R&B/Soul singer Jennifer Hudson made her first public appearance Sunday (February 1) at the Super Bowl, since the tragedy that she endured when her mother, brother, and nephew were murdered last October.

Hudson was present to sing the national anthem. For weeks prior to Jennifer’s Super Bowl performance, rumors swirled about when Hudson would return to making public appearances, including a rumor that she was going to perform at the inauguration of President Barack Obama.

At last night’s Super Bowl performance Hudson stepped to the stage wearing a blue military style jacket reflecting patriotism and pride in the changes that are happening in this country as a result of Barack Obama’s presidency.

Though hurt was still present in Jennifer’s eyes, she performed with a sense of triumph, hitting every note with accuracy and pitch while fans, sparking a debate as to whether or not she topped Whitney Houston’s amazing rendition during during 1991’s Super Bowl XXV.

Fans, athletes, and heroes such as the crew from US Airways Flight 1549 – who landed a passenger airbus plane in the Hudson River last month – looked on in amazement and admiration.

Hudson is scheduled to perform at this year’s Grammy Award show on February 8, where she is nominated for four Grammy Awards.

She has also been nominated for seven NAACP Image Awards and is set to premiere a music video for her single “If This Isn’t Love” the day after the Grammy’s.

Williams Balfour is the prime suspect in the shooting deaths of Hudson’s mother, Darnell Donerson, brother Jason Hudson and nephew Julian King.

Balfour, the estranged husband of Jennifer Hudson’s sister, Julia Hudson, has pleaded not guilty to the crimes.

While millions of fans are tuning into tonight’s Super Bowl XLIII, rapper Snoop Dogg is celebrating his team’s youth’s football teams’ victory yesterday, in Tampa, Bay Florida.

A number of NFL legends were on hand to witness rapper Snoop Dogg’s annual Snoop Bowl VII yesterday (January 31).

In attendance were rivals coaches Snoop Dogg and former Tampa Bay Buccaneer Mike Alstott, as well NFL Hall of Famer Deion Sanders as well as Arizona Cardinals’ running back Edgerrin James.

Over 3,000 spectators filled the seats of Gaither High School’s stadium yesterday to witness Snoop’s Snoop’s Youth Football League (SYFL) All-Stars defeated Alstott’s locally assembled team 16-6.

The proceeds from The Snoop Bowl will be donated to local Big Brothers Big Sisters of Tampa Bay, Florida, as well as the Children’s Cancer Center.

Snoop Dogg founded the Snoop Youth Football League in 2005, which coaches and mentors 2,000 at-risk kids from the Los Angeles area.

Rapper Jay Electronica and soul singer Erykah Badu are the new parents of a baby girl that was born on Feb. 1.

The rapper gave continued updates on his Twitter page, AllHipHop.com has learned.

Electronica said, “Feb 1. 2009 my first child, my daughter was born at 1:30 pm exactly. Its the happiest day of my life.”

Moments before the birth, Electronica said, “I see the head. Full of hair.”

Their relationship appears to be strong, but it hasn’t been without controversy.

Earlier in 2008, Badu responded to critical fans that had views over the singer having another child by a rapper. The Dallas, TX native also has a child with Andre 3000 of Outkast, and another with The D.O.C., a legendary rapper closely affiliated with N.W.A. and Dr. Dre.

At the time, Badu stated:

“How date you disrespect the queendom…and my children and my intelligence. I’ve never been so disgusted in all of my life. I am a great mother and caregiver to my two children, and to this world. My children are two of the kindest and happiest people I have met … I am their doctor and their nurse, and even sometimes their mother and their father. I am an excellent mother and resent all of the negative comments and insults on my character.”

Still the pair’s loving ways have apparently prevailed. They even appeared on the February 2008 cover of URB magazine.

Clearly ecstatic, Jay Electronica commented, seemingly in jest, that he wanted to stream the birth on the internet.

[Editor’s Note:AllHipHop.com congratulates the pair on the birth of their daughter.]

Freestyle Fellowship member Aceyalone has announced the second installment to his creative series of recordings that pay homage to various genres of music.

The upcoming album Aceyalone & The Lonely Ones pays tribute to Phil Spector’s famed “Wall of Sound” recording technique, as well as the rapper’s various personal influences, including the sound of Doo-Wop, Blues and Funk.

The album is the follow up to 2007’s Lightening Strikes, which paid homage to Aceyalone’s love for Jamaican music.

Aceyalonea and Bionil attempt to authentically recreate the sounds associated with each genre represented on the album.

A representative for the rapper described the album as having a “full big-band sound….coupled with finger snaps, falsetto choruses and Rickenbacker guitar that is a look more towards Motown & the Wall of Sound than today’s by-the-numbers beats.”

The release was co-produced by Bionik, who also produced Lighting Strikes in its entirety.

Aceyalone & The Lonely Ones is due in stores March 31.

Rakim, one of the legends of Hip-Hop, has attributed the lack of balance and possible death of Hip-Hop to his hometown of New York.

Rakim made the proclamation about New York in an interview with Jenny Boom Boom of Hot 93.7 in Connecticut.

