(AllHipHop News) Rapper Snoop Dogg will enter the business world of the MMA this Saturday, when he is expected to be named President of the Serious Pimp clothing/sunglasses company. The announcement is expected to take place at the Venus Pool Club at Caesar’s Palace this Saturday (May 29th) afternoon.  Snoop and company will then attend the UFC’s highly anticipated contest between Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and Rashad Evans. “This brings the best of both worlds to Serious Pimp. Snoop Dogg knows what the people want and shares our vision to promote events that combine the Hip Hop culture and the MMA movement,” said Serious Pimp Founder and CEO Damian Kutzner. “Together we will usher in the next era for the Serious Pimp brand and satisfy the demand from the Hip Hop community and extreme fighting lifestyle world.”The announcement comes weeks after Snoop’s “spiritual advisor” Bishop Don Juan, was named as Serious Pimp’s Chairman of the Board. Snoop will leverage his contacts in the music industry to help expand the brand create events that merge Hip-Hop music with MMA fighting and create a stronger bond between the brand and the sport. “Serious Pimp got its start sponsoring MMA fighters in their bouts,” continued Kutzner, who launched the company in 1999. “Ironically, ‘Rampage’ was one of the first fighters we got behind. Snoop Dogg’s attendance at this fight shows the company’s connection to the past and its vision for the future,” Kutzner said. After the bout between Jackson and Evans, Snoop Dogg will hit the stage at the LAX Nightclub at the Luxor for a special celebratory performance.

(AllHipHop News) This June, a number of top rappers will head to the Tupac Amaru Shakur Center Stone Mountain  to celebrate the birthday of legendary rapper Tupac Shakur. Rick Ross, Bun B., Too $hort, The Outlawz, Roscoe Dash and Pill are among the rap stars who will gather in Atlanta at the 2nd Annual Tupac Shakur Birthday Concert on June 16th to honor the slain rap icon.”Tupac was a legend, may his memory last 100 lifetimes,” Rick Ross told AllHipHop.com in a statement released today (May 27th). As the sole surviving member of UGK, Bun B. said that he realized the value and challenges associated with upholding a legacy, after his partner Pimp C. died of natural causes in December of 2007. “As the sole member of UGK, I understand and accept the role of upholding a legacy. It’s not an easy task, and I accept and appreciate the love and support for family, friends, fans and supporters alike,” Bun B. stated. “So I’m always ready to help uphold the honor of hip hop’s fallen soldier. I take pride in standing and remembering 2Pac, one of the greatest ever.”The second annual birthday celebration is being produced by Tupac’s mother Afeni Shakur and comedian Mike Epps. “This is the second year that we are celebrating Pac’s birthday in concert,” Mike Epps said. “As fans we are just giving back some of what he gave to us. This charity event helps support the Tupac Amaru Shakur Center for the Arts in Atlanta. On June 16th, Ms. Shakur and I along with some of the biggest names in hip hop will celebrate Tupac’s life, legacy and music! Don’t miss it!”Tickets for the event are $25 and will be available at www.16thofjune.com and at the Tupac Amaru Shakur Center for the Arts located at 5616 Memorial Drive in Stone Mountain, GA. 

(AllHipHop News) CNN has issued an apology for playing a profanity laced song by Coolio in the middle of the afternoon yesterday (May 27th). The network played an uncensored version of Coolio’s “Fantastic Voyage” at the end of a segment about a 103-year-old Coatesville, Pennsylvania woman named Gladys Flamer, who still enjoyed driving her Cadillac. The Redding News Review reported that anchor/host Kyra Phillips immediately apologized for the embarrassing mistake after a commercial break. “We aired some music a few minutes ago, and, obviously for those of you that heard it, it was the wrong music that aired,” Phillips said. “We apologize for that. It was a terrible mistake. And we’re working very hard to make up for it.”Farmer will turn 104 next month.

(AllHipHop News) D12 group member Swifty McVay is the latest artist to run into tax trouble with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Swifty McVay, born Ondre Moore, owes the government over $254,000 in back state and federal taxes according to reports. |On March 31st, the IRS placed a lien against the rapper with the Los Angeles County Recorder of Deeds. An additional lien of $22,036 was filed against Swifty and his wife in LA. They also owe the state of Michigan another $7,199 in back taxes dating back to November of 2009. Swifty’s lawyer told the Detroit News that the rapper was attempting to make good on his debt to the IRS. “Mr. Moore takes full responsibility for his debt to the IRS and the state and is working with the government in resolving his outstanding tax liability,” Freeman said. “He has rejoined with his prior manager, and his current business and tax matters are now being properly handled.”Other members of D12 are also facing tax issues.  Last year, Kuniva was hit with a $215,000 bill, while Denaun Porter owed over $61,000 while Kon Artis owed over $150,000 dollars.

