“There’s a lot more business involved [in putting out an album] than the general public is aware of. And that part causes the actual delay with [Interscope]. I’m releasing my album July 3rd, whether is has commercial promotions or not,” he told AllHipHop exclusively. “My birthday is July 6 and I planned for it. And I’m doing everything that I planned to do regardless if its huge airplay or not. I could care less, I’m putting the record out.”

The untitled album has been in the works for a number of months and is reportedly finished at press time. Another project, Black Magic, was almost the fifth album from 50, but he scraped the entire project. Since his debut, Get Rich Or Die Trying, all of 50′s albums have been released via Interscope.

He said that the freedom from concerns of sales and business have helped him produce music closer to his heart.

“I don’t need a record to sell. How much money you think I’ma make off record sales? You think I’ma sell 13 million records?” Its starting to feel like that corner that I left,” 50 Cent explained, stressing that music’s ability to make money is now very limited. “I ain’t going to keep sitting on the records. Even if everything ain’t in order, album five will be out July 3 and they can wait another two years for me to give them another one.”

“I have new ideas so my passion for making the music hasn’t gone anywhere. That’s why I’m making music for free. The mixtape is for free unless DJ Drama is getting some paper I don’t know about. I need a piece of that paper,” 50 joked.

“Its not about the money,” Drama replied. “Its about the music.”

And musically, 50 delivers.

The Lost Tape, a 15-track opus, features cameos from Eminem, Snoop Dogg, Jeremih, Precious Paris, Kidd Kidd and beats from a number of producers like IllMind and Araab Muzik.

50 Cent explained The Lost Tape was the culmination of an attempted collaboration dating back to 2007.

“At the point is when the actual network of technology started kicking in. I started thisis50.com. So, started to put mixtapes out without actually having a DJ brand on it,” he explained. “It drove traffic to the site. It was effective there, so I said we might as well go and do [the mix tape with Drama.]“

He also said he wanted to get back to the real taste makers like DJ Drama, not bloggers that have begun to curate the culture.

“My entire career I’ve been happy with the launch of my material. I only put music out on the mixtapes to develop a consistency, because I believe consistency is the key to all success. And I’m giving out samples. If we selling dope, we gonna give out a few sample so the fiends know exactly what to expect. Drama and Gangsta Grillz is the biggest [mixtape] brand standing.”

Drama, a native of Philadelphia, explained his role in The Lost Tape at a time that seems particularly pivotal in 50 Cent’s illustrious career.

“I had my input, you know. I listened to the record upfront and we swapped out a few records to make this tape what is actually is today. When it becomes my brand, I like to treat them as albums,” Drama said. “And with Fif, because our brands are so strong, and the relevancy to the mix tape game, it would be a lot of eyes so I wanted to make sure we put the most potent project out – possible.”

Drama also said 50 Cent would be taking the mix tape hustle to the viral market as he has in the past, but to the next level.

“He’s doing a viral to every song. You know, every song will have a video. We worked on what were the strongest songs. Basically, treat it like an album, something people would flock to once they got an album,” Drama said.

Interscope has not release a statement or confirmation as to the release date for 50′s new album.

In the meantime, download or listen to The Lost Tape below.

The rapper expressed his exuberance on Twitter.

“RALEIGH, NC we on da wayyyyy!!! TurnUPPP,” he said via the social network.” 2 Chainz was en route to Raleigh to join Drake and Meek Mill for the Club Paradise.

He also posted a picture of himself boarding a private jet from Instagram (seen below).
The rapper also spoke to his detractors who expressed joy that he was temporaroily locked up. “Sorry to alll the negative people who wanted me out the way…kant let u have the game bak that ez…”

2 Chainz also expressed frustration that he lost other material goods from the airport, but was ultimately happy to be free.

After a number of comedians were tasked with hosting the awards show in years past, and for 2012 BET has given host duties to the highest grossing actor of all time, Samuel L. Jackson.

“We are massively excited about having Sam Jackson host the BET Awards,” Hill exclaimed. “His wit, presence, and gigantic personality are the perfect match for our show.”

Hill also revealed that, alongside a panel that included 2012 BET Awards nominees like A$AP Rocky, Big Sean, Melanie Fiona, DJ Khaled, Diggy Simmons, Astro, and Mindless Behavior, Chris Brown and Nicki Minaj would be performing at this year’s show. He promised that more announcements regarding performers would be made in the near future.

“Cadillac Lifetime Achievement Award” recipient Frankie Beverly was also on-hand at the nomination event to speak on the prestigious honor of being recognized as part of the group Maze featuring Frankie Beverly.

Regarding nominees, Kanye West unsurprisingly leads the pack with seven nominations, some of which include “Best Collaboration,” “Video Director of the Year,” and five more with Watch The Throne member, Jay-Z.

Beyonce received six nominations, such as “Best Female R&B Artist” and two nods for “Video of the Year” for “Countdown” and “Love On Top.”

Speaking on his Best New Artist nomination, A$AP Rocky told AllHipHop.com, “It feels great, and I’m happy. That’s a really big deal so I’m happy for that. You couldn’t tell me in May of last year that we would be doing this. I wouldn’t have expected it, so I feel blessed and I just thank God all the time.

“The fans are the most ultimate importance of everything,” A$AP Rocky stated. “Without them there is no movement, and I’ve got a lot of supportive people right now and it’s crazy ’cause I didn’t expect this. I didn’t imagine none of this.”

For a full list of nominees, visit BET.com.

The 2012 BET Awards will air July 1 at 8pm only on BET

.

The experiences of the Tuskegee Airmen are highlighted in Red Tails, a film produced by George Lucas [theatrical release date: January 20, 2012]. The film was directed by Anthony Hemingway and based upon a screenplay crafted by John Ridley and Aaron McGruder.

In support of Red Tails’ DVD release today (May 22), Dr. Brown spoke with AllHipHop.com about his Air Force experience, life under “Jim Crow,” and the value of education:

AllHipHop.com:  Long before you became a Tuskegee Airman, at what point in your childhood did you become interested in aviation?

Roscoe Brown:  At that time, aviation was very new, and Charles Lindbergh had flown across the Atlantic Ocean. When I was a kid about six years old, my parents took me to the Smithsonian Institution to look at the Spirit of St. Louis plane, and I became interested in aviation. Aviation was only about thirty years old when Lindbergh flew across the ocean. During the 1930s, they had air races. Many of us made airplane models, and we flew models of World War II planes and racing planes. Many of us wanted to be pilots, but because of the racism and the segregation, we didn’t have the opportunity. I grew up in Washington, D.C., which was a segregated city, and we went to all-Black schools. That opportunity didn’t come until the beginning of World War II when they started the Tuskegee Airmen.

AllHipHop.com:  Before joining the Air Force, you attended Springfield College. What was your area of study?

Roscoe Brown:  Springfield College was an integrated college. There were 16 Blacks out of about 650 students. I ended up being the valedictorian of my class. I majored in health and physical education, which is now known as sports medicine. I had a triple major in chemistry and premedical studies. When I came back from the service, I went for my Ph.D., which I got in the field of exercise physiology and sports medicine.

AllHipHop.com:  When you arrived at Tuskegee, what was your initial impression of Alabama?

Roscoe Brown:  Well, as you know, the Southern part of the country was racially segregated, and the segregation was very brutal in some instances and very demeaning in other instances. You couldn’t go to restaurants. You couldn’t go to theaters. That was the law of the land in the Southern part of the country, and we couldn’t do anything about it. But the reason they picked Tuskegee is that there was a famous college there [Tuskegee Institute], which was founded by Booker T. Washington in 1881. They had a substantial number of Black professionals – doctors, lawyers, and professors.

That environment was a positive environment. In addition, following the stupidity of segregation, the military spent a million dollars to build a separate air base to train the Tuskegee Airmen. The pilots that trained us were White pilots, most of whom really believed that we could learn to fly. The ones who didn’t were eventually transferred. So, we had some good instruction and some good support, and it’s because of that support, and our own energy, and our own desire to be the best we could be that we ended up to be as good we were.

AllHipHop.com:  How long was the training process? And at what point did you begin combat flying?

Roscoe Brown: The Tuskegee experience started in March of 1941. Pearl Harbor was December of 1941. The first class graduated in March of 1942. The length of the training for the average trainee was nine months, so that between the military orientation and your going into the service, it was about a year between the time you first went in and you finally got your wings. I went in, in March of 1943, and I got my wings in March of 1944. I completed my combat transition in July of 1944, and in August of 1944, I was flying combat missions, which I flew until April of 1945.

AllHipHop.com:  You eventually became squadron commander of the 100th Fighter Squadron of the 332nd Fighter Group. Could you talk about your rise up the ranks?

