(AllHipHop News) East coast production wizard DJ Premier has announced a new project with West Coast rap legend MC Eiht, of Compton’s Most Wanted.

DJ Premier will executive produce MC Eiht’s upcoming 11th album, titled Which Way Is West.

In addition to executive production duties on Which Way Is West, DJ Premier will release the album on his independent label, Year Round Records.

In addition to DJ Premier, Which Way Is West will feature production by Marco Polo and other upcoming producers, as well as appearances by Year Round artists NYGz.

MC Eiht rose to fame as a member of gangsta rap group Compton’s Most Wanted, who released three classic albums, It’s a Compton Thang, Straight Checkn ‘Em and Music to Driveby.

He also had a starring role in the movie Menace II Society, which produced the single “Streiht Up Menace.”

MC Eiht has released albums consistently throughout the past 15 years, including his last release Affiliated, which hit stores in 2006.

Which Way Is West is due in stores this Summer.

Download the sampler here: http://usershare.net/9ntnnhdwnalp

(AllHipHop News) Jay-Z has revealed the motive behind his absence from last Friday’s (February 12) star-studded “We Are the World 25 for Haiti” record.

The charity single remake was executive-produced by the trio of Quincy Jones, Lionel Ritchie, and Wyclef Jean. Like the 1985 original, it was a prodigious gathering of over 80 musicians from various genres.

Hip-Hop artists such as Lil Wayne, LL Cool J, Snoop Dogg, Busta Rhymes, Swizz Beatz, and Kanye West were featured prominently in solo and chorus duties.

Because of his many outreach efforts over the years in Africa (water shortage crisis) and with Hurricane Katrina, many were surprised that Jay-Z did not lend his talents to the track.

The Brooklyn native explained to MTV News that while he supported the motivation behind the project, he was uncomfortable with seeing a legendary work tampered with.

“I know everybody is gonna take this wrong: ‘We Are the World,’ I love it, and I understand the point and think it’s great,” Jay reasoned. “But I think ‘We Are the World’ is like [Michael Jackson’s] Thriller to me. I don’t ever want to see it touched.”

Jay-Z developed a friendship with Jackson in the early 2000s through several collaborations.

They exchanged guest spots in 2001 with Jackson singing backup on Blueprint’s “Girls Girls Girls,” and Jay-Z laying a verse on the Trackmaster’s “You Rock My World Remix.”

That same year, Jackson was Jay-Z’s surprise special guest at Hot 97’s annual Summer Jam.

At press time, Jay-Z is promoting his latest album with Young Jeezy and Trey Songz as part of the Blueprint 3 2010 tour.

(AllHipHop News) 50 Cent’s Cheetah Vision Films started filming Love Me, Love Me Not, in West Michigan this week. According to Fox 17, 50’s company is shooting the movie at Grand Valley State University football stadium in Allendale. According to reports, the movie centers around a football player who has been diagnosed with cancer. 50 Cent will return on Wednesday (February 17) to finish shooting the film. Shooting on the film will also take place for three more weeks in West Michigan starting in May.

Travis Barker has lined up a number of Hip-Hop heavyweights for his upcoming solo album. Spinner.com reports that Lil Wayne, Beanie Sigel, Swizz Beatz and The RZA will be featured on the album, which is an eclectic mix of Punk Rock, Hip-Hop, Electro and other genres of music. “I’m not singing or being an MC or anything,” Barker said. “Over the last five years, when Blink wasn’t around, I played a lot by myself or did a whole bunch of stuff with just me. Whether I was playing with T.I. or doing whatever, it just opened another world for me.” No release date was available for Barker’s album.

Jay-Z will headline the Wireless Festival in London’s Hyde Park this year for the second time in two years. Jay-Z, who was also the headline event for The Wireless Festival in 2008, will close the weekend festival on Sunday, July 4. The appearance at The Wireless Festival is part of a series of dates Jay-Z is slated to play in the UK this summer. On June 7, Jay-Z He will headline at the Manchester Arena, followed by a date at the Birmingham LG Arena on June 9.

Public Enemy hypeman turned reality TV star Flavor Flav (William Drayton, Jr.) will soon answer charges that he owes $63,458.00 in back child support to the mother of three of his children.

According to the Albany County Child Support Collection Division, Mary Parker originally had an agreement in place since 1996 that covered the former couple’s two children at the time. However, Parker moved to have the agreement amended in July 2008 after the birth of a third child.

She was successful with an appeal last month, and a judge ordered Flavor Flav’s weekly payment of $117 increased to $837.72, along with requirements to cover private school tuition fees dating back to the original 2008 amendment filing.

Flav, who celebrates his 51st birthday next month, explained that he will contest the order on the grounds that he’s made payments to his children’s mother beyond the court decreed amount.

“The judgment is recent as I was just made aware of it,” Flav stated to the NY Post. “I’ll certainly be addressing it. However, I’ve made payments on my children’s tuition, and have made direct payment to the mother outside of the court order.”

Since finding success on several VH1 reality shows (Surreal Life, Strange Love, Flavor of Love) in the mid 2000s, Flavor Flav has been attacked by several family members for alleged financial abandonment.

In January 2009, a daughter accused him of bring a bad parent for reneging on a promise to pay for her final semester of college, and only seeing her one week out the year.

