

His previous studio album, 2004's "Encore," sold 711,000 copies in its first week.

His best performer was his second album, "The Marshall Mathers LP," which opened with sales of almost 1.8 million copies in 2000 earning it a spot in the Guinness Book of World Records as the fastest-selling Hip Hop album ever.

The man who allegedly shot and killed up-and-coming rapper "Dolla" has been charged with three crimes -- two counts of assault with a firearm and one count of murder.

 

His attorney claims his client opened fire after feeling threatened by the rapper and his entourage during a chance encounter in the restroom of a Beverly Center restaurant. 

According to the Los Angeles Times, Aubrey Louis Berry, 23 , a promoter who had had an altercation with  Roderick "Dolla" Anthony Burton II, at an Atlanta strip club earlier this month, fired at Burton, 21, and two other people who were with him.

“This is not a murder case,” said Berry’s attorney, Howard R. Price.

“At worst it’s a manslaughter case, at best it’s a case of self defense,” he said.

However, L.A. County prosecutors have charged Berry with one count of murder and two counts each of assault with a firearm.

"Our prosecutors believe the evidence was sufficient for a murder filing," said Sandi Gibbons, a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County district attorney's office.

Price said Berry and Burton were involved in an altercation at the Platinum 21 Adult Entertainment club in Atlanta.

Price says Burton and a few members of his crew allegedly beat up Berry.

Berry and Burton happened to run into each other Monday in the restroom of the P.F. Chang's restaurant in the Beverly Center.

Price described the meeting as a “chance encounter:” Berry was meeting with business associates at the eatery, and Burton and his crew had just arrived at the mall after getting off a flight from Atlanta.

Price alleges that the rapper made verbal threats against Berry, who decided to leave the restaurant.

When he got to the mall’s valet parking area, Burton and two other people followed him, the attorney said.  Berry thought Burton was reaching for his waistband and fired his weapon.

According to reports, Berry is cooperating with authorities and has a permit in either the state of Georgia or the city of Atlanta to carry a concealed weapon. 

Berry says he brought the gun to L.A. in a lock box  and that he was at the airport to catch a previously scheduled flight to attend his sister's medical school graduation.

Berry's lawyer denies claims that his client followed Burton and insisted Berry had been in L.A. for a "few days."

Berry is scheduled to be arraigned on Friday. His bail has been set to $5,000,000. 

Earlier this week, New York rapper Jim Jones plead not guilty to misdemeanor assault and battery charges stemming from an incident during a performance in Florida.

 

Jones allegedly punched Damion Johns, 17, of Panama City, on the lip during a March 13 mtvU-hosted Spring Break concert at Boardwalk Beach Resort.

According to The Panama City News Herald, Johns told police Jones asked him to move, and then hit him because he did not move out of the way fast enough.

Johns said he punched Jones back, and that brought the wrath of Jones' bodyguards, who he said threw him to the ground. One bodyguard allegedly held Johns up while the other punched him in the jaw.

Now, a video of the altercation has surfaced and it may help clear Jone's name. The video, posted on Youtube last month, shows two or three large men scuffling with a smaller man wearing a black shirt, and a man identified as Jim Jones standing in the back.

The man identified as Jones appeared to be walking away from the altercation, but returned to pull people away from the fight.

Donny Smith, who shot the footage, said Jones and members of his party were walking through and stopped to take pictures with some girls when Johns asked for a picture with Jones, who declined, and this upset Johns.

"The kid kept calling him out. (Jones) told him a few times, ‘You'd better just shut up, man. Let it go,'" Smith said. "Then somebody in the group cold-clocked the kid, sucker punched him."

"Jim didn't do nothing, just told the kid to back away," Smith said. "He wasn't in the fight at all, never through a punch."

A publicist for Konvict Muzik artist "Dolla," real name, Roderick Anthony Burton II, has confirmed the death of the 21 y/o up-and-comer. 

 

According to Burton's publicist Sue Vannasing, the 21 year old rapper was shot in the head.

Vannasing said Burton and D.J. Shabbazz, another rapper, were waiting at the valet stand after a shopping trip when the shooting occurred.

LAPD Sgt. Ronnie Crump confirmed the victim was shot about 3:15 p.m. yesterday, May 18th,  on the ground floor of the mall. Nearby diners dove for cover when the shots rang out.

Vannasing says Burton's killers  followed him to the mall "because they knew he was coming."

She says the shooting may have been retaliation from an earlier altercation which may have occurred at the airport. 

Burton had arrived at LAX from Atlanta earlier in the day. He was in town to record his debut album.

Burton was rushed to Cedars Sinai Medical Center where he died of his wounds.

Two suspects fled the scene. One in a silver Mercedes Benz SUV. The other in a Nissan Altima.

The suspect who fled from the mall in a silver Mercedes - a black male approximately 20-years old - was arrested at the ticket counter at Terminal 1 at the Los Angeles International Airport.

"The suspect was detained without incident [and] discovered to be armed," said Los Angeles World Airports spokeswoman Nancy Castles.

Funeral services, which will be held in Atlanta, will be announced later, publicist Sue Vannasing said.

This track will be featured on Madlib’s WLIB AM: King of the Wigflip on BBE, dropping September 30th! Cop It!

DOWNLOAD CLICK HERE

 

After their confrontation during the 2008 Ozone Awards in Houston, TX, Mike Jones and Trae The Truth both apologized about the incident, but not necessarily to each other. It seems that both rappers feel it wasn't a good representation of how they wanted their city to look.

Jones said, ""First off before I point any fingers, I personally do want to apologize for the incident that happened at the Ozone Awards. I hope you all don't get the wrong impression of me or my city. If I knew this was going to happen at a big event such as the Ozone Awards, first, I would not have brought my mother and second, I would have done everything in my power to prevent it."

"I am aware of how big this event was for the city of Houston and the entire hip hop community. Please know that I had no intention of tarnishing this great opportunity, nor the experiences of those who participated in it," Jones continued. "I apologize once again for everything that happened but I cannot apologize for having to defend myself from someone bringing unexpected or un-called violence to me and my family at any time."
Trae The Truth also appeared to be apologetic but he didn't hold back any punches either, no pun intended. "I have to take the time out to apologize to the kids, and to anyone who follows and supports my career for what happened at the Ozone Awards this past Monday night," Trae explained. "I told myself that I was gonna do my best for the new era of the streets not to go through the experiences that I go through in life. For a split second, I almost entertained the little-girl tactics of a person who is really irrelevant nowadays."

"Things like this happen in life every day and I do not have the time to entertain this anymore," Trae went on to say. "I would like the world to tell Mr. Jones that he can thank me later for his split second of fame. Right now, I'ma keep it moving."

The outspoken and never shy rapper, Kanye West, will be opening up a Fatburger in Orland Park, which is located on the southwest suburban area of Chicago, next month. According to a spokesperson of Fatburger Corp., Kanye West's KW Foods LLC, has the rights to develop 10 Fatburgers in the Chicago area and plans to open another one in January at 95th and Western Avenue in the Beverly neighborhood.

Fatburger, which primarily calls California home, is a popular fast-food chain. This will be the first restaurant in Chicago.

In other Kanye news, he is expected to produce the majority of Jay-Z's new album , Blueprint 3, alongside producer/friend, No I.D.

In Manhattan federal court yesterday, papers were filed against Taco Bell on behalf of 50 Cent which state "Without seeking or obtaining Jackson's authorization, defendant Taco Bell made him the star and focus of its nation-wide advertising campaign by using his name, persona and trademark to promote Taco Bell's business and products."

Last month, representatives for Taco Bell made what they call a "good faith, charitable offer to 50 Cent." They propositioned 50 to change his nickname to either 79, 89 or 99 Cent for a day while rapping his order at one of their restaurants. In return, the company would make a $10,000 donation to any charity the rapper chose. Their letter stated :

"Dear Mr. Jackson: We know that you adopted the name 50 Cent years ago as a metaphor for change. We at Taco Bell are also huge advocates of change. In fact, for just a few spare coins, we’re giving consumers more variety for less money with our new 79-89-99 Why Pay More value menu . . . So here’s our offer of change to you: For one day this summer, change your name either 79 Cent, 89 Cent or 99 Cent by showing up to one of our more than 5,600 locations nationwide and rapping your order in the drive thru with your new moniker."

This apparently didnt go over with 50 too well at all, as his representatives labeled the letter "a sleazy and ill-conceived publicity stunt by Taco Bell's president, Greg Creed."

The lawsuit also states that "Taco Bell made him the star and focus of its nationwide advertising campaign by using his name, persona and trademark to promote Taco Bell's business and products."

"When my legal team is finished with them, Taco Bell is going to have a new corporate slogan: 'We messed with the bull and got the horns," 50 said.

Without a smash hit single, or a catchy club banger, Mr. Controversy himself Nasir Jones has climbed to the top of the Billboard Charts this week as he knocked off the reigning leader Lil Wayne, selling a total of 187,078 copies. Nas moved to the number one spot on the charts, while also receiving his 5th number one album debut.

The Album which was originally titled "N*****" received plenty of controversy when Nas first revealed what he would call it, but soon changed the album to "Untitled" saying " It doesn't matter what I call this album".

