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Hip-Hop Rumors: Rappers To Sue US Gov? Hip-Hop Cop Defends Wayne?? Chuck D Talks More Gucci Mane!

By: Grouchy Greg Watkins (@GrouchyGreg)Category: Rumors

DISCLAIMER:

All content within this section is pure rumor and generally have no factual info outside of what the streets have whispered in our ear. Read on.

FOLLOW FRIDAY: Me: http://twitter.com/illseed

THE DAILY TWO SENSE

F**K NEW YORK!!!

Just kidding! I said that instead of saying “The Daily Two Sense.” Why? Well, I want people to pull it together for a minute. From my understanding, OJ DA JUICEMAN was performing in front of a crowd from the CMJ Convention. CMJ isn’t exactly the best crowd for OJ to rock in front of. Its no really a NY thing, I’ve been told. It is probably like Canibus going to perform at Birthday Bash in Atlanta. Not sure, but I think its safe to say, he’s not going to get a standing ovation. I think the CMJ crowd is pretty undergroun Hip-Hop.

Don’t let something like THAT divide Hip-Hop, please. OJ was just in NJ and got all sorts of love at a sold out show. That crowd was just different.

RAPPERS AND MUSICIANS TO SUE THE GOVERNMENT?

Now, this is a rumor of a different sort, but check it out, because it is actually dead up serious. I am hearing that a group of musicians are getting together to sue the American Government. Why? Because the government has used popular music to torture detainees at Guantanamo Bay. From what I get is that the artists are getting a full list of the songs via the Freedom of Information Act. These groups suing reportedly include Eminem, Rage Against the Maching and even The Roots. I heard all of these acts are very upset that their music was used in “crimes against humanity.” From what I hear, they are having some difficulty getting the names of the songs as the basis for the legal bout.

Anyway, Guantanamo Bay might be closed in the near future. Obama is moving closer to closing it, but is running into numerous problems.

HIP-HOP COP LIKES LIL WAYNE?

I am not trying to be funny, I promise. But, it is my understanding that the original Hip-Hop Cop went to bat for Lil Wayne and tried to get him off on this gun charge. You better believe these charges are bogus. Yeah, I said it, “THESE CHARGES ARE BOGUS AGAINST LIL WAYNE.” Lil Wayne is basically a fall guy, because he is the biggest name in the van. On top of that, I am hearing that these dudes were totally profiled and there was no real reason for the cops to pull them over in the first place. On the flip side, what was in the van was in the van. Nevertheless, Wayne is going down for a gun that’s not his.

MEMPHIS BLEEK TIRED OF BEING JAY-Z’s SHADOW

Bleek recently caught up with Radio Host Kendra G and talked about how as a man it’s important that he proves himself as a rapper and not just Jay-Z’s sidekick. Check out the interview to here Memphis Bleek break it down.

CHUCK D CLARIFIES ON GUCCI MANE STATEMENT

As you know, Chuck D is one of the most respected Hip-Hoppers out there! He took a position after Gucci Mane made some statements about Jay-Z being the hottest rapper/

This is the original statement from AHH NEWS:

“Jay-Z’s just getting started. Gucci Mane, he’d be better off jumping in a swimming pool with a plugged in toaster.”

And here is what he meant, if anybody took him 100% seriously.

Of course metaphorically speaking, rather than going head to head rhyming against JAY-Z

“Its my outside third party opinion. Gucci Mane can probably raps circles around my old ass …but er…not JAY-Z. Sorry. I’m pretty sure Gucci Mane a fine young man, but as far as getting in the ring with JAY-Z in any RAP way…I don’t see it. Nothing personal. But 

er… NO.”

“Well, I’m sure that GUCCI MANE is still looking for JAY-Z to respond. It’s what he wanted. He should.”

Again that’s the up and coming challenger throwing a egg at Floyd Mayweather. I’m just a fan of it all in the seats. GUCCI MANE is fun and all but… JAY-Z is a martial artist with this s**t.

Love the modesty from Chuck D.

TLC STRAPPED UP, PULL OUT ON CLIVE DAVIS!

I got this from my home girl, Miss Mouth. Its not new, but I missed it.

“I was laughing when T-boz told Monique that TLC took loaded guns into Arista offices and held Clive Davis hostage for playing with their money. Apparently, they were having a business meeting, with Puffy in attendance, when TLC bum rushed the office kicked Puff out and got gully…….T-boz said that Diddy called the po po on them. It was funny as hell when Monique told Diddy to “mind his dayum business…”

T-Boz straight called Diddy a snitch! LMAO!