“There is a certain realm of Hip-Hop [that is missing] and you might have to blame that on New York,” Rakim said. “New York is responsible for bringing that raw, that real gritty Hip-Hop, because we originated it.”

He said there was hope, if the region got back to the staple sound that hit its zenith in the 80’s and 90’s.

“New York and the East Coast, we gotta represent and do our part. And it’s OK for everybody else to do what they do. Then it will be a balance and everybody’ll be happy.”

Nevertheless, the pioneering rap artist remained optimistic about the future for the genre.

“I’m feeling good [and] optimistic and I’m hoping people understand that power that Hip-Hop got. I hope everybody understands the time we in right now, and I hope everybody wanna make some good music and keep Hip-Hop alive.”

Rakim was hard pressed to pinpoint a savior to return rap to the Golden Era, but he said that it could happen through a unified movement.

Click here for the full audio of the Rakim interview with Jenny Boom Boom.

Acclaimed film director and producer John Singleton has released the first exhaustive book chronicling his 18-year journey through the entertainment industry.

John Singleton: Interviews contains introspective interviews, profile stats, and behind the scenes filming information on the director’s entire filmography.

At a mere 23- years old, Singleton shocked the film industry with the South Central, coming of age 1991 classic Boyz N the Hood.

The film earned the young director two Oscar nominations for Best Original Screenplay and Best Director.

Further into the 90s and the 2000s, Singleton was instrumental in showing that Hip-Hop artists could be viable in dramatic roles.

The Los Angeles native worked with Ice Cube in Boyz N the Hood and Higher Learning, the late Tupac Shakur in Poetic Justice, Snoop Dogg in the satire Baby Boy, and Andre 3000 in Four Brothers.

While not the first director to portray Hip-Hop stars in his or her films, USA Weekend Magazine editor Craig Barboza argues that Singleton “became the first to translate the politics and passion of the music into an artfully woven story that didn’t speak down to its audience.”

As a producer, Singleton also helped cultivate the well-received films Hustle and Flow and Black Snake Moan.

John Singleton: Interviews is available now in paperback for $22 and unjacketed cloth for $50.

Singleton is currently working with Marvel Studios and Columbia pictures to direct the film adaptation of super-hero Luke Cage.

Golden era Hip-Hop group Lord of the Underground have announced the 22-date Check The Rhyme Tour of Europe, which is slated to kick off February 1, in the Netherlands.

The group will hit major markets during the tour, which stops in the Netherlands, the UK, France, Switzerland, Germany, Denmark, Sweden and Finland, as well several stops in major German cities like Vienna and Austria.

The Lords of The Underground consists rappers Do It All and Mr. Funke and DJ Lord.

The Lords are best known for their hit records “Chief Rocka” and “Funky Child.”

Group member “Do It All” Du Kelly is also the founder of Lord Gang Worldwide, which helps guide independent artists within the entertainment industry.

He is also the new host of Doitall Radio, which arist on Streetz 96.5 FM broadcasting in the New Jersey area and on the Internet on www.streetz96.com.

Tour dates are listed below:

1 FEB Effenaar / Eindhoven / Netherlands 2 FEB Indigo / London / Uk 3 FEB TRAVEL DAY >>>>>> 4 FEB Havana /Toulouse / France 5 FEB Tba /Bordeaux / France 6 FEB Transbordeur/ lyon / France 7 FEB Elesee mont mantre /Paris / France 8 FEB tba / Zurich / Switserland 9 FEB tba /Frankfurt / germany 10 FEB Vega /CopenHagen/ Denmark 11 FEB Sticky fingers/ Gothenburg / Sweden 12 FEB tba /Trondheim / Denmark 13 FEB Ra / Oslo / Norway 14 FEB tba/ Helsinki / Finland 15 FEB tba /Stockholm / Sweden 16 FEB tba /Hamburg / germany 17 FEB tba/ Cologne/ Germany 18 FEB tba/ berlin /Germany 19 FEB tba /Prague / CHech republic 20 FEB Backstage/ munich /Germany 21 FEB tba/ Stutgart / Germany 22 FEB tba /Vienna / Austria

DMX appeared in a Phoenix court room today (January 30), where he was sentenced to 90 days in prison.

The 38-year-old rapper, who is currently in the Maricopa, Arizona jail, appeared before a Maricopa, County judge in black and white pin stripes, looking noticeably heavier.

The judge sentenced DMX to three months in prison, after Maricopa County sheriff’s deputies raided his Cave Creek, Arizona home last year on suspicion of animal abuse.

Investigators found several malnourished dogs, as well as the charred remains of three others.

Also recovered were guns, ammunition and drug paraphernalia.

He was also accused of felony theft, after he gave a fake name and social security numbers to workers treating him at a Scottsdale clinic last April.

As expected, several charges against the rapper were dropped in exchange for his plea of guilty.

The rapper must also serve 18 months supervised probation. The sentencing marks the end of almost a full year of warrants, raids and multiple arrests.

He was eventually apprehended December 9 in the Miami mansion of producer Scott Storch.