Despite being on top Nas isn't getting complacent as he joined the protest against Fox News today in New York. He also has an appearance scheduled on the Colbert Report on Comedy Central.
"Untitled" was officially released on July 15th. The first single off the the album was "Hero".

In a recent interview with USA Today, Dr. Dre confirmed that Detox is almost complete and we could see it by the end of the year. "I'm just now — over the last couple of months — starting to feel that it's going to be right and it's something I can be proud of, and everybody is going to love it," said the producer extraordinaire. "In a perfect world, I'm shooting for a November or December release."

How exactly did Dre almost single-handedly raise the bar for hip-hop production? He says, "I never set out to do that. I just make the music feel the way I want it to feel and I don't put it out until I'm totally happy with it. Then it does what it does."

Detox has been the subject of speculation since Dre first hinted at the project in 2002. He has been working on the album, which will be released on his Aftermath/Interscope Records label, on and off for four years. He says he has assembled a new crew of musicians, and the beats will be heavily driven by live drums. "We have an entirely new thing going with the drums that's incredible, and we're still developing that." All "the usual suspects" will make guest appearances, including Nas, Jay-Z and Lil Wayne.

It doesn't look like we should expect another album from Dre anytime soon after Detox, which has been talked about being released since 2002. "I'm going to put this record out, promote it, tour and then become a hermit. I'm going to stay in the studio and produce." The article was ended with Dre also stating that instead of working with artists who are already established, he'd rather work with someone new who would be the next big thing. "All I want to do is sit in the studio with that person for a year and try to create another masterpiece."

With more than enough albums to speak for already, Brooklyns number one Emcee, Jay-Z looks to be heading back into the studio to work on another album, and with more than enough producers looking to have their beats on his album, Jay decided to pick one super producer to do it all, Timbaland.

"He wants me to do the whole thing this time around, I'mma make it a classic too. You better believe it. It'll be a monster! I always say this: You get a first single from me, I'mma get you up to gold. And it's hard to get you up to gold in this day and age."

As the producer for Hov's next album, Timbaland is sure that the album will do more than 500,000 records.
"Jay should never chill, we had a long talk, and I really talked to him. Jay-Z does it for the love. That's different. When somebody does it for the love, you don't stop. He has everything, but he's still current. A million people are buying his album regardless.�

There is no set date for the two to go into the studio to begin working but the super producer looks forward to locking up with the Brooklyn bred rapper for several months in order to come out with a great album.

Bay Area "Hyphy" pioneer, Keak da Sneak was arrested a few hours after he attended a funeral. During the apprehension the rapper suffered unspecified injuries which he was treated for. He was subsequently charged with resisting arrest and a firearms charge. Keak remained detained over the past weekend due to a separate outstanding warrant. A Justice Department statement confirmed he appeared before a magistrate judge on Monday July 14. At press time, Keak is scheduled to post bail and be released in the next few days.

Keak's career first began in 1994 when he appeared on C-Bo’s EP The Autopsy. His latest album "Deified" was released through Koch Records on June 10th.

http://www.midigi.com/ac

Lil Wayne has declared it for the last two
years, and if you ask his fans and many groupies they'll agree, but the
man which he idolizes also has dibs on the title even though some say
that Nas is clearly the superior emcee. So after all of the heated
debates, Vibe magazine has decided to do something about the on going
argument for the title of best rapper alive.

This tournament will
poll 64 of the industries "best" rappers/emcees from past and present
to see who comes out as the top dog. Some of the artist that will be
featured in this tournament pool will be, Jay-Z. Nas, Lil Wayne, Joe
Budden, Bow Wow, Trina, Lil Boosie, Soldier Boy,Bun B, Ludacris, and
many more.

"The first round of voting begins July 21.
Each round lasts one week followed by our version of The Final Four."
To make the process even more interactive, fans have the opportunity to
print out the tournament pool and fill it out with their predictions of
who will come out as the winner of best rapper alive.

The tournament will officially begin in six day's with the voting process lasting a week at a time per round.

William Troy McCune, aka 'Supreme', is suing
filmmakers for $20 Million in damages for his unauthorized appearance
in the 2007 movie "Notorious B.I.G.: Bigger Than Life". The movie ,
which was a documentary on the late hip-hop great, Notorious BIG, is at
the forefront of this lawsuit. McCune claims that he was never
contacted or gave permission for the filmmakers to use video footage of
him in a freestyle battle on the street in Brooklyn. In the lawsuit he
states that he suffered "irreparable harm, mental distress, and
disturbance of his peace of mind".

 And although the battle
happened over 14 years ago and shows BIG getting the better of him,
McCune says that's not the reason for the lawsuit. He claims his suit
is soley based on the fact that the production company used that video
without his permission.

Following the release of a song
called "The Giant," rumors began to swirl that Detroit rapper Obie
Trice had been dropped from his label of eight years, Shady Records.
Lyrics like "Nope, no more second place to Eminem / question if I was second is the question to many men," further
encouraged this logic. Shady Records issued a statement today,
confirming Obie's drop from the label. Paul Rosenberg, Eminem's manager
and long time friend, said "Shady Records has agreed to allow Obie
Trice to pursue his craft in a different form free from the constraints
of the current major label model." A fan of Eminem & Obie
collaborations? No worries, as Paul Rosenberg also confirmed that Trice
will continue to work with Mr. Slim Shady himself, and that he still is
a close friend of both Eminem and the record label.

Listen to Obie Trice-The Giant here http://www.midigi.com/obietrice

Following the recent release of Obie Trice's song "The Giant", it looks like the Detroit MC is no longer a part of Shady/Interscope records. No word yet on WHY this purportedly happened but it would appear that it is true judging from his lyrics.
"Well, no more Shady. Guess it was meant/For me to branch off from my Caucasian friend/Nope, no more 2nd place to Eminem/Question if i was 2nd is the question to many men/No disrespect to Em, he's first/Anything after, research the verses."
Trice was scheduled to release his 3rd album later this year titled, "Bottoms Up". An unknown source stated that Trice had been "dropped off of the label for unknown reasons." It is specualted that Obie was either upset with Interscope for the way he was treated, or that he was tired of trying to overcome the shadow of his mentor Eminem. 

Listen to Obie Trice-The Giant here http://www.midigi.com/obietrice

Rapper DMX was arrested yet again this week after he allegedly attempted to purchase $45 in cocaine and weed from an undercover officer in Florida. According to police officials, Earl Simmons, aka DMX, 37, approached the officer and asked to purchase "30 powder and 15 weed." X was just arrested last Monday on a warrant for driving wihtout a valid license and was later released after posting a $500 bond.

The rapper also us awaiting trial in Arizona where he is facing animal cruelty charges after a raid at his Maricopa County home. He is currently in custody at the Miami-Dade county jail.

Multi-million selling artists The Clipse, have recently linked up with indie label Koch Records for the long-awaited Re-Up Gang album. Formed in 2004, The Re-Up Gang consists of Pusha-T and Malice of Clipse and Philadelphia natives Ab-Liva & Sandman. After playing a vital role in the success of the We Got It 4 Cheap mixtape series, Ab-Liva & Sandman are looking to find the same recognition as their predecessors.

Slated to be released August 5th, the album will feature nine brand new cuts and three unreleased remixes from the third volume of the We Got It 4 Cheap series. "Everything happens for a reason. We put out the We Got It 4 Cheap series on our own for the streets and that helped keep us visible and build the Re-Up name as an entity," says Pusha-T of The Clipse.

"This time, [our manager] Tony Draper got with [Koch General Manager] Alan Grunblatt to put together an official album with new music and let Koch Records do what they do best. This release gives us something fresh in the marketplace to reward Re-Up fans while we continue to work on the Clipse album." Kicking off the buzz for the album is the Scott Storch-produced single "Fast Life", which is destined to become a strip club anthem.

Despite already having stake in the New Jersey Nets, it looks like Hip Hop Mogul Sean "Jay-Z" Carter may be looking into investing in America's favorite past time, and is looking to buy shares into the New York Yankees.
Along with shares in the New Jersey Nets, Jay-Z also has his sports club franchise 40/40, so he is no stranger to making investments. Just recently, he singed a $150 million dollar deal with Live Nation, as well as an advertising company with Steve Stout.

Jay had also been in talks to invest in a soccer team based in London "Arsenal Football Club" but the deal never happened."I had invested in the Nets, and they (Arsenal bosses) asked me if I was interested in investing. But I get that from time to time," Jay told London's Time Out magazine. "Someone told me yesterday that someone else had a piece of the New York Yankees, 'We wanna talk to you, yadda yadda yadda.' I mean, I love the Yankees so I'm in the middle of following that through, but sometimes it comes to be nothing. That (Arsenal) was one of the times it came to nothing."

Ali Vegas - That's Nothing on Vimeo.

The long awaited follow-up to his 2006 Grammy nominated album , "Hip Hop
Is Dead" will be released next mid-month. The first  single,
"Hero," produced by Polow Da Don, leads off the controversial new
album. Producers on his next venture will include Grammy award winner
Mark Ronso, Stargate, Cool & Dre, Jay Electronica, And Stic.man Of
Dead Prez.