ILLSEED’S QUICKIES

It looks like the East / South tensions are about to start up again, all because OJ Da Juice Man got boo’d! Aw man….that’s wack!

For some reason, Jody Breeze didn’t show up to AllHipHop Radio yesterday. Well, Chuck D of Public Enemy did. You already know what happened.

Get a job!!!!!!!!

I heard Bang ‘em Smurf is working on a documentary about his life.

Pharrell showed up to the Jay show in Michigan-that other thing was a miscommunication.

I have run into a lot of people that feel like Rihanna is a Devil worshipper. I don’t know, but she sure is going ALL OUT on her new song.

Props to Paula Patton & Robin Thicke on expecting their first child.

This is random. Amy Winehouse is reportedly dating George Foreman’s son…George III.

Here is OJ getting boo’d.

SHOUT OUT TO JASIRI X

Heyyyyy…what do we have here? A rapper talking about a lil’ something! Don’t complain! They are out there!

Don’t front on the skills!

EPIC WIN OF THE DAY

Don’t fall asleep at the barber’s chair.

EPIC FAIL OF THE DAY

Officer Riviery: DUDE YOU ARE A JERK!!!!!! This cop is clearly a fat, short wearing, black shoe having jag-off! LOL…seriously, this video is pushing two years old, but…the last two seconds are classsssssic!

SIGNS THE WORLD IS COMING TO AN END

Winning the lottery is a big deal for anybody! But what happens when somebody jacks somebody, that’s a big deal too. Willis Willis (nice name) purchased several Mega Millions Lottery tickets from a convenience store. He came back to see if he won and the clerk told him he won $2. The clerk, Pankaj Joshi, lied and then took the winning ticket to the Texas Lottery Commission in Austin. The ticket was worth $1,000,008 and Joshi took home $750,000 dollars after taxes. Johi’s hatin’ a** co-workers dimed him out after hearing he won the lottery. But they did the right thing, because 1) Willis is an elderly man and 2) it was stolen in the first place. But they did hate. LOL! Joshi is now on the runnnnnn – lmao! The cops got about half of the stolen money.

I’M SORRY, BUT THIS IS BETTER THAN DORROUGH’S VERSION

LOL! Shout out to the The Cataracs.

LIL WAYNE AND HIS MOM

For more, go to illseed.com. Or just follow me at http://twitter.com/illseed

LIL WAYNE AND MOM, WE LOVE YOU!!!

They keep us talking, but if we stop talking about them then they should worry!

-illseed

WHO: illseed.com

WHAT: Rumors

WHERE: AllHipHop.com, MySpace.com/TheIllseed

HOW: Send your rumors and ill pics to illseed at [email protected].

Tiny Cottle: Life Tips From Tiny

By: Grouchy Greg Watkins (@GrouchyGreg)Category: Alternatives

 

Even as she referees a bunch of screaming kids in the background, Tameka ‘Tiny’ Cottle manages to keep a cool head while doing phone interviews back to back. The newly inducted reality show star is celebrating the success of “Tiny & Toya,” which is BET’s top-rated show in history. The breakout phenom garnered her and best friend/co-star, Antonia ‘Toya’ Carter, a second season, which they’re in the process of filming now. Tiny took some time out to talk about her unbreakable relationship with T.I., addresses rumors about the show being the idea of Joy Bounds (mother of R&B singer Lyfe Jennings’ two sons), and possibility sneaking her wedding nuptials a la Jay Z and Beyonce.

 

AllHipHop.com: Congratulations on the 2nd season of Tiny & Toya. Were you surprised at the huge response to the show?

 

Tameka ‘Tiny’ Cottle: I was surprised. The show broke all kinds of records. I felt the show was good, but I never knew it was going to be as big as it turned out to be. I worried that it didn’t have a whole lot of drama. And I know drama is what people like in the shows normally and I felt like our show was a little different. I was a little worried about that. I was like ‘Whoa, how we gon’ stay afloat?’ But ultimately, it turned out to go in a positive direction. It seem like people responded to the show because it was so positive. It seemed to help a lot of younger girls and I’m really excited about that. They reach out to me and Toya and tell us how our stories really touched them and how it changed their life. You can’t want anymore than that.

 

AllHipHop.com: The blogs are buzzing about Joy Bounds saying she created the concept for the show and that she was kicked off by Toya. Can you clear the air on this rumor?

