Atlanta rapper Gucci Mane was sentenced to a year in prison today (November 12) for violating the terms of his probation.

The rapper will begin serving his sentence immediately and could be released in as little as six months, according to MTV.com.

The news comes as Gucci Mane was promoting his album, ironically titled The State Vs. Radric Davis, on December 8.

The album features a Gucci along side a number of high profile artists, including Lil Wayne, Cam’ron, Soulja Boy, OJ Da Juiceman, Waka Flocka, Bun B., E-40, Trina, Nicki Minaj, Keyshia Cole, Plies, Rick Ross and numerous others.

Gucci Mane’s legal problems forced him to cancel a series of controversial college appearances at Florida A&M and North Carolina A&T last month.

Students on both campuses protested Gucci Mane’s appearance because of his controversial lyrics and alleged gang ties.

A murder charge against Gucci Mane was dropped in January 2006, after he shot a man during a botched robbery attempt in an Atlanta-area residence.

He also served time for assaulting a local nightclub promoter named Tyrone Tucker with a pool cue.

Chris Brown has faced the media, recorded apologetic online videos, but the pop star has yet to speak directly to his fans in the aftermath of his assault conviction.

The 20-year-old singer will appear on BET’s “106 & Park” today at 6 p.m. EST and offer a candid interview in front of a live studio audience.

The show was taped on Tuesday in an interview by Rocsi Diaz, the show’s co-host. In the interview, Brown addressed the changes in his life and how he will carry on.

Brown said, “It’s not something you could take lightly and not something you could push under the rug. It’s a really serious situation and it’s something that I regret and I wish I didn’t do it.”

Brown was convicted on assault charged after brutally beating ex-girlfriend Rihanna in February.

Diaz takes Brown to task on the sincerity of his apologies and public appearances.

“I just feel like at the end of the day I’m human…I can only tell you how I personally feel,” Brown said. “I can’t make everybody love me, but I can just try and I can honestly say that I am sorry.”

Brown has repeatedly expressed remorse for his actions, but recent comments from Rihanna have proved damaging to his entertainment persona.

Rihanna, 21, gave her first full interview last week in an exclusive interview with Diane Sawyer on “20/20.”

“It sounds like he might be reading off a teleprompter,” Rihanna said of an online apology by Brown. “I don’t know if he understood the extent of what he did.”

Of the attack, she explained: “That’s all I kept thinking, the whole time: when is it going to stop, when is it going to stop? He had no soul in his eyes. Just blank. He was clearly blanked out. There was no person when I looked at him.”

The National Museum of Hip-Hop (NMoH) has planned a star-studded black-tie event to not only raise funds for the completion of the physical museum, but to also raise awareness of the many community initiatives that are tied into the museum’s mission.

The event, scheduled for February 9, 2010, will be hosted by legendary emcees Chuck D and KRS-One, and will be held at the M2 Ultra Lounge in New York City, just blocks from the NMoH’s proposed Manhattan location.

The exclusive guestlist for the gala will run the gamut of Hip-Hop luminaries who have contributed to the culture the NMoH seeks to preserve.

Attendees including Big Daddy Kane, the Cold Crush Brothers, members of the Rock Steady Crew, MC Lyte, Rakim, DJ Red Alert, Ralph McDaniels, The Roots, Redman and will be the first to preview the museum’s building plans and programs.

Bill Adler, Dr. Ben Chavis, Andre Harrell, Afrika Bambaataa, Terry Stewart and Jim Fricke will all join the hosts as event co-chairs.

The National Museum of Hip-Hop was founded in 2005 with a mission to commemorate the achievements of individual artists and Hip-Hop culture as a whole, while educating visitors about how the culture continues to thrive today.

“The timing is perfect for the development of a museum that will preserve the great culture of Hip-Hop, a museum that will serve as not only a beacon for Hip-Hop’s achievements but also as a hub for community enlistment,” said NMoH President Craig Wilson.

In addition to housing the history of Hip-Hop culture since its inception in an Manhattan facility that is over 100,000 square feet, the “first ever” true Hip-Hop Museum will offer job training programs benefiting the local homeless, substance-abusers, and unemployed.

The Museum will also offer a political education program that will not only offer free classes about the political process, but also support students interested in politics by providing a space for practice debates, campaigns and the development of programs and policy.

The project is supported by an Advisory Board which includes Def Jam Records co-founder Russell Simmons; political activist Dr. Ben Chavis; Uptown Records founder Andre Harrell; Leyla Turkkan, C.E.O. and President of PR/Marketing firm The Catalyst Group; Hip-Hop curator, journalist and publicist Bill Adler; Bob Santelli, executive director of the Grammy Museum; and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s President and C.E.O. Terry Stewart.