 The sure to be classic is still "Untitled", as Nas
decided to change it recently from "Nigger" which brought along a
firestorm of critics and controversy.

Looks like someone is telling 50 what to do
these day's, as State Supreme Court Justice Carol Edmead mandated that
50 keep the long Island Mansion that recently burnt down due to what
authorities are calling a suspicious fire.

According to the Associate press "Judge Edmead also ordered the Queens rapper to deposit the insurance
payout into a trust fund until the outcome of his legal dispute with
ex-girlfriend Shaniqua Tompkins."

Before the flames had a chance to die, 50's baby mother Shaniqua
Tompkins wasted no time in telling everyone willing to listen that she
felt that 50 had something to do with the fire, and that he had
threatened to kill her. She also said that 50 had promised to buy her a
house ten years ago but had recently changed his mind attempting to
have her and their ten year old son evicted.

50 and his group G-unit [Tony Yayo, and Lloyd
banks] are preparing for the release of their sophomore album Terminate
On Sight, scheduled for a July 1st release. No further details about
the fire has been revealed about the fire.

Luniz frontman Numskull, is currently at Santa
Rita Jail in Dublin, CA, which is right outside of Oakland. He has been
in custody since January 24th and is facing 15 felony charges, which
was 3 more than he had at his last court appearance in late May of this
year. The long list of charges includes two counts of sodomy, one count
of rape of a victim incapable of
consent, one count of oral copulation against the victim’s will and
three counts of corporal injury to a cohabitant.

Numskull, whose
real name is Garrick Demond Husbands, was previously convicted on drug
charges in 1993, is also charged with
three counts of possession of a firearm by a felon, two counts of
dissuading a victim from reporting a crime, one count of making
criminal threats and two counts of vandalism over $400. The artist
faces a minimum of 25 years to life and would have to register with the
State of California as a sex offender. His bail is currently set at
$245, 000.

Somewhere in the world, a
wise man once said that you should never bite the hand that feeds you,
so before things could get to0 ugly, the self proclaimed "rapper eater"
tried to clear the air regarding his feelings on the mixtape industry
and its djs.

“First off I ain’t mean to disrespect no deejays, no mixtape
deejays, whatever kind of deejay you is, there was no kind of
disrespect, especially given the fact that me and Drama, me DJ KHALED and me and my homeboy Raj Smooth from New Orleans, we all get it in and do the mixtape thing. So given that fact, I think things were blew out of proportion." Said Weezy during a conversation on DJ Drama's Shade45 show.

Without having an album out Lil Wayne was able to reach superstar status as an artist mainly through music
that was being brought to the public via mixtapes, so when his comments
were first heard, many were upset and even confused by his comments.
Wayne went on to explain that his comments were geared to one person
and one person only.

“This Empire ****, I don’t **** with him. For all deejays I just want you to know that, that diss was meant for that Empire ****. I don’t **** the Empire ****. The **** put a CD out on me every month and I couldn’t tell you how none of them niggas look in person,”

Empire
is the man that produces the popular series, " The Drought Is Over",
but after offering what seemed like an apology to the DJ community,
Wayne reignited some fires.

“Whoever got soft feelings and whoever took what I said and wants
to feel some kind of way, I want you to know, please don’t feel
different after you hear me on this right here, I want you to still feel like saying ‘**** that ****’ cause when
you see me in the streets I want it to be that because I’m going to
bite your fucking face off.”

Despite Weezy's
explanation,the consequences of his actions are well underway with the
leaking of his highly anticipated album The Carter III, weezy fans
everywhere were given an early present when the album was leaked
through the internet over the weekend. The man who claims to be
responsible for the leak sent an email blast saying.

"Lil Wayne said '**** mixtape
DJ's'...so now i'm about to show that boy the meaning of bootleg...I'll be damned if I let anyone get away with saying ****
me without him facing some type of repercussions, including." he then went on to say "Don't buy the new Lil Wayne album. Download it for free." Making the album available for download, via a link to a download site.

Just months after the mother of rapper Kanye West tragically passed away, a California judge has granted Kanye the right to assume total control of her estate.

According to E! news, "In court documents filed April 18 in Los Angeles Superior Court the rapper requested that he and business
manager Shawn Gee be designated co-executors of Donda's assets, valued
at $150,000."

When Ms Donda West Died she did not have a will, and according to state law her son was named her sole heir.

Since
her death, California legislators have been bouncing around new laws
and regulations that would help incidents that may have prevented Ms
West's death from happening.

Kanye's cousin and his
mothers niece, Yolanda Anderson, has begun lobbying legislators to
bring in a bill that would make a physical examination mandatory before
all cosmetic procedures.

Donda West died of a heart attack, after having cosmetic surgery.

 

Just day's after 50's mansion
burnt to the ground, police have found a five gallon gas container in
the mansion, adding to the suspicion that the fire may have been
intentional.

The fire, which occurred early Friday morning, destroyed 50's 2.4
million dollar home, located on Dix Hills, Long Island, and sent his
baby's mother, son, and six other people to the hospital.

Arson
Investigators have not determined the cause of the fire, but have been
suspicious of the cause of the fire from the beginning because of how
quickly the entire mansion was engulfed in flames.

Tompkins, 50's baby mother, wasted no time to accuse the rapper of
having something to do with the fire, as well as questioning his status
as a father by accusing the G-Unit rapper of not checking in on his son
after the incident.

While returning to the site of the fire, Tompkins screamed out "Tell him [50] to call his son"

Despite her accusations, 50 has denied having any involvement with the fire, and said he was happy no one was hurt.

50 Cent and Tompkins will continue their dispute over ownership of the mansion in the Manhattan Supreme Court on June 10.

Buket getting World Wide Recognition on NEWS


This video above was used on several stations last night to talk about a tagger named bucket that got busted for tagging all of L.A. & causing over $300,000.00 in damages.the problem was that Evidence of dilated peoples was not the tagger.he was giving a drop for bucket & most of the public mistook Ev for bucket, so EV issued a press statement that appears on his myspace page. Heres a link to one of the news broadcasts from last night
http://cbs2.com/video/?id=68144@kcbs.dayport.com

Evidence says, I only met Buket once when I was asked to do a promo for an internet show, however Im obviously not him and find it humorous how the media didnt take the time to figure this out before running such an extensive story.

Evidence explains how he was approached by Yazdani over a year ago and asked to say a few promotional words on film. Unbeknowest to the celeb endorser his words would be edited and used as an introductory segment running prior to footage of Yazdani making his tag mark on the 101 Hollywood Fwy. The segment entitled War 4 circulated on Youtube.com and was watched by over 500,000 viewers. Video images of Evidence were accidently pulled by the Los Angeles Times when Yazdani was taken into custody, thus mistakenly identifying the MC for the notorious tagger. The rapper explains, In my line of work anytime someone asks me for a recorded or live video promo Im always glad to do it. I have co-signed thousands of Internet, Radio and TV shows as well as various other forms of media. This could have happened to any entertainer, not just me.
War 4 Venem MSK (This is a video response to Buket TKO)


FOX News L.A. Taggers

New York rapper Nas is still determined for his controversial entitled album to hit the streets--one way or another. According to Dj Green Lantern, the Queens bred MC will be releasing a mixtape bearing the scrapped album title.

"The Nigger Tape" is said to feature exclusive tracks, remixes and outtakes, including an unreleased verse from Nas’s recently released “Be A Nigger Too,” Black President,” a cut initially slated to appear on Green’s Barak Obama mixtape and “Legendary,” the theme song to a forthcoming Mike Tyson documentary.

A new version of “The Last Real Nigga Alive,” which originally appeared on God’s Son, is also expected to make the final cut. 

“I guess it shows you the power of Wal-Mart and Target,” Green tells Rhapsody regarding Nas’ title switch. “If that was the case, it’s definitely scary because it kind of fucks with your artistic vision. But Nas and DJ Green Lantern are coming out with a mixtape called The Nigger Tape. Can’t nobody hold that back.”

No word as to when the tape will be released but it will be featured on www.mixtapesite.com

An employee of New York rapper 50 Cent has been arrested once again after he allegedly attacked a woman at the rapper's Connecticut mansion.

According Newsday, Farmington police say a 22-year-old New Britain woman called cops to the mansion claiming 27-year-old Dwayne Mckenzie choked her and struck her with a belt during an argument.

McKenzie has been was charged with assault, strangulation, breach of peace and unlawful restraint. He was released after posting $10,000 bond and is due back in court on July 15th. 

Mckenzie was already on a conditional discharge after he was arrested late last year in Hartford for allegedly pistol-whipping a nightclub promoter.  

According to reports, that disagreement allegedly began when Allison refused to announce an after party to be held at Fif's house.

Reportedly, McKenzie drove up to Allison and asked him to promote the after party.

Allison then told McKenzie, "You don't call someone up threatening to smack them because they don't big you up in the club."

McKenzie allegedly then jumped out of his Cadillac Escalade and hit Allison in the chin and again in his right eye with a pistol.