 

Tiny: First of all, I came up with the show. It was my idea. And second of all, we were talking about doing a talk show. And we went to Jay (James DuBose). He was the one who came up with doing the reality show. And I really didn’t want to do that because I didn’t want it to be negative but he said he’ll make the sure the show won’t come out that way. Him and Joy fell out and she expected us to leave the situation. But the show is us, me and Toya. For her to say it’s hers, that she created it – my dad’s Alzheimer’s, and Toya’s mom on drugs and Tip going to jail – that’s our life. It’s not made up. You can’t take credit for somebody’s real life. It just don’t make sense. It’s just too much. I think she just wants attention. If she had a real real issue why is she just going at Toya? It’s Tiny and Toya. It’s evident that she’s upset because she’s the one that introduced us.

 

AllHipHop.com: So this is personal, not business?

 

Tiny: It’s personal. It’s evident that she’s a little bit upset. Toya’s moved on and Joy’s not doing anything. Toya’s bettering herself; she got a lot of stuff going on and Joy’s behind. She can’t take credit for Toya’s mama on drugs and her trying to help her get off of it. How can you? You can’t.

 

AllHipHop.com: What can we expect to see from the show this season?

 

Tiny: This season me and my partner Keisha trying to get a label deal for OMG Girls and me and Toya got a clothing line coming out. We got a lot of things in the works. It’s really about what we’re doing now. The second season has evolved from the first with us being more workingwomen. It’ll also be some family stuff.

 

AllHipHop.com: You faced some personal challenges in the first season. What have you learned about Tameka that has made you a better woman?

 

 

Tiny: Well, I’ve learned that I can do anything I put my mind to. If I really wanna do something I have to stop procrastinating and don’t be lazy about it and just focus. I can overcome the procrastination and make something happen. I also learned that it’s a lot of other things that I want to do that I can do that I haven’t done, I kept myself away from. With the music I kind of kept myself away from it and now I’m able to come back into the business with my daughter and OMG. I just wanna give them what I had and more.

 

AllHipHop.com: Are you still planning to wed once T.I. gets out?

 Tiny:Definitely. I don’t plan on going anywhere. I just haven’t figured out when yet. We will sometime, but the date, I don’t have yet. But it’s gonna happen.

 

AllHipHop.com: Are you planning on sneaking and getting married like Jay Z and Beyonce?

 Tiny: No, that’s not my plan. But I’m not sure. I can’t say because it may come out that way. We haven’t done a lot of planning so we might just wanna get married real real soon. But I wanna wait until he gets home anyway before I make any plans.

 

AllHipHop.com: What can people learn from you and T.I.’s relationship and commitment to each other that will help black families stay together?

 Tiny: Stay strong for one another. Whatever he’s going through I got his back. I’mma be the strongest woman I can be to hold him down. Because me being weak is gonna make him weaker and vice versa. And we got a lot of love for each other. He’s my best friend. I don’t know what it is that draws us so much to each other but it’s just there.

 

AllHipHop.com: When you’re best friends you learn the good and bad stuff about each other. Like Chris Rock said, you got to love the crust of a person…

 Tiny: That’s what makes a relationship really strong. When you know what you like and what you don’t like about a person and learn to love it anyway. People think if I could change this, if I could change that, but what about all the great things that you love. You got to learn to love everything about each other.

 

AllHipHop.com: Do people quit to soon in a relationship?

 Tiny: I can’t say. If you see something that you don’t like or you can’t live with, it might be a reason that you should break up because I know a lot of time wasted is unnecessary. But I know the longer we lived together the more it helped us to learn more about each other. So now we know everything. I know everything I don’t like and everything I like. I know everything. I love it. I accept it. And it’ll make the marriage stronger, hopefully. I’ll let you know when I get there. (laughs)

 

AllHipHop.com: Reality shows tend to be relationship killers. How will you and Tip avoid its kiss of death?

 Tiny: Well, reality shows tend to be relationship killers when they do them together. I always felt like I didn’t wanna do that because the relationships don’t ever last. With my show now, it doesn’t hinder us at all because he’s away. Now if he was here with the kids and I’m working on the reality show it might be kind of difficult because we’re so used to being together and spending all of our time together. He’s used to having me all of the time and it’s been about him and the kids.

 

AllHipHop.com: So that’s gonna change especially if the OMG Girls take off.

 Tiny: Exactly. But he’s all about the OMG Girls too. He helps out as much as he can, giving advice, that kind of thing. He wants the girls to do good. So, it’ll all work out.