Roscoe Brown:  Well, when you start out as a new pilot, you become a “wingman” for a pilot. We flew in groups of four planes. We had a flight leader and a wingman, and an element leader and a wingman. So, you start out as a wingman, and you’re pretty good. You get moved up to element leader and then you get to be flight leader. I was flight leader after about maybe twenty missions. I flew sixty-eight missions. At the end of the war, I was commander of my squadron. Prior to that I was the operations officer for the squadron, which meant I established who was going to fly and where they were going to fly. I led my squadron when we were on the mission to Berlin – which is depicted in Red Tails – and that’s when I shot down the jet over Berlin.

AllHipHop.com:  Wow! Were you ever concerned about your plane going down at all? Did you have any close calls?

Roscoe Brown: Well, in the Black press, we got a lot of publicity, and actually in the white press, because there had been very few German jets shot down – particularly over Berlin. We got some recognition in the white press as well. They would call us the “All-Negro Fighter Group,” and among the white bomber pilots, we got a reputation as being the “Red-Tail Angels,” because we stayed so close to the bombers and protected them, which some of the other groups didn’t do. So, we were, in a sense, heroes among the bomber pilots and particularly in the black community.

AllHipHop.com:  After you left the Air Force, you went back to school – earning an M.A. and a Ph.D. as well. Talk a little bit about your transition back into civilian life.

Roscoe Brown:  I had the option of going to medical school or working for my Ph.D. I liked the idea of sports medicine, and I did some work for the Air Force on looking at the physiological effects of exercise and fatigue. And because of my background in chemistry, I did a lot of research there. After I got my Ph.D., then I worked to help start the American College of Sports Medicine. After that I got involved in educational research, particularly in testing.

My technical specialty is psychometrics, which is the field where you develop tests like the SAT and the College Board and the state assessment exams. That’s what I have done professionally. For a long period of time, I had been a college administrator. I was president of one of the colleges in New York [Bronx Community College] for 16 years, and I have been the director of the Center for Urban Education Policy at the graduate school of City University for about sixteen years. So, I’ve been pretty busy.

AllHipHop.com:  When you look at those two worlds – the Armed Forces and academia – how did they go hand in hand? At the same time, why was education so important to you in your personal and professional lives?

Roscoe Brown:  Well, for one thing, many of us who went into the military did not intend to stay. Several did stay and became colonels. Some became generals. So, we went back to civilian life. Some of us became lawyers, some became doctors, some became professors. I had the opportunity to become a professor. I was one of the first Black professors at New York University, and I become one of the leaders of the faculty there because of my work. I didn’t really think much about aviation. When I first came back from overseas, I wanted to fly with the airlines for a little bit. I was told that they didn’t hire Black pilots, which they didn’t at that time. The only place for pilots was in the Air Force, and I didn’t want to stay in the Air Force. I wanted to develop my career. Our objective as achieving African-Americans was to do so well that it would help other African-American youth to also succeed, and that’s why education has been so important.

AllHipHop.com:  You’ve been given so many awards over the years. What are you most proud of when you have people look at your legacy?

Roscoe Brown:  I always tell people I’m most proud of the fact that I had four great children, but beyond that, I’m very proud of the fact that the Tuskegee Airmen were finally, collectively, recognized by Congress with a Congressional Gold Medal for outstanding service to the country. That’s an award that I cherish. The other awards depend upon the context. Some of them are because of my personal achievements, and some of them are because I’ve been involved in various causes to help change the world. I was with the Boys & Girls Clubs of America as a board member for many, many years, and I helped to develop the urban program of the Boys & Girls Clubs, which is now the largest youth-centered organization here in the United States.

AllHipHop.com: The Boys & Girls Club honored you with their Humanitarian Award. What lasting message do you want to leave with young people in particular?

Roscoe Brown:  My message is to strive for excellence, no matter where you are and no matter what the obstacles are, because excellence helps you to overcome the obstacles, it helps you to overcome prejudice, and it helps you to be a more effective citizen in the community. So, my idea is to strive for excellence.

For more of Clayton Perry’s “views” and interviews, browse his “digital archive” – www.claytonperry.com and follow him on Twitter (@crperry84).

Identity Theft, which stars comedians Jason Bateman (Horrible Bosses) and Melissa McCarthy (Bridesmaids), is the story of a man, played by Bateman, who has his identity stolen.

T.I. will play a bounty hunter who is after both Bateman and McCarthy, who eventually become allies on the run, despite McCarthy’s character being the culprit behind Bateman’s stolen identity.

Currently, T.I. can be seen on the second season of his VH1 reality show, “T.I. and Tiny’s Family Hustle,” as well as in a guest role on the Starz original series, “Boss.”  His previous film roles include Takers, American Gangster, and ATL.

Identity Theft also stars Jon Favreau (Swingers), Jon Cho (Harold and Kumar) and Clark Duke (Kick-Ass).

AllHipHop.com visited the set of “Hip-Hop Squares” and chopped it up with a number of talents from MTV2′s brand new game show, which will feature artists, actors, comedians, and personalities such as Ghostface Killah, Kat Graham, Fat Joe, Childish Gambino, Common, Machine Gun Kelly, Method Man, Damien Lemon, and many, many more.

Hip-Hop icon and Strange Music founder, Tech N9ne, spoke with AllHipHop.com about his involvement with the show, saying, “I think it’s beautiful that they would call on independent artists like myself and Mac Miller to come be seen ’cause my movement is underground. It’s bubbling into the mainstream but it’s an underground movement so to be a part of something like this is a wonderful thing.”

Comedian Donnell Rawlings, most famously known for his role as “Ashy Larry” on “Chappelle’s Show” and a current star of MTV2′s “Guy Code”, was ecstastic to tell AllHipHop.com about what he saw as the big draw: “They paying me motherf*cker! I think they’re putting a lot of money behind getting everybody to know about it, and it’s a funny show.

“Everybody knows “Hollywood Squares” with Whoopi Goldberg as the center square, but now to flip it and have the Hip-Hop version of it is very cool, and I think it’s a good way to introduce some of the younger kids to a show that’s been so iconic for years,” Rawlings noted.

We asked a number of the new “Squares,” including DJ Khaled, Method Man, Biz Markie, Vinny from “Jersey Shore”, and LaMarr Woodley from the Pittsburgh Steelers, about their favorite game-show memories. They also filled us in on why they’re excited to be a part of “Hip-Hop Squares“, and what show they think deserves to be “Hip-Hopified.” 

Check out our exclusive behind-the-scenes video below:

MTV2′s Hip-Hop Squares premieres tonight (May 22) at 11 PM EST.

Charli Baltimore, Grammy nominated rapper and Hip-Hop diva, sat down with her daughter, Sianni, to talk to Feel Rich about eating healthy and what an impact it has had on her career.

Sianni and Charli give us their real opinions and ideas about eating healthy and how hard it can be to make good choices. Charli tells it like it is and gives us her no-nonsense approach to parenting.

Here are 11 fast foods that will keep you looking like Taye Diggs instead of Cee Lo. The best news of all– none of these is a salad.

McDonald’s – Go for grilled food and skip the fries.

Chicken McGrill – This will build some serious muscle if you’re also working out right. Mess with this one after working out, but drop the mayo.

Hamburger – This is a smaller meal you can eat on the cheap. If you’re really hungry, make it a double, but make sure to toss the bread.

KFC – Chicken is supposed to be healthy, but when it gets battered, fried, and dipped in sauce, it makes Aunt Jemima’s maple syrup look like Slim Fast.

Original Recipe Sandwich – It ain’t a big bucket of greasy chicken, and it still fills you up. It’s cheaper, too. Hard to argue with that. Get it without sauce.

Honey BBQ Sandwich – Another healthier alternative to the finger-lickin’ madness of batter-fried, heart-attack-in-a-bucket.

Grilled Chicken– With fewer calories and fat grams than other options, this is your best bet for a quick meal that won’t undo all your hard work.

Subway – Choose wheat or oat bread. They’re both better for you than white bread, and they’ll fill you up quickly. Skip the mayo and ranch, and go for oil and vinegar.

5. 6″ Roasted Chicken Breast – It has a ton of protein and can really fill you up. To add more flavor to your sandwich, throw on tons of vegetables on top and add a little oil, vinegar, salt, and pepper.

6. 6” Roast Beef – If you can’t do plain chicken, here’s some meat for ya. Grab as much roast beef as you want. It’s healthy without tasting anything like cardboard.

7. 6” Turkey Breast – One of the lowest calorie foods that still has meat, so stock up.

Taco Bell

Grilled Chicken Burrito – When you’re sick of burgers, this may be one of the best. Tons of meat and not a lot of fat.