Controversial New York radio personality, Dj Star, of Star & Bucwild fame, has lost a lawsuit he filed against New York City councilman John Liu for defamation of character.

The lawsuit stemmed after Star, real name Troi Toraine, was briefly charged with child endangerment and fired from New York's Power 105.1 after making sexually charged comments towards Hot 97.1's Dj Envy's daughter and offering listeners $500 for information about the child's school. Torain also used a racial slur to describe Envy's wife, who is part Asian.

Toraine then filed suit against John Liu after he called him a "sick, pedophile" claiming defamation of character. The suit was thrown out causing Torain to appeal the ruling. 

The  federal appeals court says the councilman did not defame the dj noting that under New York and federal law, expressions of pure opinion rather than statements of fact are protected by the Constitution.

The appeals court said a reasonable listener of the statements could not have believed that they were intended to convey objective facts in the context they were made.

Hip Hop power player Kanye West along with rappers Common, Redman, and Method Man have been named in a lawsuit filed by the daughter of late Jazz musician Joe Farrell.

The suit filed on May 22nd in the U.S. District Court of New York, claims that the artists as well as their respective labels used Farrell's music without permission.

The lawsuit also names several labels owned by Universal Music Group and accuses the rappers of using portions of Farrell's 1974 musical composition "Upon This Rock" in three separate songs -- Kanye West in "Gone," Common in "Chi-City" and Method Man and Redman in their song "Run 4 Cover."

Kathleen Firrantello is seeking at least $1 million in damages and for further production, distribution, and performances of the songs to be ceased.

Self proclaimed "Harlem's American Gangster" Jim Jones is gearing up for a big summer. With the release of Byrd Gang's debut album on June 24th, and his documentary in the works, Jones has also been busy prepping his major label debut album set to hit store shelves this coming August.

Though details are scarce, the album, tentatively titled "Back 2 Back" will feature appearances from Juelz Santana, Hell Rell, and other members of Byrd Gang. The Runners, Chink Santana, and Dj Khalil have all reportedly contributed productions.

"His new album, I think he might have come up with a classic, and that's me saying that," said Damon Dash regarding Jone's first album under a major record label.

 

Back 2 Back will be released via Columbia Records and is scheduled to his stores on August 19th.

For fans of the Harlem Diplomat who can not wait for the new album, Jones along with his fellow Byrd Gang members will be releasing M.O.B. (Members Of Byrd Gang) on June 24th. 

It seems that the rapper was realizing the impact that the title of the new album was having and in an interview last week with MTV News he said, "Everybody is trying to stop the title.... Record stores are gonna have a problem in this day and time selling a record with that title. Who knows what's gonna turn out and be on that title? Who knows what that title will be?"

 

Knowing that this album has been long-awaited by many fans, Nas said "It's important to me that this album gets to the fans. It’s been a long time coming. I want my fans to know that, creatively and lyrically, they can expect the same content and the same messages. It's that important. The streets have been waiting for this for a long time. The people will always know what the real title of this album is and what to call it."

Las Vegas Promoters Offer Suge 1 Mil To Fight

We know you're on the edge of your seats for this one. Former Deathrow Records founder Suge Knight might get a chance to redeem himself after being knocked out this past weekend.

According to TMZ, Las Vegas promoters are looking to put on a Pay Per View "rematch" between Suge Knight and the guy that knocked him out in front of an L.A. night club.

The rematch would be a bare knuckle cage fight scheduled to go down on New Years Eve and would net the winner $1 Million.

The only problem?...The one punch wonder is nowhere to be found. 

Lil Kim Awarded 500k In Lawsuit Against Lil Cease

Rapper Lil Kim was awarded half a million dollars yesterday in a lawsuit against one-time rhyme partner, Lil Cease, real names James Lloyd.  

According to the New York Daily News,  Manhattan federal Judge Jed Rakoff found that Lloyd  and his company, Ground Zero Entertainment, used Lil Kim's name and likeness without her permission for a DVD about Junior Mafia.

Lil' Kim originally had filed a $6 million suit against Lloyd, who had testified against her in a criminal trial that ended with her conviction for lying to a grand jury.

 

Chicago MC Kanye West continues living the good life with a critically acclaimed album and the sold out "Glow In The Dark Tour," Kanye has now been nominated for three BET Awards.

Also leading the pack in nominations is vocoder wizard, T-Pain, who leads with five nods for his solo works as well as his numerous collabos on tracks with Chris Brown ("Kiss Kiss"), Kanye West ("Good Life") and Flo Rida ("Low"), he was also nominated twice in the video of the year category.

 The BET Awards will be presented on June 24th, in Los Angeles.

Nelly and Usher are among those expected to announce the nominations on BET's "106 & Park" later today (Thursday).

Usher is also set to perform on the live June broadcast, as well as Lil Wayne, Blige and Mariah Carey.

Mary J. Blige, Alicia Keys and newcomer Flo Rida received a pair of nominations each, while R&B singers Estelle and Raheeem DeVaughn received one nod each.

 

Atlanta rapper Big Boi has been out of the spotlight and off the charts for quiet some time now. That, however, is about to change as he gears up to deliver his first solo album, "Sir Luscious Left Foot...Son Of Chico Dusty."

The LP, which is set to hit stores this coming August, is being produced mostly by Organized Noize, who handles a vast amount of Outkast's material including the entire Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik LP and "So Fresh, So Clean" from Stankonia.

"I'm shooting to finish the album by the end of August," Big Boi tells Billboard.com.

"This album is Big Boi to the extreme," he continues. "It's like a recession special. I'm talking about what's going on in the world, with everything from rising gas prices to the election. It's just my insights on life up to this point."

Mary J. Blige, Andre3000, T.I., & Raekwon have all been confirmed to be appearing on the album.

The first single, "Royal Flush" featuring Andre 3000 and Wu-Tang Clan's Raekwon has already hit the airwaves with a video in the works directed by Bryan Barber.

The second official single will be "The World is Too Big" featuring Mary J. Blige.

 

Bronx rapper Remy Ma, real name Remy Smith, has been sentenced to eight years in prison for shooting longtime pal Makeda Barnes-Joseph in the stomach outside of a New York City hotspot.

The 26-year old rapper was facing up to 25 years behind bars for assault, weapons possession, and coercion.

According to the Associated Press, Smith was teary-eyed as she heard the sentence. She says the shooting last summer was an accident; an appeal is planned.   

After the sentencing, Smith's fiancee, Brooklyn rapper Papoose, lashed out against Joseph screaming "All you want is money!" in a hallway outside the court room.

"Lock me up! Lock me up!" he then shouted to court officers, who escorted him out of the courthouse. 

Papoose was sanctioned by Rikers Island officials yesterday after he attempted to give Remy a skeleton key capable of opening handcuffs.

He was banned from visiting Remy for six months.

Remy Ma's lawyer, Ivan Fisher, denies that the key could be used to unlock handcuffs and says the two still plan to wed after the bride-to-be's transfer to an upstate prison.

 

As if the love story of rappers Papoose and Remy Ma couldn't get any stranger after the two decided to go ahead with wedding plans despite Remy Ma being behind bars awaiting sentencing, the two have landed in hot water thanks to Papoose sneaking in a handcuff key to their wedding ceremony at Rikers Island. 

So Was Papoose attempting to set his love bird free?  

According to the New York Daily News, that may very well have been the case. The wedding, which was scheduled to take place yesterday Monday , May 12th, at Rikers Island was called off after officials confiscated a skeleton key capable of opening handcuffs from the Groom-t0-be Papoose.

"A wedding was scheduled today and a visitor to that wedding service was found to be in possession of jail contraband so the wedding was canceled," a corrections official told the Daily News. 

"The key that was found today easily opened handcuffs that we and other law enforcement officials use," the official said.

Though Papoose wasn't charged after he voluntarily gave up the key, he was sanctioned by not being able to visit Rikers Island for six months.

Remy is facing up to 25 years in prison at her sentencing today (Tuesday, May 13th) for shooting her friend Makeda Barnes-Joseph in the stomach last July in the Meatpacking District.

 

Flipmode Squad member Spliff Star, real name William Lewis, was arrested on suspicion of drug possession after an early morning raid of his hotel room produced unidentified substances.

According to the International Herald Tribune, Police spokeswoman Lotta Larsson says Lewis was taken into custody early Sunday after a performance with Busta Rhymes in Stockholm, Sweden.

Concert organizer O&P Worldwide says a police drug squad also raided Busta Rhymes' hotel room but found no drugs.

Lewis was released after providing a urine sample to be tested for drugs. If charged with possession, Williams may be punished by fines or can be facing up to six months in prison.

Is there any actual beef between former G-Unit soldier Young Buck and 50 Cent? According to Buck, though there are differences between the two --there's no beef.

After airing out their situation over the past couple of weeks, Young Buck appeared on XM radio this past weekend and dropped his two cents on various situations including 50 Cent--his chain snatching, G-Unit, Sha Money XL and more.

"A lot of this shit that 50's doing towards my situation, I'm just not used to," he tells Mz. Kitti of XM's Raw 66.