Rapper Corey “C-Murder” Miller cannot afford to hire lawyers to fund his appeal, but two lawyers have come to his aid in an attempt to secure a retrial.

Attorney Robert Smith, of the Charles Hamilton Houston Institute of Race and Justice at Harvard Law School and John Adcock of New Orleans are representing Miller free of charge.

The rapper, 38, was convicted of second-degree murder in the death of Steve Thomas, 16, inside of a now-defunct Jefferson Parish nightclub in January of 2002 and sentenced to a mandatory life sentence.

According to the Times-Picayune, Miller cannot afford to pay the $20,702 for case records and trial transcripts and fees, which alone total $17,335.

Since Miller has no known income, real estate or savings, his lawyers have filed a motion to declare him indigent, which would allow him access to the court records at no cost. A hearing is set for December 10. Miller is also facing a civil lawsuit in relation to Thomas’ death.

C-Murder is the brother of rap mogul Master P., one of the wealthiest entrepreneurs the Hip-Hop genre has produced. In interview last month, Master P. addressed C-Murder’s incarceration.

“He know he didn’t commit this crime but for him keeping it real in the streets and not saying who did it, where he at? He in the penitentiary,” Master P. told AllHipHop.com. “So sometimes your pride could kill you. My whole thing is: don’t let pride get in the way of what you want to do. Hip-hop artists got this ‘keep it real’ thing like they on the streets now.”

Master P. also blamed C-Murder’s rap name for some of the legal problems he encountered, despite his younger brother’s attempt to rename himself “C-Miller” to downplay the controversial moniker.

“Right now, C-Murder is a victim of a crime himself. He’s innocent on this case but because of his name, image and past, that’s given them the right to take him away off the streets,” Master P. said.

A promotional company is planning to sue rapper Lil Kim for allegedly missing six performance dates and keeping her $20,000 fee.

Abstrakt Visions Entertainment paid Lil Kim the $20k to perform a series of dates between November 7_14 in London.

According to TMZ, Lil Kim suffered a nosebleed in her hotel room before the first date, prompting her to cancel all six dates and head back to the United States.

Lil Kim’s representatives admitted that the rapper suffered a nosebleed, but the reason she left the UK is because of the promoters inability to plan, because she never received a schedule.

Abstrakt Visions Entertainment is planning to sue Lil Kim to recover the $20k, which Lil Kim used to cover her travel expenses.

Former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson was arrested yesterday (November 11) at Los Angeles’ LAX airport for allegedly assaulting a paparazzi photographer.

The dispute happened in Terminal 7, when the photographer approached Tyson, his wife, and 10-month old daughter to take pictures.

According to statements given to police by Tyson, he struck the man to defend his family after the photographer became aggressive and hit him first.

The photographer’s version is that when he approached the retired boxer, he was punched in the face and struggled to prevent his camera from being taken away.

Tyson was cooperative with authorities, and booked without incident on suspicion of battery.

The former fighter also opted to press charges, and police were expected to officially arrest the unidentified photographer after the hospital releases him.

Last September, Kanye West and road manager Don Crowley were arrested for battery and vandalism when they accosted a paparazzi photographer on film and destroyed his camera.

These charges were finally dismissed last month. At press time, Mike Tyson could not be reached for comment.

Katt Williams has spoken out about his recent arrest, telling an Atlanta, Georgia television station that the charges against him were the result of a misunderstanding.

The actor/comedian, who was arrested over the weekend on charges of burglary and criminal trespass spoke with local ABC-affiliate WSB-TV shortly after posting a $41,000 bond and being released on Tuesday evening (November 10).

Prior to the interview, Williams addressed a throng of fans and reporters who awaited his released from the Newnan County Jail, about 40 miles South of Atlanta.

“Sometimes in America, it’s hard to know how things are just by the way they look like,” he simply stated, before personally greeting several of his fans. The interview took place at the estate of producer Barry Hankerson, where the alleged break-in occurred.

WSB-TV reports that the Hankerson estate has sered as Williams’ home for about a month, as he works on the Charles S. Dutton-directed drama The Obama Effect, due out later this year.

The charges issued against the comedian on Sunday (November 8) arose when the home’s on-site caretaker accused Williams of breaking into the guesthouse in which he lives and stealing $3,555 worth of collectible coins and jewelry.