Carl’s Jr.

Charbroiled BBQ Chicken Sandwich – Less fat AND more protein. That means more for your guns and less for your gut.

In N Out – If you gotta have some meat, this is the place to go. With tons of choices and less fat than the rest, this is a top pick.

Double Hamburger without mayo – The burgers here aren’t as fatty, so you can get away with a double every once in a while– just watch the sauce. Even better: order it protein style – ditch the bread and top it with grilled onions and vegetables.

All of the above meal choices are high in protein and lower in fat and carbs. This means they’re better for your muscles, and won’t end up on your belly. Skip the extra oils, dressings, and sauces. A little won’t kill you, but too much might.

It is always better to stick to the sandwich, and skip the meals. The soda and fries will turn a healthy meal bad real fast. Go for water, milk, or a Diet Coke instead of soda, and fruit or salad instead of fries. If you must have it, SMALL is the way to go.

-Jamil Karim

Like what you see and hear? Check out Feel Rich on Twitter and Facebook, or visit www.feelrich.com!

In Banner’s own words, “The 2M1 Movement is to start controlling our own music, movies, and content…period! We are not simply characters in a  video game being controlled by the invisible hand. Once the goal is met, I’m going to shoot a movie that will drop May 22nd, 2012, and a portion will go to charity.”

Banner assembled a well-known array of guest features for his new 20-track independent album, some of which include Big K.R.I.T., A$AP Rocky, Chris Brown, Bun B, Don Trip, Snoop Dogg, Game, Nipsey Hussle, Ras Kass, Lil Wayne, 2 Chainz, and more.

Production on Sex, Drugs & Video Games comes from David Banner himself, as well as Mr. Lee, M Phazes, Swiff D, THX, and Hector Delgado.

AllHipHop.com spoke with David Banner today (May 22) as he traveled across New York City to promote the album’s debut, where he noted that he hopes people – especially naysayers – will grasp the concept behind his unique fundraising, album-selling venture. He says his mission is to spotlight world-class artists over his production, raise $1 per album for charity and an upcoming movie project, and have an army of two million people who will work together on social issues when called upon.

“Part of the problem – before we address the movement – is how we feel about ourselves. And that’s part of Sex, Drugs, and Video Games. For the amount of quality I’m giving? All those beats from a Grammy Award-winning producer, all those features, all those videos? Just on the concept alone, they should support,” said Banner.

About his continued goal of creating music that he can be proud of, he said, “I’m just being honest with you. I make the beats for a lot of the hits that people like. I know what to say. It just don’t sit right in my soul no more. It don’t. Even if I’m one of the people that has done the stuff they’re talking about, it don’t feel right. It just don’t feel right.

“The [album] interludes are very important – that’s what really tied this album together. At the end of the album, I said, ‘If I’m the only one that does this, then that’s fine,” he added.

“The goal of Sex, Drugs & Video Games is to show the world urban music is still valuable. And how am I going to do that? Well, I’m glad you asked. I need two million of you to download this free independent album, then I need the same two million of you to donate at least $1 to the movement, but feel free to donate more! There is no maximum donation, and you can even donate now,” he encouraged on his website.

Visit David Banner’s official website, or click the button below to support the 2M1 Movement.

Check out the tracklisting below and download Sex, Drugs & Video Games:

1. Intro
2. Sex, Drugs & Video Games
3. Believe ft. Big K.R.I.T.
4. Yao Ming (Remix) ft. Chris Brown & A$AP Rocky
5. Mothers and Sisters
6. Amazing ft. Chris Brown
7. Swag (Remix) ft. Kardinal Offishial
8. Who’s That
9. Smoked Out ft. Bun B & Raheem DeVaughn
10. Work ft. Don Trip
11. The Big Concert
12. Californication ft. Snoop Dogg, Game, Nipsey Hussle & Ras Kass
13. No Choice ft. J Doe
14. Castles In Brooklyn ft. Maino
15. Pushing
16. Malcolm X (A Song To Me)
17. I Look Good ft. Doe Hicks, Luck & Savvy
18. Let Me In ft. Tank
19. The End
20. Yao Ming ft. Lil Wayne & 2 Chainz

According to TMZ, 2 Chainz was detained at approximately 1:45PM for allegedly carrying a set of brass knuckles.  The rapper, born Tauheed Epps,  was entering the Delta terminal for a flight to North Carolina when TSA found the weapon in his bag.

Upon finding the brass knuckles, police were called and Chainz was taken into custody for misdemeanor possession of a criminal weapon.

At press time, 2 Chainz was still in custody with the New York police.

While Action has since clarified his comments on the photo and its caption, several outspoken members of the LGBT community have expressed their displeasure with Action Bronson’s words.

“Close up of Drunk Mexican Tranny after Bes poured a Bottle of water on its head,” Action Bronson said in his caption via his Instagram account, ActionBronson.

Now, in response to an outpouring of comments on the photo, Bronson has defended himself, asserting that he is not “anti-LGBT.”

“I don’t hate anyone. I like to laugh. He/She should be ashamed of He/She Self for giving y’all a bad wrap.ind u it was laying on the floor,” Bronson proclaimed. “In front of the Train Station. I’m only a documentarian of this event.”

Action Bronson is not the first rapper to ruffle a few feathers throughout the LGBT community over the past few years, as several rappers have faced scrutiny in the media for their remarks about those choosing an alternative lifestyle or sexual preference.

However, Action Bronson isn’t sorry for having posted the picture saying, “It’s simple. U don’t like what I say then don’t pay attention.

“If u DONT wanna get pissed on spit on and put on Instagram DONT GET DRUNK TO THE POINT U CANT STAND OR TALK,” he continued via Twitter.

Action Bronson summed up his thoughts on the situation by posting a candid photo for all those detractors unhappy with his comments, saying, “F**K YOU HATER.”

Check out the video from the up-and-coming R&B sensation below:

Follow Kevin McCall on Twitter (@kevinmccall).

This is a good rumors, whether it should happen to be real or not. A Rapper MAY care about something other than money. Good money!

ACL 2012, which expects to attract over 70,000 attendees each day and is headlined by the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Neil Young, and the Black Keys, will also include performances from the legendary Roots crew, Childish Gambino, Big K.R.I.T., A-Trak, Barrington Levy, and 2011 Grammy Award-winner for Best New Artist, Esperanza Spalding, who last played the festival in 2009.

Spalding and A-Trak will be performing on Friday, October 12, while Big K.R.I.T. and The Roots are slated to appear on Saturday, October 13. Childish Gambino and Barrington Levy will help close out ACL 2012 on the festival’s last day, Sunday, October 14.

Other acts that will play at ACL 2012 include Jack White, Florence + the Machine, The Avett Brothers, Weezer, Bassnectar, Dev, M83, and over 70 other performers from around the world. View the entire lineup over at ACLFestival.com.

Past ACL performers have included Jay-Z, Gnarls Barkley, Mos Def, Kanye West, K’Naan, Nas, Theophilus London, and Damian “Jr. Gong” Marley. All three-day passes for this year’s ACL have already sold out. Individual day tickets can still be purchased for $99 at ACLFestival.com.

With the rapid rise of artists like Three 6 Mafia, Yo Gotti, Don Trip, and others, Drumma Boy looks to shine light on a city he feel’s was overshadowed in the VH1 Hip-Hop Honors last year.

“Welcome to My City, first and foremost, is the unification process of Memphis. It’s like bringing the city together. Welcome To My City was inspired by Memphis being left out of and not being mentioned at VH1 Hip Hop Honors… I was like damn… How can Hip Hop Honors overlook Memphis?” Drumma Boy told AllHipHop.com in an exclusive interview.

“Many say it’s no unity here in Memephis, so I took it upon myself to create that unity through this Mixtape. By getting the hottest artist Memphis has to offer, new and established. I wanted to musically Welcome the world to my city,” he added.

Drumma attributes a lack of knowledge as a reason why many in the industry haven’t given Memphis its due credit in his eyes.

“A lack of knowledge, many not knowing Memphis history, lack of indie artists from the M not traveling and repping the city worldwide, is the reason Memphis has gone unnoticed,” Drumma Boy continued.

Drumma Boy is currently working on a new mixtape with DJ Paul titled Clash Of Da Titans, T.I.’s new album, 2Chainz’ new album, and Chris Brown’s album, along with new Jeezy projects in the works as well.

For more information on Drumma Boy’s Memphis unity project, visit Live Mixtapes.com to check it out.

Will you only sip on something because your favorite artist is, too?