"I'm a street nigga, I ain't used to nigga's just saying shit and just doing any of this shit I'm like 'Hold up.' ... I'm focused at this point and I'mma stay this way. I'm more happier than I've ever been in my career. I ain't lying." He continued.

Buck also took the time to reach out to The Game, acknowledging his support but says he hasn't managed to link up with the L.A. rapper as of yet.

"To the homie Game. I'm aware of you reaching out. I haven't gotten on no phone conversations and actually spoke to Game, but he's reached out to a few people that's around me just to show his support like 'Yo Buck, fuck whatever's going on, I just wanna see your well being, as long as you aight.' "

"That's love and I ain't even got that call from Banks and Yayo, and we ain't got no issues with each other. The issue was from 50."

You can check out a part of the interview below including his thoughts on Tony Yayo, Sha Money XL, 50's Chain Snatchin, and Snoop Dogg.

It looks like the "most feared man" in the music industry isn't as untouchable as many have been led to believe.

According to numerous reports, Suge Knight was involved in a physical confrontation on Saturday, May 10th, which left him unconscious for almost three minutes.

Suge was reportedly involved in a heated argument with an unnamed man at L.A.'s "Shag" nightclub.

When things escalated, Suge and his entourage beat the unidentified man to the ground. However, during the scuffle, the man landed a right hook to Suge's chin, knocking him unconscious.

Witnesses say Knight was out cold for nearly three minutes on the pavement, before awakening and stumbling over to an SUV, where he was driven away from the scene.

He was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment and refused to cooperate with authorities.

Suge is also rumored to have a Reality TV show in the works. You can check out the trailer as well as pics from the scuffle below. 

Yonkers rapper DMX can't seem to stay out of legal trouble as of late. The rapper/actor who's currently working on a double album was arrested last Tuesday, May 6th, after speed-enforcement cameras captured him in his bright yellow 1966 Chevrolet going 114 mph on a suburban Phoenix freeway.

DMX was arrested without incident at his Phoenix home. He posted bond and was later released.

At approximately 48 hours later, DMX was arrested again on drug and animal cruelty chargers.

According to reports, the Maricopa County SWAT team arrested X during an early-morning raid Friday.

Authorities say the rapper at first tried to barricade himself in his bedroom but gave up after noticing the SWAT team entering his home.

Murray Richman, X's attorney, says he made him aware of such a raid after his indictment stemming from an August search of the rapper's home prompted by reports of dogs being abused on his property.

 

During an eight song preview on April 29th, those who had the privilege of attending this event were able to get an Idea of what Commons next album "Invincible Summer" is going to be about. Taking a step back from his usual offerings the Chicago Emcee moves "Invincible Summer" into a spectrum that he feels has never been touched in his career.

In an interview with billboard.com Common spoke about his feelings for this album saying; "I created this music for the summer time, it's about feeling good, this is the type of music I felt was missing from my body of work."

With a release date scheduled for July, Common has plans to release the heart thumping song "Universal Mind Control" as his first single. Changing things up a little, Common strayed from any of Kanye's productions as the majority of the production was done by The Neptunes and Outkast producer Mr. DJ.

But Fans of Kanye and Common should not worry to much as Common say's say's the reason there are no Kanye productions is because, "Kanye was focusing on his 'Glow in the Dark' show, so he hasn't been able to make it to the studio to weigh in, but it worked out well, organically. The Neptunes & Mr. DJ came up with a fresh sound for me."

Fans should expect a little change of pace on commons new single which will have a techno feel to it.

"Invincible Summer" will be coming out almost exactly a year after "Finding Forever was released."

 

In a recent interview with King Magazine, Nas had quite a few bold comments to express concerning the upcoming release of his new album as well as some choice words for certain entertainers.

He spoke about the rumor circling around that Def Jam would drop him if he didn't change the title of his next album, "Nigger".

"Somebody told me that [one] about me getting dropped. That sounds funny, though. I guess that just stays a rumor. But I enjoy those rumors too, because that means there’s fear. That starts a revolution. It sparks something within the hip-hop community, within the streets, within the people outside the streets. It raises an eyebrow to the situation, you know? Nobody wants to deal with the word “nigger,” because what comes with the word “nigger” is a whole history where you show so much injustice, and you show so much that has not been fixed yet. So it’s a scary thing. But it’s also uncomfortable when I’m dealing with it. Like, no one can tell me what to do. None of the black leaders, none of these motherfuckers, record companies, none of them can tell me what to do. Because you can’t stop what I want to do, you understand?".

So what was up with mentioning Tiger Woods on the track "These Are Our Heroes"? What was that about?

"A lot of times, when people look at me, they look too deep into it. Tiger Woods standing up for this white lady who said something about him being lynched is a coon move to me. God bless the brother. I like to see him doing his thing, but that’s a flaw to his character. That’s an issue I would have with Tiger Woods; not who he is married to. I don’t even know who he’s married to. I saw Cuba Gooding do a hand spin or some shit on an awards show—that’s very coonish to me. I can’t remember what Taye Diggs did, but I didn’t know he was married to a white woman. You know who my hero is? Richard Pryor. He was married seven times. My favorite wife of his is Debra, one of the white girls."

How does Nas feel about fans screaming out at concerts to play "Ether" and why did he stop performing it?

"Awww, man… People come to the shows and start to go through eras with me, and that moment right there is the greatest rap battle of this generation. So of course they’re going to chant that shit. After the first year, there was no need to be out there yelling people’s names and cursing them out and shit. In 2003 I brought KRS-One out to Summer Jam, and he told me he don’t like doing “The Bridge Is Over.” I understood. You’re out there saying people’s names that you’ve since reconciled [with]. You’re talking about another person that’s alive, and for the crowd it’s exciting, but for the one who’s saying it, that’s some shit."

What about Nas' longevity in the game? Did he think he would still be making albums in 2008?

"Did I ever see myself on a 10th album? No, because there weren’t long careers for rap dudes back when I did my first shit, especially in New York. You had your Dana Danes, Slick Rick, Beastie Boys, Rakim, Run-DMC, Kool G, you had your superstars; then you had your underground dudes who would survive for two albums. I always saw myself as the more polished underground cat. I didn’t see it really going past the first album. I did not see it. The plan was to get out of the P’s. That was it. Get out the P’s, set up a little something for the homies, go to school, try to learn how to write some other shit, novels, screenplays or figure out what you want to do in life. At the time, we didn’t see any of our generation go platinum until Biggie. Him and Bad Boy showed me how to do it. I just thought it would be one record. At most, two."

Nas has also been tapped to write a new track for an upcoming Mike tyson Documentary which will be scored by Salaam Rami.

You can read the entire interview here.

 

Disturbing Tha Peace boss Ludacris has been rather busy as of late.

Between co-starring opposite Mark Wahlberg in the big screen adaption of Rockstar Game's Max Payne and his role in Guy Ritchie's upcoming mob flick "RocknRolla," the Atlanta bred MC has managed to squeeze in some studio time to complete his forthcoming album, "Theather of The Mind."

The album, which is set to hit stores this September via Def Jam Records, will be Luda's sixth studio release and will feature production from Three6 Mafia's Dj Paul, Dre & Vidal, 9th wonder, Ice Drake and DJ Don Cannon.

"Expect the whole album [to be] theatrical," Luda tells Billboard. Though he hasn't yet chosen a first single, he says that a track should drop by June or July.

New Orleans rapper Lil Wayne can add another notch to his list of accomplishments. 

The "Lollipop" hitmaker who recently did some voice-over work for famed cartoon, The Boondocks, has been casted opposite Forest Whitaker in  an upcoming film  tentatively titled, The Patriots.

The movie, which is directed by Tim Story (Fantastic Four, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer), is about a basketball team that was assembled of players, who attended five different high schools before Hurricane Katrina devastated the city of New Orleans.

Lil Wayne is set to play  a character named "Lamont," who is skeptical of the new teams. The flick is loosely based on a true story and will be hitting theaters around Thanksgiving. 

In related news, Weezy recently sat down with MTV news and discussed some of the details from the long overdue Carter III.

Weezy cleared up the confusion over the various versions of the albums street single, "A  Millie." According to the Young Money CEO, the various versions will take the place of skits on Tha Carter III.

"I'm not gonna have skits on the album. The different versions of 'A Millie' will be where the skits would be," he tells MTV.

"It's gonna be like I'm calling home and the person who's on that track is gonna be, like, inside Tha Carter at that time. Only people I put on there is all new artists — artists I think is gonna be in this music shit for a long time. Tyga, Corey Guns, Hurricane Chris, Lil Mama — it's gonna be ill. On the video, I'm introducing my artist, Lil Chucky. He's 13 years old. He's hot in the South. He's got his own part for 'A Millie' too." 

Weezy also speaks on the album cover--which many fans speculated to be fake.  

"That's me!" he said. "All day. No computers. Only thing [digitally enhanced] was the tattoos. My momma gave me the picture for me to put on the album cover. I don't know where my momma found that picture. My momma, she gave me that and one more. If you would have saw the other picture, you'd be like, 'She got too many pictures.' " 

 The Carter III is scheduled to hit shelves on June 10th.

 

Sources close to the hip-hop star tell me that it was West who ended the engagement after revealing to Phifer: "I just don't think it is going to work out anymore."

