(AllHipHop News) A correctional officer who helped a notorious convict pull off multiple scams in the name of hip-hop, is heading to prison himself.

Jimmy Sabatino’s connection to hip-hop started in dramatic a way after he destroyed one of the L.A. Times’ biggest stories involving Tupac Shakur and Biggie Smalls’ rivalry.

Jimmy Sabatino’s was busted by the Feds earlier in September of 2017, for scamming Miami area jewelry stores out of almost $1 million worth of pricey goods by pretending to be an executive for Jay-Z’s Roc Nation.

His scam assured local jewelry businesses that their wares would be featured in top hip-hop videos.

Instead, Jimmy Sabatino Jr and his Gambino Family connects sold the gems to pawn shops.

Former correctional officer Michael Mazar is accused of supporting Sabatino in his attempt to wash over $10 million dollars worth of jewelry.

In a scene that could be straight out of “Goodfellas,” Michael Mazar is accused of delivering Sabatino luxury items straight to his jail cell, including dozens of cell phones, eyeglasses headphones, and even fast food.

In 2008, Jimmy Sabatino received 15 minutes of fame, after alleging to be an early associate of Sean “Diddy” Combs.

The L.A. Times printed a story with his information insisting Diddy and Biggie had previous knowledge that Tupac Shakur was going to be ambushed at Quad Studios in 1994 on the orders of James “Jimmy Henchman” Rosemond.

The story was blown apart and proven to be fake when journalists revealed Jimmy Sabatino had planted bogus documents into the federal court system.

The paper ended up issuing a retraction and apology to Diddy while settling a libel lawsuit for $250,000 with Jimmy Henchman.

Sabatino will be transferred to the Supermax in Florence, Colorado to serve out his time when he is sentenced in May.

(AllHipHop News) Rap veterans A Tribe Called Quest have joined forces with Pharrell Williams and his Billionaire Boys Club (BBC) clothing brand to launch a capsule collection.

The rap group has helped to design a line of hooded sweatshirts, T-shirts, and other merchandise for the streetwear label, featuring the BBC logo and graphics such as the album artwork for the group’s classic 1991 album, The Low End Theory.

Bandmate Jarobi White explains the collaboration, which was teased on social media last week, was born out of their wish to “give our brand new life” following the release of the rappers’ final album, 2016’s We Got It from Here…Thank You 4 Your Service, which dropped just months after the tragic death of original member Phife Dawg.

Meanwhile, rapper Consequence, who is the cousin of Tribe frontman Q-Tip, reveals fans can expect some special items added to the BBC line-up in the near future.

The A Tribe Called Quest collection will go on sale on March 13.

(AllHipHop News) Hip-Hop superstar Pharrell Williams is reportedly gearing up to launch a line of products for women, named after his 2014 album Girl.

The “Happy” hitmaker has obtained trademarks to use the phrases “Girl By Pharrell Williams” and “Pharrell Williams Girl” for clothing, lingerie, jewelry, athletic gear, luggage, and cosmetics, according to filings.

The application, initially filed in November, appears to indicate Pharrell’s interest in catering for his female fans, after previously tasting success with his streetwear fashion brands Billionaire Boys Club and Icecream, which have been generally marketed to male consumers.

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(AllHipHop News) Record Store Day 2018 is scheduled for Saturday, April 21. Label/online boutique Get On Down is offering fans the chance to purchase vinyl versions of albums by Cam’ron, Too $hort, Willie Colon, Lyrics Born, and Compton’s Most Wanted.

Cam’ron’s fourth full-length, Purple Haze, will be presented as a purple 2-LP. For the first time since 1990, Short Dog’s In The House by Too $hort will be available in vinyl format, and the Get On Down black edition will also come with a poster.

Additionally, consumers will have the chance to buy Willie Colon’s Wanted By The FBI: The Big Break, La Gran Fuga, Lyrics Born’s Later That Day [15th Anniversary Edition], and Compton’s Most Wanted’s Music To Driveby. All five albums will be available in-person-only at participating U.S. stores.

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(AllHipHop News) Chicago’s Louis “King Louie” Johnson is accusing Lawless, Inc. of breaching their record contract. The 30-year-old rapper filed a lawsuit against the company in Cook County Circuit Court, according to Fox 32.

The suit alleges Lawless has not made any royalty payments to King Louie. Despite claiming his music recordings have “generated significant purchases by the general public,” Johnson argues he was unable to determine how much money was made off his songs because he was not given access to the label’s financial records.

Louie wants to be able to view any Lawless’ documents related to his creations. He is also seeking any royalties owed to him as well as more than $50,000 in damages.

With 2007’s Boss Sh-t mixtape, King Louis began garnering attention in his hometown. Larry “Larro” Wilson’s Lawless Inc signed Louis in 2012 before entering into a partnership with Epic Records.

“We were gonna release it as an album on Lawless before Epic came into the picture, but Epic stepped in,” explained Louie in a 2012 interview with FakeShoreDrive. “They said they could help get it out there better than we could, and get it in certain markets we wouldn’t have been able to touch. So we decided to go with them.”

King L began building a national presence by contributing to Kanye West’s 2013 album Yeezus. Louie also made headlines in 2015 after he was shot in the head just days before Christmas.

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(AllHipHop News) Moroccan-American recording artist French Montana joined with Get Schooled and MTV to launch the “We Are The Dream” initiative. The “Unforgettable” rapper further used his celebrity to bring awareness to the education campaign for DACA recipients by writing an op-ed about the subject, along with Get Schooled executive director Marie Groark.

Get Schooled national spokesperson DJ Khaled also joined with Montana to help the DREAMers. Khaled took part in a Public Service Announcement for “We Are The Dream.”