Since his incarceration, DMX has been reading the bible each day and is planning a religious themed television show to teach children a positive message.

This weekend’s Super Bowl game between the Arizona Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Steelers won’t be the only thing promoting a spirit of celebration.

Hip Hop 4 Habitat will cap off more than a week of building homes for needy families by joining forces with the Hip Hop Soda shop to build what it calls the Champion’s house.

The two-week effort, which involves volunteers from the Tampa Bay, Florida Area, provides affordable housing for more than six families.

Construction of the Champion’s house will start at 6 a.m. Sunday (Feb. 1) at Renaissance Hotel Tampa, International Plaza.

A Habitat family will receive the completed home, which will be taken to the home state of the team that wins the Super Bowl.

Other project collaborators include Habitat for Humanity Hillsborough and Pinellas Counties as well as the NFL’s Community Impact Program.

Hip Hop Soda Shop founder Brian Peters expressed his gratitude in working with the organizations as he labeled the collective effort as “a platform for revitalizing the community,”

“We are taking a stance and playing our part in rebuilding this great country of ours,” Peters said via a statement to AllHipHop.com. “This week we represent Hip-Hop in showing the world the contributions we can make in our communities and worldwide.”

The Champion’s house is the second residence involving Hip Hop 4 Habitat.

The organization, whose first home was built last year in Detroit, is dedicated towards partnering with Habitat for Humanity international affiliates in an effort to encourage prominent Hip-Hop artists to use their influence and affluence to serve others and assist in building homes.

Less than 24 hours after being called out 50 Cent’s new diss “Try me,” Rick Ross has begun his own attack against his adversary’s credibility.

Ironically, Rick Ross appeared on Eminem’s Shade45 XM/Sirius satellite station during an appearance on Angela Yee’s “Lip Service” show.

The rapper spoke on the reason for launching the first salvo, “Mafia Music,” and an alleged confrontation at last year’s BET awards.

“It’s nothing that can be personal,” Ross explained. “I seen him at the BET awards. I had different intentions for him, and when I bumped into him he made an expression on his face that disappointed me as a real n*gga. I gave him a pass. [But] it (“Mafia Music”) was just to let n*gga’s know.”

Regarding 50’s rebuttal, Ross accused the Queens native of shaming his region’s legacy of classic diss records.

“I was positive that couldn’t be the response,” quipped an incredulous Ross. “You from New York City, the Mecca of Hip-Hop, and that’s your response?! We’re all gonna act like we didn’t hear that garbage for 48 hours. Go back to the lab and come up with something else.”

On Wednesday (January 28), Ross held a lavish celebration for his 33rd birthday. The rapper first held a private yacht dinner with family and close friends.

Later, Ross ventured to Miami’s Karu and Y nightclub and performed selected songs. Ross also revealed plans to release his third album, Deeper Than Rap, in April.

The first single, “I’m the Magnificent,” features John Legend and is prepped to hit radio outlets next week.

“I think its going to be one of the biggest albums of the year,” Ross stated. “This is the Rick Ross you haven’t seen or heard and expect some surprises along the way.”

At press time, confirmed guest appearance for Deeper Than Rap include Nas, Usher, Akon, Mary J. Blige, and Usher.

With President Barack Obama as inspiration, Fonzworth Bentley is playing a more active role in the second season of his hit MTV reality show From G’s to Gents.

Bentley’s investment in the series as a co-producer is one that relies on reinforcing its ability to present more options for those on the verge of making important choices.

Viewers will learn more about the G’s this season, as the show takes a deeper look at the men via real-life stories of the participants’ past and present lives up until they experience their first day on the show.

“From Gs to Gents is not just another television show for me and the crew. This is a transformational program whose desire is to help young men expand their choices in life,” Bentley stated. “It was important for me to be a part of the production team so that I can add another layer of support to our mission.”

Created by Oscar-winning actor Jamie Foxx, From G’s to Gents chronicles the transformation of a group of men who opt to shed their bad boy persona in favor of a better image.

The first season of the series featured 14 G’s who competed for a chance to be invited into the “Gentleman’s Club.”

The upcoming season will include 16 G’s who will be guided through new lessons and challenges that range in style, chivalry, work ethic and philanthropy.

How well and willingly the participants learn the lessons to become a “gentleman” will be shown in each of the show’s 10 one-hour long episodes.

G’s who aren’t successful in becoming gentlemen are eliminated each week and denied membership in to the “Gentleman’s Club.”

The G who masters what he learns will receive $100,000 at the end of the season as well the opportunity to call himself a true gentleman.

He will also join last year’s winner, Creepa, as a member of the Gentleman’s Club.

“President Obama is the ultimate example of the redefinition of ‘Cool,’” Bentley continued. “He’s helping young men see that with an education, having clear goals, confidence and style; they too can reach for the stars. That’s what this movement is all about.”

The new season of From G’s to Gents will kick off with a 90-minute premiere at 10 p.m. ET/PT Feb. 10.

The reality show will follow rapper T.I.’s new series, T.I.’s Road to Redemption: 45 Days to Go.