The 30-year-old entertainer even asked for his ring back!

The often-controversial rapper/producer got engaged to Phifer while overseas in the fall of 2006.

The two met when Phifer worked as the assistant to West's fulltime wardrobe stylist.

A graduate from the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising (FIDM) in California, Phifer is working on a clothing line and has already designed some dresses that have been worn by artists like Lil' Mo.

Sources close to the couple claim she was also helping West develop his forthcoming Pastelle clothing line.

The Chicago-raised rapper had been dating Phifer on and off since 2002.

The couple broke up in 2004 and he began dating an executive assistant at MTV named Brooke Crittendon.

He and Crittendon allegedly split after she posted a letter about their whirlwind romance on MySpace, a claim she denied in an interview with the now defunct Vibe Vixen magazine.

Crittenden also once told the New York Daily News: "I don't think we've ever been apart longer than seven days. I trust him. He's got so much going on, but he never makes me feel like number two."

Maybe theres now hope for a reconciliation with the 26-year-old Crittendon, now a producer at MTV, and West since he has ended his courtship with fiance Phifer.

A request to West's rep for comment had not been answered at press time.

Seems like the praying Foxy Brown did when she was released from prison helped her out. Foxy has been given probation from an incident that stemmed from last year.

Last Febuary, in a Florida beauty shop Foxy Brown (real name Inga Marchand) was arrested for throwing hair glue and spitting at a store worker. She was also accused of not being cooperative when an officer questioned her about what was going on.

The conditions of the plea agreement include Foxy serving six months probation, 15 hours of community service and she must write letters of apology to the store owner and employee.

She must also take anger management classes and pay for court costs and fines.


Baby D, artist behind the hit single "I'm Bout Money" is currently facing federal charges for allegedly trafficking cocaine.

Baby D's labels, Big Oomp Records & Koch Records released a statement. Baby D was arrested in Dayton, Ohio on March 26th and is currently being held without bail.

Details surrounding the arrest are still sketchy.

Baby D also has three pending assault charges from an incident in Tennessee.

He was preparing to release his latest album A-Town Secret Weapon next week (April 29), no word on if it will be pushed back or not.

The Glow In The Dark Tour (starring Lupe Fiasco, N.E.R.D & KanYe West) which has a date scheduled at Red Rock Station Casinos located in Las Vegas was almost cancelled. Scheduled for Friday, 25th, the tour date was cancelled shortly after the Grammys due to unknown reasons. As soon as everyone was starting to get upset, the tour was already to go again, what happened?

At the time we booked the show, it was prior to the Grammy Awards and the show became bigger in scope and magnitude. The roof system we use at Red Rock was not big enough to accommodate the changes they made. At that point we had to cancel the show,says Station Casinos VP of entertainment, Joe Santiago.

To get the tour back on track in time KanYe asked Red Rock to build an entirely new, temporary venue just for this show.

(Glow In The Dark) became a 15 truck arena show so we created a temporary venue to accommodate this show and thats what we did, he continued. A huge video wall system, big production and, from a visual standpoint, its going to be phenomenal.

Tickets are still available for purchase to the Vegas show. Its believed the show will sellout to the capacity of 7,500 people.

Off the OASIS - Together Brothers album. Produced by Showbiz with cuts by DJ Premier.

Summer hasn't even arrived yet, and Hot 97 is already beginning to build up the hype for Summer Jam. Today on the Angie Martinez show, the radio show host announced the lineup for this years Summer Jam. Including the headliners Kanye West, and Lil Wayne. Both artist attended last years summer jam, but Lil Wayne was the headliner while Kanye showed up during the show and battled Swizz beatz in a beat battle.

Sheek Louch and Styles P From the Lox will also be performing, while crossover rock rap group "Gym Class Heroes" will also be in attendance.

Along with these superstars, R&B artist T-Pain, Ray J, Rihanna, Yung Berg, and Dream will also grace the stage this year, and to top things off their will also be a performance done by Public Enemy.

Fans can begin to buy pre-sale tickets at ticketmaster.com and Summer Jam will take place June 1st at Giants Stadium.

A few days after 50 Cent promised to push The Game's third studio album, L.A.X, back to make way for G-Unit's Terminate On Sight, Interscope decided to step in.

Both albums that were once set to release on June 24 have both been pushed back until a July release.

Terminate On Sight is G-Unit's first group album in 5 years. The Game has stated repeatedly that L.A.X is his final album, citing too much stress among other things for the sudden retirement from Hip Hop.

G-Unit's Terminate On Sight will now hit shelves July 1st, while Game's L.A.X will be released the following week, hitting stores July 8.

For those who don't remember, Snoop Dogg had been banned from the UK from a massive brawl which took place at an airport. Immigration officials believed Snoop's presence was the cause of this huge fight, and that event was in turn used to deny Snoop entry into the country.

A film of the incident tells a different story entirely. The tape shows Snoop entertaining a few young kids. It also showed Snoop being pushed a few times by police and he did nothing in retaliation.

Immigration judge, Nehar Bird, said there was no evidence that the rapper caused any public disturbance. He also stated many of Snoop's scheduled events where a positive thing for the community.

The Home Office hasn't decided whether or not if it will appeal the decision.

In other Snoop news, he has inked a production deal with Extreme Music, a subsidiary of Sony/ATV Music Publishing. He will be producing a multi-CD series titled The G Series, which will include music made by Snoop for commercial projects, TV and film.

“When we decided to produce an urban series, we wanted it to be not only major league but also 200% 'G,' with Snoop holding the reins,” said Russell Emanuel, co-CEO of Extreme Music.

Expect the first installment of The G Series to drop in the fall.

After having Hip Hop websites and Bloggers, going crazy with his recently leaked single "Be A Ni**er Too" the Queensbridge rapper Nas is reportedly planning to release what may be the most anticipated hip hop album of the year "Ni**er"

Although most media outlets had reported that the album would be released in April, it seems that the controversial album is expected to drop July 1st according to a rep of the rapper. Despite receiving some public scrutiny from political activist, it seems that Nas is contempt with the name of the album and has no plans on changing the title.

Hardcore Nas fans as well as casual Hip Hop fans seem to all be very excited about the release about this album. According to Sohh "In a recent survey, out of 1,899 respondents 85.27% said they were not offended by Nas' decision to name his album N*gger, while only 14.73% of those polled said they were."

Nas' album Ni**er is due in stores July 1^st via Def Jam Recordings.

Remy Ma, who was originally supposed to be sentenced on April 23rd after being found guilty of assault and various other charges, has had her date postponed until May 13th. Although she faces up to 25 years in prison after a New York Supreme Court found the rapper guilty of assault, weapons possession and coercion, sources stated that Remy Ma is expected to receive anywhere from three to five years in prison.

The Bronx MC received a guilty verdict after her role in an incident that took place in July 2007, in which Remy Ma accused childhood friend Makeda Barnes-Joseph of stealing $3000 dollars from her purse. An argument ensued and Remy supposedly shot her twice. Her defense team says the gun accidentally went off during a struggle. They have stated they will appeal the decision.

1.Statik Selektah intro (prod. by Statik Selektah)
2.Music Industry Rmx feat. Akrobatik, Royce Da 5′9, Crooked I, and Consequence (prod. by Fizzy Womack)
3.Stop Look and Listen feat. Styles P and Q-Tip (prod. by Statik Selektah)
4.Watch How It Go Down(Rmx) feat. Papoose and Lil Fame of M.O.P (prod. by Dj Premier)
5.Express Yourself feat. Consequence and Talib Kweli (prod. by Statik Selektah)
6.Kilo Rap feat. Big Noyd and Ghetto (prod. by MoSS)
7.Bam Bam feat. Mims and Red Cafe (prod. by Statik Selektah)
8.Play It (remix) feat. Big Shug, Royce Da 5′9, and Singapore Kane (prod. by DJ Premier)
9.About That Time ft. Canibus (prod. by MoSS)
10.Welcome To The Machine feat. Ea$y Money (prod. by Artisin)
11.Different World feat. Prospect (prod. by J. Cardim)
12.50 States feat. Mistah F.A.B. and Ghetto (prod. Raf Moses)
13.Big Dreamers (remix) feat. Krumbsnatcha and Reks (prod. Statik Selektah)
14.Got Em feat. Superstah Snuk (prod. by Twinz)
15.Low IQ feat. Evidence of Dilated Peoples (prod. by Evidence)
16.Place Ya Order feat. E-Flamez (R.I.P.) (prod. Shortfyuz)
17.It’s The ST. feat. ST. Da Squad (prod. by Statik Selektah)
18.The Corner feat. Ras Kass, Doo ****, and D.V. Alias Khryst (prod. by Sketchman)
19.Mami Montana feat. Mami Montana (prod. by Statik Selektah)
20.Circle of Life feat. Lee Wilson (prod. by DC the MIDI Alien)

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD 

Here is the video of Royce 59 performing at Guilty Simpsons CD Release Party at the legendary Shelter in the basement of St. Andrews Hall in Detroit.