Let’s look at Moscato, for instance. This sweet wine has made its way into upbeat hits, making it an instant hit with some who never would partake in wine before. A dessert wine with dinner, or at any time for that matter – that seems to be all that matters now. Just recently, Nelly’s crew, The St. Lunatics, announced their plans to market “Freaky Muscato.” Can Hip-Hop make anything cool, even if it’s out of its usual context? Some may the answer to that is a resounding YES.

Then, as we look at the various popular liquors, Diddy’s Ciroc, Luda’s Conjure, Grey Goose, and Patron, if they say drink it… millions are running to their local liquor stores and V.I.P. club sections to do just that. Maybe you just so happen to love vodka, tequila, or cognac, or maybe you believe in the celebrities’ brands so much you have to try whatever they put out. It could be a mix of both, just as you might mix Ciroc with orange juice, Grey Goose with pineapple, or Conjure with Coke, to get your favorite drink.

Making money in music is about marketing. How else doers a rapper end up with millions of fans, or millions of dollars in endorsements? Yet and still, some may not take the time to learn about what they hear about in their favorite songs. It’s not necessarily a bad thing, more so of an example of the power the music industry holds, even outside of music.

What’s your favorite drink? Is it musically inspired?

Tawni Fears is a freelance writer and contributor to AllHipHop.com. Follow her on Twitter (@brwnsugaT).

Rosemond is accused of masterminding a $10 million-per-year cocaine operation, that imported hundreds of kilos of cocaine per week into New York.

Prosecutors claim that millions in cash was laundered through various companies controlled by Rosemond.

Today in court, testimony continued from a variety of prosecution witnesses.

The case agent assigned to the Rosemond investigation, Marc Van Driessche, testified today.

Agent Van Driessche investigated Rosemond starting in 2008, until his arrest in June 21, 2011, at a W Hotel after a month-long, nationwide manhunt.

Since then, Rosemond has met with authorities nine different times in an attempt to reach a cooperation agreement with the government.

After his arrest, Rosemond’s first meeting with prosecutors took place on October 4, 2011.

Agent Van Driessche said he attended a meeting with two prosecutors, agents, and an attorney representing Rosemond.

It was during this session that Rosemond admitted that he was a co-conspirator in the cocaine case.

During his first meeting with authorities, Rosemond admitted that he e-mailed an associate named Jason Williams on an encrypted Blackberry, so the pair could pick up “one of them things.”

Later, the two men went to an auto body shop in Newark, New Jersey, where an illegal trap was being fitted on to a black Dodge charger.

Rosemond picked up the charger and went to the LeFrak Housing Projects in Queens, where he received up a kilo of cocaine.

He then met with an associate named Winston “Winnie” Harris, who had already began cooperating with the DEA and was wearing a wire, with agents listening in.

“He was surprised Winston didn’t have the money, but he instructed Jason to handover a kilo of cocaine anyway,” agent Van Driessche testified.

Rosemond said that when he returned, he noticed police entering into his building, so he fled.

In the Proffer Agreement, Rosemond said he later he received a call from someone in Jamaica, who revealed that Winston Harris had been cooperating with authorities.

Rosemond put “two and two together” and fled Brooklyn for the Gowanus Housing Projects, where he spent the night in a staircase hiding from authorities.

Rosemond then made it to a hotel in Brooklyn, borrowed a white BMW from a family member, and traveled to Virginia, where he met up with Jason Williams.

Later in the evening, Rosemond said he traveled to Miami alone by train, where he had his housekeeper to remove $25,000 in cash.

“We didn’t know what happened to the defendant after police entered his apartment in New York,” agent Van Driessche testified.

In the Proffer Agreement, Rosemond also acknowledged he was aware of the $1.2 million stashed in a music crate at Smash Studios, which was going to be delivered to criminal associates in California.

According to agent Van Driessche, Rosemond admitted that in 2010 alone, two associates in the conspiracy provided him almost 500 kilos of cocaine.

He also admitted that he gave a connect named Lamont Bennett $300,000 in cash to settle a cocaine debt.

Van Driessche testified that Rosemond complained that he was going to be forced to sell one kilo at a time, until his money was back up, since he lost hundreds-of-thousands due to seizures of packages.

Rosemond’s publicist issued an official statement to AllHipHop.com about the testimony today:

“As an official publicist for Jimmy for many years, I’ve been listening in on the trial,” Rosemond’s publicist, Sabrina Stowe de Fernandez, told AllHipHop.com. “Since day one, his defense attorney admitted that Jimmy apparently lied during proffering sessions. The prosecutors took the deal off the table and is basically trying to bring those lies into the case as evidence.”

Testimony continues today.

Pete Rock, who produced “T.R.O.Y.” in 1992 as a dedication to Troy “Trouble” Dixon of Heavy D and the Boyz, has taken to Twitter to lash out at the label and producers who were behind the sampling done on “Around My Way (Freedom Ain’t Free).”

Pete Rock took to Twitter last night (May 21) to air out all those involved: “No disrespect to lupe fiasco and i like him alot but TROY should be left alone. Feel so violated,the beat is next to my heart and was made. Outta anguish and pain. When it’s like that it should not be touched by no one! It’s so hard for folks to make original music, I possess that, but these dudes are scared of that and this is supposed to be HIP HOP?

He continued, “Man I’m a lupe fan and everything but TROY was my homie man. I think about him and Hev every f*cking day!!!! Smh. Who ever Re-created that didn’t do a good job @ all. #nohate.This business can be so lame, sometimes I make beats blindfolded with one hand tied behind my back and still these cats can’t be original to. So untalented and unoriginal. Makes me feel like I’m truly the best that ever did it. Yo hev and t-Roy I love and miss da shit outta y’all. U guys have been violated with no Vaseline. So f*cked up this business smmfh!!! And I don’t care who got something to say about it, kiss my entire black *ss. #violationtodafullest.

“Lame Ducks with absolutely no talent if u can’t make ur own hit. FOH. I’m not flattered @ all. Dat sh*t is wack, and the producer should be ashamed of his f*ckin self. Smh. That record is dear to me yo f*ck deez n*ggas!!!! I’m still Dat n*gga out here believe it or don’t. Ur ignorance not mine, lame duck bullsh*t. I think lupe is a great artist, I’m that angry with him but it’s a major label idea. I can feel it. And y’all need to stop the childish games, I’m a fan of lupe and he is a great artist and a great person.

“And let me be clear cuz a lot of y’all don’t know this. But Tom Scott himself gave me an approval for TROY, told me I did a great job!! As did Luther vandross as well spoke to me about how I covered “don’t u know that” and approved!! #official.”

The sentiments Pete Rock has shared on Twitter have mostly been aimed at producers and Lupe’s home of Atlantic Records, who he believes is behind the “violation.”

Lupe Fiasco may have a chance to clear things up during his appearance on this week’s edition of MTV’s “RapFix Live” which will air this Wednesday, May 23 at 4 pm EST.

Listen to Lupe Fiasco’s new single, “Around My Way (Freedom Ain’t Free),” below:

The rapper agreed to serve jail time after a raid on his home by the IRS in 2010, TMZ reports.

The embattled rapper agreed to plead guilty to possessing firearms and ammunition as a convicted felon after federal agents located a .40 caliber Glock 22 and rounds in his mansion. This is the same mansion that the rapper has been evicted from. The rapper is a convicted felon, and he’s not permitted to own a firearm.

[Read: Young Buck evicted from Tennessee mansion.]

The felony stems from a well-publicized incident where Young Buck stabbed a man at the the 2004 VIBE Awards. He was defending producer Dr. Dre.

Young Buck will be formally sentenced on July 13.

Joining a select group of celebrity gamers as a Ghost, Kendrick Lamar joins the ranks with the most elite soldiers and represents a complete range of skills on the battlefield.

In the game, Lamar and his team members are a team of highly trained, spec ops soldiers. Armed with combat technology and cutting-edge military hardware, Ghost Recon takes gamers through deadly warzones to hunt down the highest value targets.

Kendrick joins NBA All-Star Kevin Love, NFL rookie Justin Blackmon, and reality star Coco as the fourth and final member of the team.

“I’m obviously a vocal guy, so I’m going to pave the way to victory for Team Ghost, and make sure you hear about it the entire time,” said Kendrick Lamar. “Playing Ghost Recon is no different from being a rapper, really going full force against the competition and breaking through the enemy lines, just like I do with my bars.”

In addition to his role in the video game, Kendrick Lamar is giving fans a new song inspired by Ghost Recon: Future Soldier entitled “War Is My Love,” which was released yesterday (May 21).

“Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Future Soldier” will be available Today (May 22) for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system. It will be also be made available to fans on PC on June 12, 2012.

In this two-part interview, AllHipHop.com was happy to talk to David Banner about his new album, the 2M1 Movement, and why he’s excited to be launching a whole new model for the music industry.