Read French Montana and Marie Groark’s op-ed below:

Last week, we came together to launch “We are the Dream,” a multi-platform campaign to amplify resources for undocumented youth seeking higher education. Undocumented students and their supporters can access resources on wearethedream.us, join a Twitter chat or text in their questions.

I am French Montana, a first generation dreamer from Morocco. I immigrated to the Bronx in New York City at the age of 13 only speaking Arabic and French.

I am Marie Groark, an American born educator.

We both want to support teens as they find their path to success in this country. French knows first-hand how tough it can be to learn English and adapt to American culture.

The day after we launched, this text popped up in our “We Are the Dream” queue: “I am not sure I should submit a FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid).”  Every year, Get Schooled personally answers tens of thousands of text messages from middle and low-income students. These students are confused, concerned or stressed about the college application process. We coach them through the process and become the knowledgeable friend they need to help them get into college.

“What are you worried about,” we asked the student.

“My parents’ social security numbers. They don’t have them,” the student answered.

“No problem,” we replied. “The standard way to handle this is to just put 0’s where you would have put their social security numbers, print out the signature page, have them sign it and mail it in. You should be totally fine.”

“Yes, but if I do that, won’t I flag my parents as undocumented to the government?”

Students who are undocumented or whose parents are undocumented experience an even more stressful path from high school to college. It’s not surprising then that fewer than 10% of the 65,000 high school graduates who are undocumented will earn a degree.

Will accessing grants that they qualify for put their families on a watch list?

It is common knowledge that college is prohibitively expensive. It is nearly impossible to attend for most families without access to some grants, subsidized loans or subsidized tuition. Many undocumented students don’t access aid, either because they aren’t aware of what is available, or because nothing is available.

“I am undocumented and started my college education in Missouri” another student wrote. “But I cannot afford to continue. What are my options?”

Missouri has no in-state tuition or grants available to undocumented students. The texter has to pay in cash for his college education. “Have you tried private scholarships?”

We are not political people. We are an educator and a multi-platinum hip hop artist. But we believe passionately in the worth of every human being. We believe in the power of education to unlock human potential. We work tirelessly to ensure that young people — wherever they may live, wherever they may attend school, whatever education their parents may have — have a voice to advocate for themselves along with access to the tools, resources and community that will help them fulfill their dreams.

“I want to go to college,” another texted, “but not sure I can. I am undocumented”.

“Where do you live?” we wrote back.

“California,” the texter replied.

“You can complete a California Dream Act Application and access a full Cal Grant if you qualify.”

“But is it safe?”

The statistics tell us that our belief in the power of education is well founded. Education is highly correlated with one’s participation in civic society, health, and, of course, earnings. The good news is that there is aid out there for some undocumented students. Eighteen states have granted aid — whether grants or subsidized tuition — to undocumented students. TheDream.us has raised more than $400 million in scholarships.

But undocumented students are too often alone, not knowing who to trust or where to get their questions answered. So much of the aid goes unclaimed.

“I have a question,” wrote another texter, “Can you help me?” Yes we can.

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(AllHipHop News) So So Def’s family drama continues to play out on Growing Up Hip Hop: Atlanta. This week’s upcoming episode features a scene where Da Brat expresses her disappointment with Shad “Bow Wow” Moss.

While speaking with legendary record producer/executive Jermaine Dupri, Da Brat says, “[Bow Wow] is going to different record labels. To me, that’s kind of like a slap in the face.” She later adds, “That’s not loyalty. When the chips [are] down, you stick with your f-cking people.”

This is not the first time Da Brat has called out her GUHHATL castmate. Last month, the WE tv reality series featured a moment where the Funkdafied album creator took issue with Bow Wow leaking his own music before JD could hear the tunes.

Growing Up Hip Hop Atlanta airs Thursdays at 9 pm ET on WE tv.

(AllHipHop News) Ice Cube’s game show “VH1 Hip Hop Squares will return for a second season this month.

The game show is a hip-hop twist on the old “Hollywood Squares” featuring some of today’s biggest rap stars competing to showcase their knowledge of pop culture.

DeRay Davis returns as host for the second season of “VH1 Hip Hop Squares” which will feature guests like Tiffany Haddish, Snoop Dogg, T.I. Erykah Badu, Jay Pharoah, Teyana Taylor & Iman Shumpert, Blac Chyna, Fat Joe, Remy Ma, Jay Pharoah, A$AP Ferg, Amanda Seales, Karrueche, Lil Jon and more.

“VH1 Hip Hop Squares” debuts on Wednesday, April 18 At 10 pm.

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(AllHipHop News) The first season of Marvel’s Luke Cage used Gang Starr songs as the name of each episode. For season 2, the superhero series is borrowing titles from another duo from Hip Hop’s Golden Era.

“Season Two’s episodes are named in honor of PETE ROCK & CL SMOOTH. [Pete Rock] you had no idea, did you? Lol,” tweeted Luke Cage executive producer and show-runner Cheo Hodari Coker.

Music plays an important part in the Marvel Cinematic Universe program. Hip Hop/Soul composer Adrian Younge worked with A Tribe Called Quest member Ali Shaheed Muhammad to score Luke Cage.

“Luke Cage is a Hip Hop head. But, as you know, being part of Hip Hop culture doesn’t mean you just listen to Hip Hop music. You also listen and understand the source material that created Hip Hop like the breaks, Jazz, and Funk – all the stuff that helped spawn the notion of Hip Hop,” Younge told AllHipHop in 2016.

He continued, “So the music that we make encapsulates all of that – Hip Hop, the source material, and a combination of these genres – in order to make something new for Luke Cage. It’s basically all of that.”

New episodes of Luke Cage begin streaming June 22 on Netflix. The show stars Mike Colter as the titular character.