Finally past all of his legal problems Busta Rhymes is currently getting ready to release his eighth solo album titled Blessed via

Aftermath/Interscope Records.

The first single, We Made It, will feature the rock group Linkin Park. The video is currently being shot in Los Angeles and is being directed by Chris Robinson. The video is expected to be released in late May.

“ It ain't just about the 'hood, it ain't just about the suburbs, it's about everybody,” Busta said about his collaboration with Linkin Park. “ This is one of those songs that can't be described better than touching the souls of the common people.”

 

Blessed is set to hit stores June 17 and features guest appearances from Mary J. Blige, T.I., Akon, Common, Jamie Foxx & T-Pain. Production features beats from Cool & Dre, Pharrell, DJ Scratch, Sean C and LV, among others

According to NewsNet14 a celebration party for the release of Rollin With Dre, a book about Dr. Dre’s life, ended abruptly after shots were fired ouside a crowded golf course restaurant.

Two men were hit from shots fired, one fatally wounded and the other is currently in critical condition. The cops were called when the shots were heard around 2 a.m., and they arrived to a scene of 200 to 300 people who had been leaving a party at Gordon’s on the Green at Foster Golf Links in Tukwila. The party was held by the authors of the biography.

"When we first got there, there was panic — people were trying to care for the wounded, people were trying to get out of there, people were scared. It wasn't a healthy scene," Tukwila Police Department spokesman Michael Murphy said. "It took about 20 minutes to get everything calmed down."

As the victims were being transported to the hospital over 100 people followed the ambulance to the hospital and created a chaotic scene. Its said some tried to climb in the ambulances as the victims were being taken out onto stretchers.

"We don't know if the victims were involved in a fight or if they were ambushed or what. We just don't know yet," Murphy stated, adding that a number of witnesses refused cooperate with police questioning.

Dr. Dre was not present at all during the book signing or the after party. Rollin With Dre hit stores last month via One World/Ballantine, a division of The Random House Publishing Group.

Suge Knight, the Co-Founder of DeathRow records is taking another shot at the music industry using his new reality show "Unfinished Business" to help push his new label 'BlackBall Records'.

The series will follow Knight around as he lives his everyday life, and give viewers the chance to see the process that occurs while he attempts to build on his new label "BlackBall", with the help of aspiring artist.

The music executive will also reveal details about his stint at Death Row and his dealings with the label’s roster, which included rapper Snoop Dogg and producer Dr. Dre. Suge seems very excited about the show telling the washington post that it will be a hundred percent real.

"It ain’t like the fake reality s**t, It’s a lot of stuff going on but you gotta watch the show to see what it is. It’s like real life, so whatever it is it’s real life. If you see me in 

Compton, I’m in Compton. Watts, South Central, Inglewood wherever the f**k it is. No matter where it is. We do it how we do it."                                              

Before filing for backruptcy Suge had success with his previous label "DeathRow" at the height of the labels popularity they had artist such as Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Tha Dogg Pound, The lady of Rage, and Tupac Shakur on board.

So far no date has been announced for its premiere.

After serving eight months at Rikers Island for violating her parole, Brooklyn rapper Foxy Brown will be released from jail this friday April 18th. According to her manager Chaz Williams, foxy did her entire bid despite attempts to crush her spirit.

"She did every single minute of her bid in jail, and she did it under the most severe conditions, they had her on continuous lockdown just because she is a celebrity. They were trying to break her spirit."

Despite Wiliams claims the Deputy Commissioner of Public Information Stephen Morello, say's that Foxy was placed in protective custody because she requested it. "It is not unique for us to house some inmates separately from the rest of the jail population because their prominence or other circumstances might make them targets. In the case of Ms. Marchand, her detention in a 'protective custody' environment was at her request,"

Whether she requested to be put in isolation or not does not seem to be toiling Foxy, as she is already in the works of trying to pick up the peices of her struggling career. According to her manager, Foxy is in talks with a couple of television stations to air a reality show based on her everyday life.

Along with her imminent return back to society and she will also be promoting for her next album "Brooklyn's Don Diva" which should be out by May 13th through Black Rose Entertainment/Black Hand/Koch.

 

Hip-Hop producer Jermaine Dupri and Island Def Jam have just opened up a new record label, TAG Records, which is a joint venture with Tag Body Spray. Dupri, who will act as president of the New York-based business, will set the creative vision for the label and play an integral part in identifying and developing its musical talent.

It's said that this will be a huge milestone for the music industry as artists will be supported with a multi-million dollar marketing effort that is unprecedented for any new artist, including television, print, radio, digital and event marketing.

"Today, we make history in the music industry with TAG Records," said Jermaine Dupri, president of TAG Records. "This label is going to provide new artists with a chance of a lifetime. New artists will receive ten times the typical marketing support - a first in the industry. I'm hand selecting and molding these artists to make history in hip hop."

 TAG Record's first artist will be officially announced in May. The artist will be given a unique opportunity to merge their music with personal brand marketing.

In addition to an album release, the TAG Brand will showcase TAG Record's artist and Jermaine Dupri across various TAG brand advertising and marketing initiatives throughout 2008.

An Indiana college, Lambda Chi Alpha, was the venue recently for a concert by DMX. The concert was closed down after only three songs. The concert was supposed to start at 8:30 p.m., but it was delayed until 9:30 p.m. because of difficulties getting DMX to the house on time. Lambda Chi Alpha had an agreement with the University that the concert would be over and noise would stop at 9:30 p.m.

Obviously that couldnt happen, so Indiana University police decided to shut down the concert after just 3 songs. DMX was taken off the stage and other officers were called in when the crowd began shouting profanities at the officers.

DMX also had alcohol that he said he would pass around to students, junior Lauren Smith said. “All of a sudden, cops came on the stage so I thought he might be getting in trouble for alcohol,” Smith said.
After students were maced, most rushed into Third Street. Third Street was temporary closed starting at Jordan Avenue, IUPD confirmed.

Mike Patterson, a general contractor who was working security at the show, said that at one point students started rushing the stage. Others at the concert said they did not see anyone on the stage.

“They started throwing things at the police,” Smith said. “It got pretty ugly and we thought people would start getting arrested. I never saw people on the stage. They threw trash, but that was about it.”

 

New details have arisen in the latest controversy surrounding Hip Hop mogul 50 Cent and his G-Unit cohorts.

As we reported earlier, Fif was named in a lawsuit filed by the mother of a teenager Tony Yayo and his posse allegedly assaulted early last year.

According to Reuters, the lawsuit filed by James Rosemond and his mother Cynthia Reed, claims Universal Music Group -- owned by Vivendi SA -- and its labels Interscope Records, G-Unit Records and Shady Records, bear responsibility for the assault because they encourage artists to pursue violent, criminal lifestyles.

"The members of G-Unit, including defendants Yayo and 50 Cent, encouraged, sanctioned, approved and condoned its members threatening violence, and or engaging in violent acts in furtherance of its business," the lawsuit said.

It also states that the attack on Rosemond was intended to "promote and maintain Yayo and 50 Cent's 'gangsta' image," which was "promoted, marketed and advertised" by record labels.

Rosemond maintains that the unprovoked attack was a direct result of a shirt he was wearing which promoted G-Unit's rival rapper, The Game.

50 Cent, Violator Management, Violator CEO Chris Lighty, and Tony Yayo were all named in the suit.

Rosemond and his mother seek unspecified damages.

A Canadian up-and-comer has plead guilty to theft after lifting Kim Mather's cellphone in hopes of getting in touch with Detroit MC, Eminem.

Kyle Pratt was arrested last year after stealing Eminem's ex-wife cellphone at a bingo hall while she was on a smoke break.

Pratt then started calling Em asking him to listen to his demo. Em, not amused by the Canadian teens antics, alerted Detroit police who then contacted Pratt.

Pratt continued on his path to recognition by recording a diss track which contained samples of his conversation with Eminem and the Detroit Police. He was later arrested for theft.

 According to The Windsor Star, Spratt plead guilty to the theft Tuesday and also apologized for snatching the phone.


A Windsor judge would order Spratt to avoid contacting Eminem and his ex-wife. Spratt was also put on a year's probation and fined $230.

“He apologized to the court. He's hoping to move on with his life,” said Robert DiPietro, Spratt's lawyer.

Florida rapper Plies has been hit with a $10 million lawsuit alleging negligence after five concert goers were injured in a 2006 shooting.

The lawsuit filed at the Alachua County civil courthouse Tuesday morning claims Plies, real name Algernod Lanier Washington, Slip-N-Slide Records, and the 238 West nightclub were negligent with the safety of concert goers by allowing weapons inside the venue. 

According to the Gainesville Sun, shortly before the club was set to close on July 2, 2006, Gainesville Police reported members of the rapper's entourage pulled out guns and fired. Five people were injured during the incident involving a sold-out crowd of about 1,000 people who had gathered to see Plies and another performer. 

Police arrested four people including Plies, who later pled no contest to a misdemeanor charge of possession of a concealed weapon.

Gainesville attorney Christopher Chestnut said the five injured concert goers are seeking $10 million in damages.