“If you were gonna make up a story about Katt Williams stealing your jewelry box, wouldn’t it be smart to look at his jewelry first,” he told local ABC-affiliate WSB-TV, displaying a diamond-encrusted cuff-style bracelet.

He did, however, admit to breaking a pane of glass in the door of the caretaker’s home, which was empty at the time.

Williams explained that he had done so to turn on the lights in the separate home, so that the horses being kept at the Newnan, Georgia home would not be frightened by their reflections.

He went on to accuse the investigators who responded to the caretaker’s 911 of being overzealous in failing to analyze all the facts before arresting him. If Williams is indicted by a grand jury, he will next appear in court on January 14, 2010.

(WSB-TV News segment)

Queens, New York rap legend/actor LL Cool J has been tapped to host The Grammy Nominations Concert Live – Countdown to Music’s Biggest Night.”

LL, who has earned two Grammy’s of his own, will host the concert for the second year in a row, live from Club Nokia in Los Angeles.

The concert sets the stage for the 52nd Annual Grammy Awards, in addition to announcing nominations in several categories.

The Black Eyed Peas, Maxwell and Sugarland have been confirmed as performers during the upcoming concert, while additional presenters and performers will be announced in the coming weeks.

This year, LL Cool J is serving as a producer of the show, along with AEG Ehrlich Ventures, LLC and John Cossette Productions.

“It’s an honor to host and produce the Grammy Nominations Concert Live, The Countdown to Music’s Biggest Night. I look forward to being apart of this historic event,” LL Cool J told AllHipHop.com.

“The Grammy Nominations Concert Live – Countdown to Music’s Biggest Night” airs on Wednesday, December 2nd at 10:00PM on CBS.

The 52nd Annual Grammy Awards will air live on Sunday, January 31 at The Staples Center in Los Angeles on CBS.

A routine traffic stop provided

more than a line up of vehicles for police in Arkansas, who arrested Wu-Tang Clan

affiliates Ronald “Mathematics” Bean and Patrick “Streetlife”

Charles.

The pair, along with six other men

were arrested Monday (Nov. 9) night on suspicion of drug possession with intent

to sell, TMZ.com reports. A police report detailing the incident noted how

officers on the scene “could immediately smell the odor of burnt marijuana

coming from the interior of the bus” after opening the door to the tour

bus the group was traveling in.

Authorities claim to have noticed “marijuana

blunts” as well as “residue” on the bus that “were

laying in plain sight.” In addition, officers stated they found 110

ecstasy tablets hidden inside a can and $8615 in cash. Although Streetlife,

Mathematics and the others were arrested, the driver of the tour bus was released

with a speeding citation.

Mathematics is best known for

producing various songs for Wu-Tang group and solo projects as well as serving

as the collective’s DJ. The New

York native released his first solo album, Love, Hell Or Right, in 2003. Other

releases from Mathematics include The

Problem, Soul of a Man

and Mathematics Presents Wu-Tang Clan &

Friends Unreleased.

 A fixture on numerous solo

and group releases from Wu-Tang, Steetlife has also appeared on Wu-Tang Forever, 8 Diagrams, Iron Flag, The W,

Tical 2000: Judgement Day and Tical 0: The Prequel (Method Man), Uncontrolled Substance (Inspectah Deck), No Said Date (Masta Killa), Legend of the Liquid Sword (GZA) and Blackout 2 (Method Man and Redman). The

rapper released his debut solo album, Street

Education, in 2005.

Renowned producer Sha Money XL has inked a multi-million

dollar music and film distribution deal for his Dream Big Ventures imprint,

which will allow him and his team to “nurture talent that has the passion to ‘dream

big,’” he announced today (November 11).

“Sha Money’s reputation and track record of success speaks

for itself,” said Michael Bull, General Manager of The Orchard, Dream Big’s new

distribution home. “All of us at The Orchard are thrilled to be in a position

to work with Sha, building and developing his new label. We see Dream Big as

America’s next great urban independent.”

The former G-Unit Records president comes The Orchard – the world’s

leading digital distributor of music – with a roster of three artists, each at

a different stage of their careers.

Dream Big Ventures also comes to The Orchard with a

completed first project: former Shady/Aftermath recording artist Stat Quo’s

long-delayed debut album Statlanta.

Also signed to the new imprint are DJ Whoo Kid and former Young Money associate

Kidd Kidd.

“The first three projects coming out of Dream Big are very

realistic reflections of the three stages an artist can find themselves in:

established and successful, in-between labels or ready to take your career to

the next level,” Sha Money told AllHipHop.com in a statement.