Banner also did AllHipHop.com a colossal favor by making a surprise visit to a group of Atlanta’s most determined young people to share his special brand of street wisdom. Read the interview and watch the video below:

One of rap music’s most noted rapper/actor/producers, David Banner is quickly become well-known as the culture’s most influential public speaker. Fresh off his appearance as a special guest lecturer at The L.A. Riots: Twenty Years Later, a symposium at Harvard University, Banner continues to tour the country doing press and public speaking in support of his 2M1 Movement.

Banner stopped by the Atlanta site of Year Up, a youth workforce development program that helps 18-to-24 year-olds learn the technical and professional skills that will prepare them for entry-level jobs in corporate America. The 10-year-old program, founded in Boston, boasts an 85 percent success rate in getting its graduates employed in jobs that pay a livable wage. The Atlanta students were surprised by the celebrity appearance and quickly learned that there is more to a rap star than just their music. Banner spoke bluntly on the trials that the urban young adults will face when entering the corporate landscape. Banner, a graduate of Southern University, also spoke about the importance of reading and self-education. The emerging activist also talked about the death of Trayvon Martin, a subject that he has been far from silent on.

AllHipHop.com: Recently, you were at Harvard University lecturing on the 20^th Anniversary of the L.A. riots. So having come from Mississippi, did it occur to you while you were up there, “I’m at Harvard University?”

David Banner: Well, it really did, but what I will say is what God revealed to me afterwards is that if we prepare, there is no reason for you to fear anything. So I prepared myself. It’s crazy because that’s one thing they try to do to our people in general. When I say our people I mean people from urban situations. They try to keep us encased in fear. Honestly, if you truly have your spirit together and you truly have prepared and taking those man hours to do whatever it is in life, it don’t matter what question they ask you. It don’t matter what they do, what they say. Whether it’s Harvard or a street corner, if you are truly prepared it doesn’t matter.

AllHipHop.com: So Year Up, the organization that is hosting us here is about “Closing the Opportunity Divide,” a term coined to really represent the systematic things that keep urban young adults from being successful, with jobs and further college education. So what advice would you give our students in the hip-hop generation about systems change? What is Hip-Hop’s responsibility when it comes to systems change?

David Banner: Ok. When you say systems change tell me exactly what you mean.

AllHipHop.com: Changing the institutions like the educational systems and the prison industrial system.

David Banner: I got it. Alright, first of all, (faces students) I wanna tell y’all something, I’m proud of y’all. I’m proud of everybody that’s sitting in these chairs right now. ‘Cause each and every one of you guys could’ve been somewhere else. One of the problems with our people is that we don’t congratulate each other enough.

But about systems change. I created a movement called 2M1. What 2M1 is…I started looking at not just urban music but movies, television, all of that. We have been degraded to nothing. No movies that depict us, you know, all of our music is so negative. The name of my album is called Sex, Drugs & Videogames. And everybody was like “Sex, Drugs, Videogames? What does he mean by that?” What I meant is if all you ever give our children is sex, drugs and videogames what do you think they’re gonna regurgitate? And that’s all we ever see on television.

System changes also come in the way that we think about ourselves. The American system only teaches us in most cases, they don’t teach us before slavery. They never tell us that we kings and queens. They never tell us that the Pythagorean Theorem comes off the walls of Egypt. And imagine me figuring out all this n the middle of “ay yo, see the Chevy with the butterfly doors,” and I was like wow. That’s why I took off, if y’all were wondering why I disappeared for a while.

I disappeared for a while because I got an opportunity to go overseas. And I got an opportunity to see how they looked at our people, and I was embarrassed. I was really, really, really embarrassed and it messed with me mentally because not only am I a rapper, I’m a producer too. I’m an actor, too. So I was like, man, I had a lot to do with that, but then God revealed to me that it’s nothing wrong with what I do. I just have to bring some balance. We can do what we do in the club. That’s all a part of us, but we need some balance. So to answer your question about the systems changes, the only way the systems are gonna change is when you guys get into power and we start opening up our own situations.

AllHipHop.com: So what are some of the ways that we start changing our situations?

David Banner: That is what 2M1 is for me. I wanna get two million people to donate at least one dollar, and everybody thinks it’s about the dollar. It’s not about the dollar. That’s why I did 2M1. I’mma implement this system, and I’mma teach people how to make money. Instead of begging record companies to come and help us we start our own situations and provide and feed our own people.

AllHipHop.com: In a room full of young people who in about two/three months will earn the opportunity to go on internship in Corporate America. Now being that they come from Atlanta urban environments and are going into corporate America, and we know some of the challenges that they will experience, it’s somewhere that they need to go. They need that opportunity to be able to get into entry level jobs, to be able to work their way up through corporate America. How do we prepare them knowing some of the systems that they’re going into?

David Banner: There’s this double consciousness theory that says that Black people to be three or four people. Like you are one person in the ‘hood, you’re one person when you come to school, another person at the job. What I’ll tell you guys going into the corporate system, just be prepared to have to adjust for a little while. Because again I truly believe that you guys are the future and I feel like I’m not just saying this. That you have the power to create.

So, you go into these corporate structures to learn. To be a sponge. Not to be an employee all your life. But what I will ask you guys is that in whatever you do be the best. Literally be the best. You’re gonna have to be the best anyway. But be the best. Articulate yourself as well as you possibly can and as much as you can and I know it’s hard. Keep as much of you as you can in the inside and talk to somebody, but be the best.

Check out Part 2 of our exclusive interview with David Banner tomorrow, where he talks about Trayvon Martin, the biggest risk he ever took, and how he has diversified his music industry career and set himself up for longevity.

DOWNLOAD Sex Drugs and Video Games HERE

Follow David Banner on Twitter (@THEREALBANNER).

AllHipHop.com had a chance to chop it up with Wingo about his solo debut, and he gave us first dibs on Jagged Edge’s upcoming eighth studio album. On the release of his first mixtape, an excited Wingo reveals:

“I’m just giving them a ‘lil piece of Wingo! Still doing the whole Jagged Edge thing. I’m gonna be Jagged Edge forever. That has paved the way for a lot of stuff. I’ve been doing a lot of music of that for the past couple of years. I’ve signed a couple of artists to my record label, younger cats who are very talented. At the end of the day, it’s time to put it out. It’s not gone do no good in that Mac! [laughs].”

Life of the Party chronicles the life of Wingo, who admits he hasn’t picked a single yet, because he values the opinions of his fans:

“Every time someone goes out with me and hangs out with me, they really enjoy themselves. That’s why I named it Life of the Party. I haven’t even picked a single yet, I want the DJs and the fans to let me know what’s hot and what’s not. Those are the opinions I really trust. I think everything I do is awesome [laughs], but everybody’s not going to like everything that you do.”

Platinum-selling R&B group Jagged Edge saw their biggest selling album in 2000 with J.E. Heartbreak, and they’re in talks to release a sequel. Wingo exclusively revealed to us what they’re working on:

“We’re getting ready to work on the eighth album for Jagged Edge. The twins want to do J.E. Heartbreak 2; that’s our biggest selling record to this day. Only way that would make sense is if we go back to the roots. Go back to who did the first J.E. Heartbreak. Bryan Cox, Jermaine Dupri.”

So, there is hope in a huge Jagged Edge reunion! Until then, enjoy the sounds of Wingo, one who has always held us down on many of our favorite Jagged Edge tracks. Who can forget the runs at end of “Let’s Get Married”? Just saying.

Check out the tracklist for Life of The Party and see the download link below:

1. Keep It Cool (Intro)
2. Bust It Down (Feat. Gucci Mane) [Prod. By Midnite Black]
3. Film A Movie [Prod. By King David]
4. Girls In My Pocket (Feat. K.C)
5. Take A Load Off [Prod. By King David]
6. Turn Up The Radio (Feat. Treyon)
7. Irrestiable (Feat. Lil Will) [Prod. By King David]
8. Mohawk Shawdy (RIP) (Vontae Of WMB)
9. Too Many Girls [Prod. By King David]
10. Video Girl (Feat. Trap Boiz & Roc De Carlo) [Prod. By King David]
11. Gangsta Boo (Feat. C-Bone & K.C) [Prod. By K.C]
12. X’s (Feat. WildMoney Boiz)
13. Out Of Love [Prod. By Midnite Black]
14. Ain’t No Lovin’ Tonight
15. My Own 12 Play [Prod. By King David]
16. Computer Love Song (Feat. Bossman) [Prod. By Burcast]
17. Model For Me [Prod. By King David]
18. Movie Star [Prod. By Burcast]
19. Ain’t Givin’ Up (Feat. B.I.G)
20. Like Us (Feat. Charlay & K.C) [Prod. By Dj Wiz]

Download Wingo’s Life of The Party here.