Plies attorney, Robert Rush, denounced the suit against his client stating “If they're suing Mr. Washington, they're suing the wrong person. He does not have legal liability. It is not an entertainer's job to provide security for a club where the entertainer is performing.” 

 

It seems the weight of the rumors with the addition of Young Buck's recent G-Unit comments have finally taken a toll on 50 Cent.

The New York rapper who has continuosy denied rumors of turmoil between Young Buck and the rest of the group has revealed that Buck is no longer part of G-Unit --the group.

“You can look at it and see that’s Game all the way. I was giving him a chance, giving him the benefit of the doubt." Fif tells Dj Envy and Miss Jones.

You can take this as an official notice right here – pretty much you can say: Young Buck is no longer in the group G-Unit, but signed to G-Unit as a solo artist.”

Complex reported The first (of probably many) CRS inspired t-shirts seems to have hit e-Bay, and it has the Hip-Hop super group members meticulously detailed and ready for war. Pharrell, Lupe and Kanye seem to be draped in BAPE, and even Kanye’s strapping Ato Matsumoto boots make an appearance. The tight-jean trio toting big guns left us a bit confused, being that there’s not three MC’s in the game who put less work in the street—but who wants to get dirty when you’re rocking $300 jeans? Not us. If you’re feeling it (close up shot after the jump), get in an intense bidding war with fellow hipsters, here.

 

New York rapper 50 Cent and his label G-Unit records were once again the center of attention last week after his fellow cohort, Young Buck, claimed he has never received a royalty check from the label.

The revelation, which came to the surprise of many, was then shot down by Buck's manager Sha Money XL, who issued a public release statement claiming Young Buck has been paid over $10 million in royalties.

Now, the boss himself, 50 Cent, has told MTV news that everyone on the label--who has released an album--has earned over $10 million.

"Each person in G-Unit has earned over $10 million in their career at this point," 50 said. "Outside of the guys that didn't release product — M.O.P., Spider Loc, Olivia — the guys that had their project go out physically. I didn't say they have $10 million, I said they've seen $10 million. What they did with their paper, I don't know."

"I think you have to give them [fans] something to blow outta proportion." 50 says of the latest rumors.

"Buck did that. I think that what he was saying, in order to validate himself as a man, he feels he has to go against what I'm doing, similar to some of the things we've seen from Game ... [But then] he'll back off of it, when we're in direct conversation.

When he's out in public, he'll say something. They're like my younger brothers, but they'll do **** for attention."

 

It looks like rumors of Jay Z pursuing his own label venture weren't that far off. The hip hop power player has will soon be signing a multi-million dollar deal with Live Nation.

According to The New York Times, as part of the roughly $150 million partnership, to be called Roc Nation, Live Nation would finance future start-up ventures by Jay-Z, which could include his own label, music publishing, and artist consulting and managing.

Jay Z, who has one contractual album left under his current contract with Def Jam records, will also be getting advanced payments of $10 million for a minimum of three albums.

Along with future touring, the 10-year deal could include certain publishing and licensing rights.

Though all the details of the deal aren't clear, sources claim it will be finalized by months end.

"They think I'm crazy," 50 told MTV last week in his Connecticut mansion, chuckling about what Eminem and Shady Records tell him about giving away so much material for free. "Sometimes [Em] misses why I put it out. He goes, 'Why did you put it out?' But I can't be as hot as I'm gonna be if I don't play around. I gotta spar before I go fight the champ. That's my concept of it. If I don't go out and make material and lock in, I'm not gonna make the best possible material for the next [official] project."

Lately he and Fat Joe have been going back and forth in interviews, songs and Photoshopped pictures on the Web. "The Hip-Hop Weekly [a fake cover] came out, and it was a thing with [Benzino] supposed to be [sleeping] with Fat Joe's wife," 50 said. "I didn't make that. I didn't have anyone [Photoshop] that. Why would you do that? I work for Hip-Hop Weekly? They'll know that there are issues between me and Joe, so when he approaches them, they'll say, 'Nah, it must be 50. You know how 50 is.' But I didn't care, 'cause I don't like Joe neither. It doesn't matter to me that they did it, but it didn't come from me."

 Fans can expect a new album from G-Unit, tentatively titled "Lock And Load", to hit shelves by the end of the summer. 

Beanie Sigel returned to his second home on Friday for violating his supervised release for a third time…not once…not twice…three times. Sigel, whose real name is Dwight Grant submitted a fake urine sample and tested positive for controlled substances that included Xanax and Percocet.

• Sigel’s crimes over the years have been:
• Attempted murder charges in 2003 (acquitted in 2005)
• Drug and weapons charges in 2004 (one year in jail, 2 years of parole)
• Submitting fake Urine and testing positive for illegal drugs in 2008 (he’s getting 3 months in prison followed by a year of parole and drug treatment)
• Assortment of parole violations

U.S. District Judge R. Barclay Surrick rejected the request by Sigel’s attorney that would allow Sigel to “self-surrender”, meaning he would surrender to authorities after getting his affairs in order. Surrick cited that Sigel had been “given the benefit of the doubt many times before”.

Sigel was already serving time for consorting with a convicted felon in Atlantic City and was ordered not to leave Philadelphia. This was around the same time he released his album The Solution.

Sigel claimed that he was an addict and had a relapse.He also said that by not being able to travel, he was under financial pressure. This financial pressure included a soon-to-be foreclosure of his house since he wasn’t able to perform in concerts, which he said was his main source of income.

Sigel admitted to screwing up but added “I’m losing everything because of this situation”.

Surrick replied with “I’ve heard your explanation, but that does not excuse your conduct.”

 

New York rapper Prodigy began his 3 1/2 years bid last week after numerous delays.

Prodigy, who was convicted of Criminal Possession Of A Loaded Weapon, had his jail bid postponed for 30 days after being admitted to the emergency room on January 7. He was released the same night.

It is rumored he was admitted from some complication of his Sickle Cell Anemia. His sentence was then set to February 13th, that however was also postponed.

Fans of the rapper need not worry however, as the Queens MC plans to keep everyone updated via his blog which he says he'll be updating on the regular from behind bars.

His latest solo effort, H.N.I.C. 2 is scheduled to hit stores on April 22nd, while his yet to be titled autobiography is still being wrapped up.

"I got an autobiography coming out soon," says the Shook Ones hitmaker.

"It's not some silly little book, this is my life story, my legacy, and my family tree. I'm talking a very serious read, about 500 pages that I wrote myself full of pictures that will show you everything ya reading from start to finish. This is guaranteed to be one of the best, if not the best hip-hop autobiography that's ever been published," he continued.

According to Prodigy, the book will be released via Vigliano Associates, a literary firm who has represented eight #1 New York Times best sellers and boasts an impressive list of celebrity clientèle including Shaquille Oneal, Britney Spears, David Blaine, Alicia Keys, and Walter Payton.

"I'm the only rapper that they've decided to represent. I'm finishing the last 50-75 pages while I'm locked up and it'll be released soon after my H.N.I.C. 2 album drops."

 

Here is Jay-Z - Aint I (prod. Timbaland) NoDJ version.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD

 

 

taken from mixtapesite.com 

Here is Video from Tues March 25 at St Andrews Hall / The Shelter Detroit for Guilty Simpson CD Release Party.

check out www.midigi.com/guiltysimpson for more exclusives.

Royce Da 59 LIVE at Guilty Simpson CD Release Party Video coming soon!

Part 1 Part 2

New York rapper Remy Ma has been found guilty on three charges stemming from a 2007 incident in which she fired two shots at a long time friend after suspecting her of stealing $3,000 from her purse.

According to the Herald Tribune, Remy Ma was led out of a Manhattan courtroom today (Thursday, March 27th), weeping and in handcuffs after being convicted by the jury.

The defense had conceded that the entertainer fired a shot towards childhood friend Makeda Barnes Joseph, but said it was an accident.

Remy was convicted for assault, weapon possession and attempted coercion but was acquitted of witness tampering and gang assault, charges related to a Bronx nightclub attack on the boyfriend of a witness who ultimately testified against her.

Remy was ordered to be held without bail and faces up to twenty-five years behind bars. Her sentencing is scheduled for April23, 2008.

"Remy's taking this very, very hard. She didn't anticipate this," defense lawyer Ivan Fisher said after the verdict. He added that the rapper had not prepared her 8-year-old son for her imprisonment.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — The U.S. Justice Department approved the merger between satellite radio companies Sirius and XM Monday, more than a year after the two companies first announced their deal.

In its decision, the Department of Justice had to determine whether an XM-Sirius merger was anti-competitive, or if other media companies such as Clear Channel (CCU, Fortune 500), CBS (CBS, Fortune 500), or even Apple (AAPL, Fortune 500) with its iTunes software and iPod music player served as alternate options for music and media customers.

 

The Federal Communications Commission must also approve the deal before it can officially be completed. The FCC has yet to make a decision on the deal.

The merger would combine the nation’s only two satellite radio companies and create a company with about 14 million subscribers. It would bring together Sirius’ most well-known content, including Howard Stern and National Football League games with XM’s Major League Baseball as well programming from Oprah Winfrey.

Shares of XM (XMSR) and Sirius (SIRI) both rose after the announcement.