Originally scheduled for a 2003 release, Statlanta now boasts production credits

by Che Vicious, Hi-Tek, Key Kat Productions and Sha Money XL himself, who says

he wanted to work with Stat from the first time he heard him.

“The anticipation for his debut album is still high,” he

added. “I am pleased to be releasing it through my new venture.”

Along with the announcement of its new partnership, Dream

Big released Stat Quo’s latest single “Freaky Girl” and Kidd Kidd’s “New Kidd

On The Block” mixtape, hosted by DJ Whoo Kid and DJ Scream.

In addition to operating his new venture as a traditional

label, Sha Money XL has launched a new website, DreamBigVentures.Net, which he

hopes can serve as an interactive advertising and promotion tools for

up-and-coming talent and music-related service providers, ie web and graphic

designers, producers, and videographers. Sha’s hope is that the site will also

encourage established industry executives to seek out those kinds of talent the

world over.

“Dream Big is about me fulfilling my dreams and my visions,”

Sha Moneys explained. “Imagine if Dr. Dre had never moved on from NWA or Death

Row? You have to have wisdom to accept that a change has to take place, but not

be careless with your future.”

In addition to his continued expansion of the One Stop Shop,

which, in three years, has become the premier annual networking event for

producers, Sha Money XL is currently co-managing Hi-Tek and Talib Kewli as

Reflection Eternal. Revolutions Per

Minute, the duo’s highly anticipated follow-up to 2000’s Train of Thought, is due out in 2010.

Sha Money also recently served as the Associate Producer on

50 Cent’s fourth studio album, Before I

Self-Destruct, which is set to hit stores Tuesday (November 16).

The first official music pairing of 50 Cent and Beanie Sigel called “I Go Off” will debut this Friday (November 13) on Thisis50.com.

Utilizing the Friday the 13th movie franchise logo, the promo artwork features 50 and Beans doing a faceoff with the tagline “The Nightmare Begins.”

Last week, Sigel and 50 made an appearance on Philly’s Power 99 station to explain their partnership.

During

the interview, Sigel verified his signing with G Unit, and his

intentions to continue more diss records like “Average Cat” to his

former mentor Jay-Z.

“He’s a crumb. I’m putting my

foot on his neck ‘til he responds. Please make a record, ‘cause a week

been out dog,” Sigel stated.  “Not taking nothing from Jay as an artist. All I’m saying is I ain’t gotta jog to keep up with him. Watch what I do next.”

Since the interview, there has been no official confirmation if Beanie Sigel is legally signed to G Unit Records.

At press time, neither 50 Cent or Beanie have revealed if the new “I Got Off” track will address the Jay-Z situation further.

Rapper and actor David Banner has partnered with interactive fitness company PumpOne to create an application for the iPhone and iPod Touch that will allow fans to benefit from what Banner learned during his personal weight-loss and fitness journey.

“David Banner’s Work Out or Die” offers subscribers videos of the various workout strategies that Banner has found effective and a host of tools to support their decision to attain and maintain a healthy lifestyle.

The application also allows Banner to record streaming-video content as often as he wants, which is then delivered to those who have purchased the app at no additional cost.

“People are really interested in how I lost weight,” Banner told AllHipHop.com. “One of my friends that works at Apple said, ‘You need to take it to your people and stop talking about it. You’re helping people’s lives. That’s a way for you to continue that movement.’ And I decided to do it.”

PumpOne, which launched it’s first iPhone/iTouch application in 2008, creates both interactive programs and traditional resources like books, corporate fitness programs, personal trainer memberships and physical therapy.

David Banner’s picture in his new App

The company has also partnered with Men’s Health, Women’s Health, and Shape to create applications that eliminate the need to clip fitness advice from the pages of those magazines.

In 2008, after having ballooned to more than 255 lbs, David Banner dropped an impressive 58 lbs in just three months.

His decision to lose the weight was motivated by a need to improve his health condition.

Prior to dropping the extra pounds, the rapper suffered from high blood pressure, sleep apnea, and was dangerously close to falling prey to diabetes as well.

David Banner working outSo great were his health concerns that an emergency room doctor who treated Banner after a motorcycle accident was more interested in treating and resolving his high blood pressure issues, than treating the injuries from the crash.

After speaking to AllHipHop.com about his health, Banner said the staggering number of young Black and Latino fans who approached him about sharing those issues prompted him to share what he had learned about maintaining a healthy eating and exercise regimen.

Banner’s weight-loss also helped him and his physician discover that his high blood pressure was in fact a genetic issue, thus allowing them to develop a plan to keep him healthy.

“David Banner’s Work Out or Die” will be available in early 2010.