Legendary Hip-Hop collective Wu-Tang Clan have announced the release of  Pollen: The Swarm Part 3, the third installment of the group’s “swarm” franchise. The new album will feature appearances from Method Man, Ghostface Killah, RZA, Trife, Solomon Childs, Boy Jones, 12 oclock, Prodigal Sun, Killer Priest, Street Life, Remedy, JoJo Pelligrino, the Rev Burke, the late Ol Dirty Bastard and others. “Wu-Tang is forever and we will continue to shine light and spread music to the world,” said executive producer The RZA, while co-executive producer Power added “as for anyone and anything else, you may need to refer back to the Wu-Tang’s first suggestion which is to certainly ‘Protect Ya Neck.’”Pollen: The Swarm Part 3 is due in stores on June 22nd, 2010.

(AllHipHop News) With pointed criticism of their product from southern Hip-Hop legends Scarface and Luke, VH1 Honors executive producers Nelson George and Fab Five Freddy are defending this year’s selections and criteria.

This year, individuals like Suave House Records founder Tony Draper voiced displeasure at his contributions being omitted, while others such as Luke have stated the show fails to acknowledge all his accolades as a pioneer business mogul.

Freddy and George welcome the dialogue, explaining that Hip-Hop history shows fans and artists are always very vocal about the culture.

“No matter how you feel people are still extremely passionate about it,” Fab Five Freddy told VH1. “We constantly explain there’s no chronological method to how we’re doing this…we try to pick people from different eras, whether it’s closer to the beginning from that late 80s into the 90s. And like I said it’s only been a 10 year criteria that we [use]. [We look for] people that carved out specific lanes and styles within the music.”

Regarding the selections, George stated that Hip-Hop fans still mostly remain committed to their particular region, and many times will fail to see why another pioneering emcee whose work was more transcendent gets picked for their achievements.

“They say all politics is local, all Hip-Hop to people is still local. There are some people who are transcendent stars, but people want their place represented” he detailed. “As much conversation that we get from southerners saying we’re ghettoizing it, conversely we get people saying why are you honoring those people down South? It goes back and forth. I don’t think there’s any way you can go into the space that’s called Hip-Hop and do something that’s going to appease everyone.”

The show is set to feature one honoree from 5 southern regions, but some have also questioned whether Freddy and George, 2 native New Yorkers, have the understanding and knowledge of those different cities to give ideal presentations.

Fab Five Freddy counters this stance on the grounds that his work on the seminal Hip-Hop staple, Yo! MTV Raps, allowed him to travel extensively and give many southern artists their first national exposure.

“Yes I’m born, bred, and collar green fed in the streets of New York City, but with Yo! MTV Raps and my curious nature I was able to go to these other places where these new forms [of Hip-Hop] and artists were emerging,” Freddy said. “Many people came with me to Liberty City to see what 2 Live Crew were really about; to go to the 5th Ward in Texas to see the Geto Boys…I got to share those experiences with a lot of other people to show that it’s not just us in the Bronx, in Brooklyn, or Money Makin’ Manhattan, there’s cats in many other places making viable music.”

The 2010 VH1 Hip-Hop Honors: Dirty South will air on Monday June 7 at 9PM EST. Honorees will include Master P, Jermaine Dupri, J. Prince, Timbaland, and Luther “Luke” Campbell.

(AllHipHop News) Female rap star Da Brat is currently winding down a jail sentence for striking another woman in the face with a bottle during an altercation in an Atlanta-area club in November of 2007.The rapper was sentenced to three years in prison in 2008, for hitting an aspiring model/Atlanta Falcons cheerleader named Shayla Stevens with a bottle of rum, causing lacerations and nerve damage. Today (May 26th), Da Brat appeared on Jermaine Dupri’s Living the Life blog, where she appeared at the mogul’s Atlanta studio and revealed she was out on a pass, visiting her lawyer. According to Da Brat, born Shawntae Harris, she is currently in a work release program, where making windows everyday, from 9-5.“I’m doing my thing, when I come out I’ma be making windows, music, movies, TV shows, anything I can get my hands on,” Da Brat said. “It’s too much grass done grew up while I aint do nothing all this time and it got on my nerves. I’m fittin to come out and run..fast.”Da Brat did not reveal any details on her new projects.

(AllHipHop News) Actor/rapper Common and Serena Williams have ended their two year relationship according to In Touch Magazine.

The weekly gossip magazine has cited a source close to the rapper who claims the pair “just grew apart.” According to the New York Post, Common and Serena attended the premiere of the movie Date Night in April, but Serena was not with the rapper at the May 4th premiere of his new movie Just Wright.

Common or Serena have yet to issue a statement on the status of their relationship, but in articles printed last week, the rapper was talking about marriage.

“It would be a great thing but I can’t say that right now,” Common said on Wendy Williams’ show last week. “I would love to be married and have children someday. So if Serena is that person, it would be a lovely thing.”

In related news, Common revealed that he planned on being one of the great actors and that acting was his new creative medium.

“My hip-hop background really can’t catapult me to where I want to be as an actor,” Common told The Philadelphia Inquirer last week.  “I do acknowledge that hip-hop has built a foundation for me in the way that it allows me different experiences as a performer and taught me how to endure when you’re dealing with difficult situations. But acting is a different medium. I know I have to go through the process of training and the things that it takes to become a great actor. And my goal is to become one of the greatest.”Common is working on a new album titled The Believer, which is due in stores this Fall.