By Mike Winslow
Miami rapper Pitbull has taken the #1 spot as the Top Independent Artist on MySpace.com. The rapper’s new album The Boatlift is available via his popular Myspace.com/pitbull page, where over 400,000 fans have visited in the past 24 hours to get a copy of the album, which is also in stores today (November 27). The Boatlift features guest appearances from rappers like Jim Jones, Lloyd, Don Omar and Trina, while Play-N-Skillz, Lil Jon & Mr. Collipark handled production on the album. The first single from The Boatlift is the single "Secret Admirer" featuring R&B crooner, Lloyd.
More issues plague the Wu-Tang Clan, as the group has canceled two high profile concerts, promotion company Live Nation announced today (November 27). The group canceled a show at the Fillmore in Denver Colorado on December 20 and another concert at the Electric Factory in Philadelphia on January 10. Live Nation did not offer an explanation for the cancellation of the concerts, which were meant to support their album 8 Diagrams. Wu-Tang Clan member Raekwon sent shockwaves through the Hip-Hop community when he told Miss Info that he was not happy with the musical direction of 8 Diagrams. He also claimed RZA was robbing him and other members of the Wu-Tang Clan. RZA addressed the comments on Tim Westwood’s BBC Radio 1 program and said that there was a simple "disagreement" between the two that has since been resolved.
Rapper Nas has pushed his controversial album Nigger back to February and will be released during Black History Month. The rapper is still finalizing the album’s track listing. Over the weekend a track titled "What It Is" hit the Internet, but Nas told MTV News that "What It Is" would not make the album and that the vocals were leaked and added to a random beat. According to reports, the album will feature production by Salaam Remi, Diddy, DJ Toomp and others.
Foxy Brown has been removed from solitary confinement at the Rose M. Singer Center for Women on Rikers Island. According to reports, Brown served 40 of her 76 days in the hole and was released for good behavior. Brown was originally ordered into solitary confinement due to instances of insubordination or altercations with other inmates and guards. Foxy Brown is serving a year in prison for violating her probation for assaulting another woman with a Blackberry in her Brooklyn Heights neighborhood.