Even with the ripped 50 Cent by his side, Tony Yayo still struggles with making the right choices for his health. He talks to Feel Rich about quitting smoking, what life is like on the road, how 50 Cent drives G-Unit to get healthy, and getting himself back on the health tip.

To set some goals for yourself, read this:

If you’re serious about getting healthy, it’s time to set some goals. Nothing feels as good as reaching a goal you’ve set for yourself. Whether you want to lose weight, gain muscle, eat healthier, or just remember to take your vitamins, setting achievable goals is the first step on the journey to a healthier you.

There are many ways to set your goals. One way to do it is to ask yourself a basic line of questions: “Who, what, when, where, and why?” The answers to these questions will help you create a framework for your goal, and make it less likely for you to make impulsive decisions.

Who? When it comes to changing your habits, you want a partner in crime. Find someone who wants to make similar goals, whether it’s a boyfriend/girlfriend, cousin, friend, co-worker, etc. Their support and companionship will help you stay on track. Starting or finding a support group is a great way to have people who can not only relate to you, but also help you pull through a rough patch.

What? Set specific, achievable goals. Be realistic. An achievable goal is one you can measure. “I want to have a banging’ body” is not a good goal, because you can’t measure that. How do you know when you’ve achieved it? “I want to be able to run 5 miles without getting winded” is better, because it’s measurable.

When? Ask yourself how much time you can realistically spend working toward your goal. For example, if you work a 9-to-5 job, making a goal to do cardio four times a week for 30 minutes makes sense, where spending three hours strength training every day might not. If your goals are diet related, plan your meals ahead if possible, and try to make mealtime consistent every day.

Where? Figure out where you are going to work towards your goals. Do you have the extra money to spend on a gym membership? Are you more of an outdoorsy type? Do you need a lot of variety in your workout environment so you don’t get bored? Is there an organic supermarket that sells produce at affordable prices? Map out where you will go on your hunt for health.

Why? This is possibly the most important question of all. Why are you setting goals to improve your health? There could many reasons: overall well being, improving self-confidence, creating good habits, reducing a health issue, or training for a marathon. Guess what? They’re all totally valid! Having a clear picture of why you’re doing what you’re doing will help you to accomplish it.

Staying on Board

Sticking to your goals should be a goal in itself. Falling off the wagon is easy, especially if you are creating new habits. So reward your milestones as you go. Get a massage or treat yourself to a nice dinner. When you find yourself slacking, remember your reward, and you’ll find inspiration pronto.

Tying your reward to your milestone helps you focus better, too. For instance, if you’re trying to lose weight, reward yourself with new (smaller!) clothes that fit. Having a reward that specifically relates to your goals will help make achieving them even more fantastic.

Also, track your progress. Buy a journal or make an excel spreadsheet. Doesn’t matter; just record your advancement. Recording your progress will help prevent you from being too lenient with yourself. You will also have a record of what you did on any given day.

Preparing for the Future

As you work toward your goal, think about how you will maintain your goals. Knowing what you need to do to stay on top of your game will save yourself a lot of trouble. In general, plan ahead and your chances for success will be great! Good luck!

-Alex Zaglin

Like what you see and hear? Check out Feel Rich on Twitter and Facebook, or visit www.feelrich.com!

Today’s Daily Word is dedicated to taking the first step towards your success! If we surveyed all of the 7,014,961,850 people living in the world today, I can almost guarantee that each and every one of them (including you and me) are aspiring for something greater in life. Whether it’s the baby wanting that next bottle, the kid who wants more junk food, or the adult who is looking
for love and a great career….. Whatever the goal or aspiration, it is IMPOSSIBLE to attain any of it if you don’t take the first step!

I don’t care if you are the most talented and most skillful being on the planet – if you are not putting yourself out there, then you will NEVER be successful! What we need to realize sooner than later is that success is a process! It doesn’t happen at a blink of an eye, and there isn’t one big thing that makes someone successful! Success is the result of small steps put together over time to create a greater piece!

A friend once told me that “It takes at least 10 years to become an overnight success.” Think about that for just one second, and once you truly understand that saying, you will then understand why it is imperative that you begin your journey TODAY!!! Now is the time that you begin to put the wheels in motion in order to begin living the live you have imagined! You are in total control so take what you deserve!!
-Ash’Cash

“There’s no process that guarantees success. But taking the first step ups the chances.” -Jim Tamm

“It’s always easy to do the next step, and it’s always impossible to do two steps at a time.” -Seymore Cray

“The first and most important step toward success is the feeling that we can succeed.” -Nelson Boswell

“The vision must be followed by the venture. It is not enough to stare up the steps – we must step up the stairs.” -Vance Havner

“Believe that it’s possible. Once you get a taste of success, you start to believe in it a little more.” -Jarome Iginla

“Making a success of the job at hand is the best step toward the kind you want.” -Bernard M. Baruch

“It is important to expect nothing, to take every experience, including the negative ones, as merely steps on the path, and to proceed.” -Ram Dass

“Four steps to achievement: Plan purposefully. Prepare prayerfully. Proceed positively. Pursue persistently.” -William Arthur Ward

TO HEAR THE AUDIO VERSION OF THE DAILY WORD – CLICK HERE.

Ash’Cash is a Business Consultant, Motivational Speaker, Financial Expert and the author of Mind Right, Money Right: 10 Laws of Financial Freedom. For more information, please visit his website, www.IamAshCash.com.

To which one youth responded, “Does it have to make sense?”

Truth be told, I’m becoming an old man. Now granted, I haven’t started wearing the black shoe polish in my hair to compensate for the lack thereof. Nor am I wearing super-sized headbands to hide my receding hairline (which, might I add, would look ridiculous with me dressed in a shirt and tie, standing at a chalkboard teaching Math). My oldness is appearing in other debilitating forms. My stamina isn’t what it used to be, and my memory is fading, quickly.

But probably the worst indication of prolonging the inevitable is the fact that I have not the slightest clue what many of these rappers are now talking about. I guess that wouldn’t matter if I still didn’t have an infatuation with the music that I fell in love with as child. I find it easier to fall in love than it is to fall out of it. However, I’m getting old, and I know it because I am now starting to quote the words my parents used to say to me when I was a child.

Words such as, “I don’t know what this garbage is y’all are listening to today.”

I can barely tune into the local radio station that caters to the Hip-Hop-oriented demographics, because the majority of songs sound as if they were made for a strip club compilation CD. I don’t know about other mature adults, but at this stage in my life, I only want to listen to strip club songs when I am in the strip club. Not when I’m in my car during the day, either transporting my 13-year-old daughter to or from school.

Then if I’m not listening to strip club songs, I’m being force fed songs that I literally need translation for. I understand Hip-Hop is a young man’s sport, but would it be wrong for me to suggest that it doesn’t have to be a genre of music precisely geared towards a specific age group? And would I be inherently stupid not to believe that our young folk only want to listen to strip club songs or songs about trapping?

People oftentimes will say, “There’s a lot of conscious Hip-Hop music out there. You just have to find it.”

Before we go any further, really consider that quote. If I have to seek consciousness, then what am I presently in the midst of?

It pains me that our music has drastically changed the way it has. Truth be told, it wasn’t all conscious then, but various options provided for us diversity. And due to that diversification, conscious Hip-Hop was readily available and made mainstream. Now, we know that it was for the monetary profit for corporations, but it would be remiss to say that our community didn’t profit from it as well. Arguably in a far greater capacity than just dollars and cents. Some would suggest that systematically, it was determined by the powers that be to dumb us down by over saturating our community not with the spirit of Malcolm, but instead the fictitious life of Montana. We’ve replaced the idealization of strong, Black women with only the sexuality of Foxy Brown.

Plainly speaking, we’ve been duped to believe that we don’t have much more to offer to each other than lying *ss street stories and bedroom tales that should remain inside the bedroom of consenting adults. Man, I’m getting old because I do remember the time when I would relish those same stories that are being spoken to our children, by our children today. I done spent many of nights jumping up and down at a club, screaming to the top of my lungs foolishness. I’ve been watching the movie Scarface since it came recorded on two separate VHS tapes.

However, apparently that wasn’t all that I was doing. And more importantly than anything that I must stress, that was not my only alternative. Unlike today’s Hip-Hop oriented entertainment culture, I was given viable options, which lent to my balance. My greatest concern of our culture for today’s youth is that they are not getting the same balance. And what they are being fed is just as unhealthy, dangerous, and detrimental to their well being as foul food or contaminated water.

So, “does it have to make sense?”