Karen Ross-Fortunate, another mother of three of Flav’s children, went public in stating the Public Enemy member did not financially support his children, in particular their eldest son’s college tuition expenses.

Flav has seven children, the last being a boy named Karma born in 2007.

At press time, Flavor Flav’s Albany County child support case does not have a court date.

Bryan “Baby” Williams, co-CEO of Cash Money Records, has made his first public statement on reports last month on the label’s foray into the oil and natural gas industries.

As first reported on AllHipHop.com, Cash Money opened a website for Bronald Oil & Gas, an independent company focused on finding and utilizing oil and gas reserves in North and Central America.

In an interview with Ozone Magazine, Williams revealed that he also has his own oil company, and that he’s been involved in the business for close to 5 years.

“I’ve been in the oil business about 4 or 5 years now. That’s something me and my brother decided to do outside of music,” Baby explained. “I read about oil a lot and I was able to get in business. [My company] is called Browner Oil, and I’m making good money off that; that’s something for my kids and my kids’ kids. They can live off that money forever.”

The Bronald Oil & Gas company has been looking for investors to expand drilling opportunities that are both environmentally safe and lucrative.

With new albums from Drake and Nicki Minaj under development, and music to be released from Lil Wayne while he serves a 1 year jail sentence, Baby admitted that his oil business has not gotten as much attention as he would prefer.

But with the return he’s had on it to date, Williams plans to put more resources into the project.

“I did a few different deals. That was just one of them. When you’re dealing with oil, you buy in different areas,” Baby detailed. “Right now I’m active; I got pumps and s### that are getting money monthly. I like that oil s###. I’m gonna put some more time into it.”

Potential investors can contact Bronald Oil at http://bronald.com/about.php

(AllHipHop News) Pleasant Valley State Prison officials recently raided the jail cell of incarcerated X-Raided and found a digital cell phone and a WAV/MP3 recorded in his possession.

X-Raided, born Anerae Brown, was arrested and convicted along with four others, for the 1992 murder of a rival gang member’s mother.

Lyrics from his 1995 album Xorcist were used against him during his trial, resulting in his conviction of gang related homicide in 1996.

He was sentenced to 31-years in prison. His contraband was discovered after a state employed laundry room supervisor was accused of smuggling contraband into the prison.

A confidential informant told officials of the contraband in the rapper’s jail cell.

Prison guards found a Roland R-09HR WAV/MP3 Recorded hidden insides an Arts in Corrections Keyboard.

They also found a Nokia cell phone, a charger and an extra battery hidden inside of two typewriter cartridges.

Inmates are found in possession of phones on a regular basis and it is not a crime, but a minor infraction, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitations rules and regulations, an issue that prison officials are presently working hard to change.

“It’s a big problem for us (CDCR) with budget cuts and furlough days, having state employees willing to being inmates contraband for money. It’s happening now more than ever,” a prison guard stated under the condition of anonymity.

Over the years, Brown has managed to release dozens of albums from prison, including The Unforgiven Volume 1: In The Beginning.

In 1999, a prison guard at the Salinas Valley State Prison was eventually fired for his role in smuggling recording equipment in for Brown.

In late 2008, X-Raided announced he would be releasing a new series of Unforgiven mixtapes, along with another full length album titled Eternally Unforgiven.

(AllHipHop News) As thoughts turn to flowers, chocolates, balloons, cards and romance with someone special for many people this weekend, Valentine’s Day will be just another day in the life for Omarion.

The former B2K frontman, whose music may supply the soundtrack for lovers on Sunday (Feb. 14), revealed that the special day of love is not on his radar. According to Omarion, holidays in general are not observed at all by him.

“I actually don’t celebrate any of the holidays,” said the singer/actor, who cited “spiritual reasons” for his refusal to acknowledge the special days of the year. “..it’s more a spiritual thing. I have to go with my conscience. I just decided not involve myself in Pagan holidays.”

Omarion’s views echo many who list Valentine’s Day, along with Christmas and Easter, as a holiday with pagan roots.

According to History.com, the official website of The History Channel, “while some believe Valentine’s Day is celebrated in the middle of February to commemorate the anniversary of Valentine’s death or burial — which probably occurred around 270 A.D — others claim that the Christian church may have decided to celebrate Valentine’s feast day in the middle of February in an effort to ‘Christianize’ celebrations of the pagan Lupercalia festival.”

The site further notes that in Roman times, February was regarded as a time of purification as well as the official beginning of Spring.

It wasn’t until the Middle Ages when the day of romance concept for the middle of February took form. This was further enhanced by a common belief among those in France and England that February 14 was the beginning of the mating season for birds.

Omarion’s perception of holidays comes as he confessed to taking steps to become a Jehovah’s Witness.

Despite classifying his denomination as being Christian, the entertainer expressed a desire to explore the other religion.

“I’ve been studying to be a Jehovah witness,” he said. “I am not baptized yet; so I can’t technically call myself a Jehovah witness yet. But I have been studying.”

Musically, Omarion is focused on promoting his latest album, Ollusion. The album, which features rapper Gucci Mane and Marques Houston, comes as the singer replaced hip-hop choreographer Shane Sparks as a judge on the fifth season of MTV’s America’s Best Dance Crew.