Given the impact and influence that our youth allow the music to have on their lives, I reckon that it should.

Cornell Dews is a proud parent, classic Hip-Hop fan, and AllHipHop.com contributor.

Did you see that the roll-out for the Made In America Festival? Click here to see the full line up of acts!

Pearl Jam as the headliner? Not sure about that. Nevertheless, click here for the full line up, including a bunch of related rappers. And then Odd Future. But there is more.

The rumors are running. The first one is Beyonce! I mean, this ain’t not thing to the G’z, but its certainly an attraction that will get the women taking. Definitely no confirmation on B’s inclusion, but it makes perfect sense. Beyonce is coming back with some performances at some Atlantic City thing. So, there you go with that.

The festival, while it takes place in Philly Town, is very short on Philadelphia acts. The Roots are not slated to perform. But, here is a tidbit for you. Jay-Z is rumored to play at The Roots 4th of July picnic.

And then there is the notion and rumor that Jay-Z and Beanie will mend their beef formally at the Philly festival. If it doesn’t happen there, i cannot see it happening. From what I understand, Beanie’s people have stepped up their peace offering. I hope it happens.

ILLSEED’S QUICKIES

Eminem is rumored to be working on new music that will coincide with a new Wii video game. The name of the game is “Acid Ghost” and is expected to be revealed the first week in June.

I am hearing Lloyd Banks is now a solo artist. He’s still tied to G-Unit, but nothing else like management. I guess that means he’s got some work to do.

Anybody got any 2 Chainz rumors? Jeez. Oh, by the way, I heard nothing about Ludacris either.

According to the homie Gyant, Ruben Studdard is pushing 400 lbs and in poor health due to pure obesity.

I guess this is worth a mention since it was all over the blogs. Usher and Tameka Raymond’s child custody battle went crazy today. Usher says his ex tried to spit on his new girlfriend, Grace. EW!

Ray-J accuses the Houston family of having his tailbone taken from a seat at the Billboard Awards that was a bit too close to Bobbi Kristina. They deny that notion. But he was removed from the  event by the police after he moved from his original seat to a seat down in the front somewhere. I don’t know who Pat Houston is, but she is taking over, they say.

The Made festival takes place on Sept. 1-2 in Philadelphia.

Read: Jay-Z To Launch “Made In America” Music Festival

A number of other acts were added to the line up as well, including Rick Ross, indie rockers Dirty Projectors, Janelle Monae, reclusive soulster D’Angelo, Meek Mill, Santigold, Skrillex, Odd Future, electronic band Passion Pit, and Wale. The Budweiser-sponsored has more to offer with Calvin Harris, The Knocks, and Roc Nation’s Rita Ora, Brit pop act Miike Snow and Latino pop star Prince Royce.

Jay-Z and Pearl Jam will play both nights.

Tickets to the Made In America festival go on sale this Wednesday at 10 am on Ticketmaster.com and LiveNation.com. Ticket prices start at $99.

Be sure to watch the video below his response, as he offers more sound advice to readers:

Peace and blessings, family, Today’s Ask Ash Cash segment is an important lesson about how your credit score works, asked by Manny Rivera… Remember if you have any questions, please send them to Questions@AskAshCash.com or ask via Twitter @IamAshCAsh using #AskAshCash.

Dear Ash Cash: What affects my credit score and what can I do to fix it?

For those who are not familiar, your credit score or F.I.C.O. is a credit reporting system started by the Fair Isaacs Corporation. It is a numerical measurement of your credit worthiness that ranges from 300 to 850. Your F.I.C.O. score is used by most lenders to determine whether or not you can obtain credit.

Your score can stop your from getting loans, renting or buying a home, purchasing a car, opening a bank account, or even getting a job. Getting a handle on your F.I.C.O. score is easy if you educate yourself on how F.I.C.O. is calculated, then discipline yourself. The five categories that are used to calculate your score are: How much debt you have or usage (30%), Your payment history (35%), Your debt usage ratio (How much you owe in relation to your credit limit) (30%),
How far back your credit history goes (15%), New credit (10%), and your mix of various types of credit (10%).

Because new credit, length of credit history, and credit mix take longer to fix, they have an immediate (6 months-one year) impact on your credit; it is important that you concentrate of paying your bills on time (35%) and bringing down your usage (30%). If you have late payments in the past, don’t fret too much because your score is damaged by the most recently reported derogatory information, so derogatory information reported prior to two years does not highly impact your score. As far as usage, just make sure that you are not spending more than 30% of your allotted credit limit, i.e. if you have a $1,000 credit card, don’t spend more than $300… If you concentrate on those two things, you will be positively affecting your score by 65%….

If your score is not good enough to obtain new credit, then apply for a secured credit card or loan.. Those are great ways to build up your score!

Congratulations!!! You are on your way to A credit! Keep staying focused, and you will get what you came for! #MindRightMoneyRight!!

Ash’Cash is a Business Consultant, Motivational Speaker, Financial Expert and the author of Mind Right, Money Right: 10 Laws of Financial Freedom. For more information, please visit his website, www.IamAshCash.com.

He also left beyond some classics that always get the house rocking, especially on birthdays. Here is AllHipHop.com’s rundown of “Notorious B.I.G.’s Top 5 Tributes to the Good Life”:

1) “JUICY”: Biggie laments on his impoverished childhood, then remembers, ‘Wait, I’m rich now!’

“Birthdays was the worst days/ Now we drink champagne when we thirsty…”:

2) “PARTY AND BULLSHIT”: This is an anthem for ‘hood boys gone wild, and we all know Biggie had major love for his Brooklyn streets.

“Loungin’ black, smokin’ sacks up in Acs/ and Sidekicks with my sidekicks rockin’ fly kicks…”

3) “HYPNOTIZE”: At just 24, Biggie was already embracing his grown and sexy on this upbeat winner from Life After Death.

“Poppa been smooth since days of Underoos/ Never lose, never choose to…”

4) “SKY’S THE LIMIT”: Just check the lyrics – Biggie seemed super thankful here, and he had a lot to celebrate before his untimely passing in 1997.

“I like this young man. When he came out, he went from ashy to classy…”:

5) “F*CKING YOU TONIGHT” – Ever the mack, B.I.G. knew that no night of partying should end up with your homies still around.

“Skip the wine and the candlelight/ No Cristal tonight/ If it’s alright with you/ We f*ckin’ (that’s cool)…“

Happy birthday and R.I.P. to The Notorious B.I.G.! (May 21, 1972 – March 9, 1997) Tell us your favorites in the comment section!

The album’s tracklisting was revealed by Beiber via Twitter, prior to him taking the stage last night where he performed the Believe’s first single, “Boyfriend“, produced by Mike Posner.

As for the Hip-Hop talent Bieber has gathered, Ludacris will be featured on the album’s opening track, “All Around the World,” while Nicki Minaj and Drake will appear separately on the tracks, “Beauty and the Beat” and “Right Here.” G.O.O.D. Music’s Big Sean will appear on the Hit-Boy-produced “As Long As You Love Me”.

The 18-year-old singer and pop star has also enlisted producers such as Hit-Boy, Diplo, Kanye West, Timbaland, and Rodney Jerkins for Believe, to be released on June 19.

Image from GQ.

The Harlem MC has enlisted Curren$y, Sean Price, Action Bronson, Domo Genesis, Schoolboy Q, and more for his 12-track album that follows April’s Cuz I Felt Like It EP.

DZA spoke on his Harry Fraud produced album with AllHipHop.com: “It’s always a pleasure to work with somebody as talented as Harry, you know, I’m blessed to be able to work with him and put out a whole project with him. Harry Fraud is one of the best producers out, and that’s my brother man.”

“We’ve got an ill chemistry,” he said, “and we knock out a lot of records quick and they’re really hot. I got the same feeling from him that I got from Ski [Beatz] when I worked on George Kush Da Button. When me and Harry are in the studio, we just push each other. We’ve got big, big records on there. I’m just excited for the next chapter”

Rugby Thompson can be pre-ordered now at HighTimes.com.

Check out the tracklisting for Rugby Thompson below:

01. Rugby Thompson
02. New Jack
03. Baleedat ft. Curren$y
04. Playground Legend
05. Ashtray ft. Domo Genesis & ScHoolboy Q
06. F*ck Ya Mother ft. Sean Price
07. Game 7 ft. A$AP Twelvyy
08. Kenny Powers
09. Turnbuckle Music ft. Action Bronson
10. Rivermonts
11. Lo Horsemen ft. NYM LO, Meyhem Lauren & Thirstin Howl III
12. The Prelude To Judgement Day

Image by Steve-Ography.

Since its birth nearly 40 years ago in The Bronx, Hip-Hop has been embraced, adored, and imitated by the masses. It has been borrowed from rampantly by the mainstream over time, becoming the sentiment that defines everything cool and trendy, the sought-after sound that moves most crowds, and the dictionary that defines pop culture slang.

But what is it?

Well. It’s much more than music and jive talk. Over time, Hip-Hop and Rap have become nearly and incorrectly synonymous. But certainly, to those of us who have been raised by it and have it pulsing through our veins, we know it goes far beyond speaker systems and studio booths.

Hip-Hop is a notion, an ideal, a state of being, a way of walking and talking, an against the grain attitude, the spirit of the underdog, a spray painted tag on a wall, and much more. It’s gargantuan – possibly too huge to be defined properly – so instead we’ve interpreted it…through our gear, hairstyles, slang, bop, and other expressions of love.

And while a large chunk of the majority still portrays many of us Hip-Hop heads as hoodied hooligans, we, the wiser, know we’ve been onto something good for years now. Just turn on the TV and the radio, look up at the billboards, ponder the protests, and peek into the closets and iPods of kids from Tallahassee to Toronto to Taiwan.

What we’ve amassed in 40 years is worth celebrating and preserving, as our multi-generational status has now cemented our staying power. Now, it’s time to pop bottles, innovate musically, and inspire the youth with our positivity and political power.

Little old us? We (still) out’chea.

Hip-Hop rules.

All week long, AllHipHop.com is paying respects Hip-Hop. Check back in for our love letter to the culture!

The operation allegedly imported hundreds of kilos of the drug from the West Coast using overnight courier services and then sold them into the New York area.

The government claims the proceeds were sent to the West Coast, and then laundered through various companies controlled by Rosemond.

Today, Czar Entertainment’s former business manager, John Dash, took the stand to testify for the prosecution.

Dash is also currently the business manager for rapper Game and has handled the rapper’s finances since about 2005.

Dash testified that he regularly deposited money orders into Czar’s accounts and paid for expenses that he claimed he was told “was income derived from studio rental time.”

According to Dash, Rosemond earned most of his money through management commission checks issued to Czar Entertainment.

Dash said that in 2006-2007, Czar handled the careers of Mario Winans, Guerilla Black, and Game.

Dash said promoters often paid Game through wires, while smaller promoters often paid the rapper in cash.

Prosecutors for the government focused on Game’s tour revenue in the United States and overseas in 2007.

According to Dash, around this time about 80 percent of Game’s income was made from touring derived from overseas, which Czar would also get a piece of.

Dash said that around 2007, checks for as much as $100,000 would mysteriously arrive at the Czar offices, with no invoices or sender attached to them.

Dash revealed that Rosemond was also in business with a company named Flava Foods, which was a money losing venture that owned a chain of Fat Burger restaurants.

He said that Rosemond would make capital investments in the company, and also received one royalty check from a $200,000 investment in the movie, Cookout 2.

Dash claimed that although Rosemond’s income decreased starting in 2007, he was still making payments for a variety of expenses for his clients, including Game, Mike Tyson, and others.

Things came crashing down for Dash in 2010, when two IRS agents showed up to his house and began questioning him about his bank account records and his book keeping for companies owned by Rosemond.

But Dash’s reputation and credibility were severely damaged by James Rosemond’s attorney, Gerald Shargel.

Dash admitted that he was “relieved” that agents did not seize his own books during the initial raid, because he had already committed numerous bank fraud crimes, which had nothing to do with Rosemond or Czar Entertainment.

“I created fake W-2s, fake pay stubs, and mortgage loan applications for myself and some clients,” John Dash admitted on the stand.

He also admitted to several other crimes, including writing off over $1 million in business expenses, without Rosemond’s knowledge.

But, the most shocking information came when Dash admitted that he had no legal certification, educational background, or any other formal training to represent himself as an accountant for a variety of entertainers.

Shargel also made Dash admit that it was his idea to deposit cash payments in increments of less than $10,000, which is a crime called “structuring.”

Like other witnesses the prosecution has presented, Dash has a cooperation agreement with authorities to cover crimes he committed from 2004 until present.

Testimony continues today.

Mid-way through his “Club Paradise” tour, Drizzy Drake rocked Atlanta with a star-studded and long-anticipated show. The YMCMB phenom told the audience, “They been trying to keep us apart for about a year and a half now,” alluding to the last time Drake performed in Atlanta, which was October 2010.

Taking the stage to “Lord Knows”, his song with Rick Ross from Take Care, and then launching into snippets of his many hits, Drake got the crowd of almost 17,000 to their feet and kept them there. It was a cool night in Atlanta, and the audience at the outdoor amphitheater endured brief rainshowers during the opening acts, which included French Montana, Meek Mill, Waka Flocka Flame, and 2 Chainz.

The nearly two-hour Drake set had a theatrical feel, with black and white screens and dozens of solo spotlights bringing back out 2 Chainz. The duo performed “No Lie”, and surprisingly, T.I., came out and performed “What You Know”, after being persuaded by Drake, who said, “I ain’t much of a favor asker, but since we are in the A, and you are The King, can we take ‘em back on some classic sh*t?”

Drake also brought Waka Flocka Flame back out during his set, and he was officially dubbed “The King of the Club,” performing his banger, “Round of Applause”. Future made an appearance as well, and he and Drake rocked “Tony Montana”, followed by another appearance from Bad Boy/MMG’s French Montana.

During “Marvin’s Room,” the amphitheater sounded like it was hosting choir rehearsal, as all you could hear were women’s voices. The diverse crowd was largely women, yet every nationality was represented, which is true to Drake’s fan base. He cleverly made the audience a part of his act by turning up the house lights and individually shouting out people in the crowd. The move demonstrated that this tour is a defining moment for Aubrey Drake Graham, one where he distinguishes himself as more than just the artist of the moment, but one who is here to stay.

“Until next time Atlanta… Take Care.”

Drake’s “Club Paradise” tour runs through June 17.

Sponsored by AllHipHop.com, Rocksmith, Real Talk NYC, and Fusicology, the party will bring together performances from Bush Babies and Homeboy Sandman, along with several surprise performances in a legendary “ALL-STAR Cypher.”

Beyond Wednesday, the “Lyricist Lounge 20 Year Anniversary” celebration will continue with several commemorative events throughout New York following the kickoff party, including outdoor concerts in city parks in partnership with Summerstage and Celebrate Brooklyn.

Paying homage to the pioneers of Hip-Hop culture since 1991, the Lyricist Lounge has sought to promote up-and-coming raw artists, and in doing so, has facilitated three albums, seven domestic tours, two seasons of an MTV sketch comedy, called “The Lyricist Lounge Show“, and two DVD releases.

Mos Def, Invincible, Wordsworth, & Thirstin Howl III – “Lyricist Lounge Show Freestyle“

Over the years, the Lyricist Lounge has produced events for a host of stars, featuring Mos Def, Eminem, Notorious B.I.G, Rakim, Big Daddy Kane, The Roots, Common, MOP, Foxy Brown, Black Eyed Peas, and many more.

The “Lyricist Lounge 20 Year Anniversary” All-Star Reunion is open to the public – Hip-Hop fans, documentary filmmakers, and Lyricist Lounge alumni can expect a host of surprise guest appearances.

For more information on the All Star Reunion Party (to be held at Le Poisson Rouge, 158 Bleecker St, NY, NY 10012), visit HERE.

AllHipHop.com caught up with Emanny, and he talks his new game plan, working with Joe Budden and Jadakiss and reintroducing himself to the game.

“Some of the records most might know me for are “Hold You Down” and “Cuz We Paid” by Jadakiss, “One Last Time” by Emilio Rojas and “All Of Me” and “Dreamerz” by Joe Budden, but my debut project [Songs About HER] is what I want people who have no clue who I am to base me off of, and also a way of reintroducing myself to people who are aware of my work.”

Not just a performer, Emanny is an all-around musician, operating as a vocalist, songwriter, and arranger. Not just singing songs, Emanny reveals this project is more than just music, it’s personal:

“This project will give people insight to who I am personally as well, being that the music is based off my life experiences with loving and living.”

On working with Jadakiss, Emanny reveals it’s the best thing that’s happened in his career, saying:

“It’s been one of the most reassuring things to have happen in my career so far. When a guy who has hits, worked with the best in the business and has lasted this long, and keeps himself relevant calls upon and believes in my talents, it only lets me know that my gift is truly appreciated, and that I’m viewed to be equally as talented and promising as any other big name in the game.

“Jadakiss is a living legend, and for him to not only see the potential in me and my music, but to also want to be a part of it and invest in my gift, is a blessing,” he added.

Songs About HER drops May 23 on www.emannymusic.com.