 

Poll: Will Lil’ Wayne’s Street Cred Grow With A Jail Bid?

By: Grouchy Greg Watkins (@GrouchyGreg)Category: Uncategorized

 

Lil Wayne is already the hottest thing in Hip-Hop and for the past few years he has only gotten more and more popular. Now the rapper has plead guilty to gun charges associated with a 2007 arrest.

 

While he has yet to be sentenced, insiders speculate he will serve about eight to 12 months over the conviction. The rapper managed to dodge a potentially lengthy prison term by submitting to the terms of the deal.

 

Clearly, this is not the optimal way to further one’s career, but could there be an upside to this seemingly bad situation?

 

The streets and internet have posed the question: will jail increase the already popular rapper’s street cred after doing a stint in a New York City jail?

 

Take the poll and weigh in.

 

QuestionsView Results

 

Wayne’s Ex Toya Tells Fans To Pray For Rapper

By: Grouchy Greg Watkins (@GrouchyGreg)Category: News

It has been almost twelve hours since Lil’ Wayne accepted a plea deal in a New York weapons case, and an official statement has yet-to-be issued from Cash Money Records or even his Young Money roster.

 

While some celebrities including Jim Jones and Wayne’s ex-wife Toya Carter took to twitter to express their outrage over the one year sentence which came along with the New Orleans’ rapper guilty plea, his labelmates and protégés where noticeably quiet.

 

Nonetheless, Wayne and his impending jail sentence remained the topic of much conversation among fans and celebs alike today.

 

Some, who had forgotten about the 2007 incident that lead to the rapper’s charges of attempted weapons possession, reacted with a bit of surprise. Others pondered how the one year bid will affect his career or even trademark dreadlocks.

 

And some even asked why we should be outraged at the sentence, since Wayne owned up to having done the crime. Still others, including Slim Thug, took to Twitter to point to a greater social issue represented by New York authorities’ approach to the high profile case.

 

“That’s some bulls**t how the police try to make an example out of [Black] celebs,” the Houston rapper tweeted. “Lil Wayne wasn’t holding the gun; they got on his bus, didn’t even know which one he was; after they found him they gave him the case. It’s Lil’ Wayne if he is on the bus somebody needs to have a gun his lil ass can’t fight a muthaf***a off. Cortez, Lil’ Wayne manager, said on [VH1’s] Behind the Music that that’s his gun. It’s in his name [but] they still gave Wayne the case.

 

“OJ in jail for tryna get his own s### back,” Slim Thug continued. “Plaxico got 3 yrs for shooting himself, Vick got 2yrs and lost all his money for fighting dogs. If any of these people wasn’t successful black men they would not be in trouble or facing that big of a sentence. I know y’all might like dogs, but no dog is worth 100 million I been to dog fights saw people get caught and get rt out (noncelebs).”

 

Though the general attitude within the Hip-Hop community seems to be one of support for Lil’ Wayne, the single comment issued by budding BET reality star Antonia “Toya” Carter, would seem to indicate that perhaps Wayne has not received the level of support those close to him might have expected.

 

“I swear I hate fake n***as,” she tweeted minutes after news of the verdict spread across the internet. “When s**t all good, everybody around, but when u down, nobody wants to b around… pray for Wayne y’all.”

 

By the close of the day, much Lil Wayne chatter had turned to the release of two new tracks slated to appear on Wayne’s next mixtape No Ceilings.

 

Both untitled songs are freestyles, one using F.L.Y.’s “Swag Surfin'” instrumental, and the other borrowing Gucci Mane’s latest single, “Wasted.”

 

No Ceiling will be released as a free download on October 31.

Trae Tha Truth Lines Up All Star Cast For ‘Tha Truth’

By: Grouchy Greg Watkins (@GrouchyGreg)Category: News

Rapper Trae Tha Truth is planning to drop Tha Truth, his first album in over two years.

 

Tha Truth is the Houston rapper’s first official album since parting ways with Rap-A-Lot Records, which released his last album, Life Goes On.

 

The rapper’s latest effort is also the first release in a new union with his label A.B.N Entertainment and Fontana/Universal Records.

 

Tha Truth features a number of high profile rappers, including Lil Wayne, Bun B, Plies, Young Buck, Jadakiss, Rawse, Ludacris, Shawty Lo, Game and S.L.A.B.

 

The first official from the albums is titled “Something Real” featuring Plies, Slim Thug, Brian Angel (Day 26) and Jodeci.

 

Trae’s album will be preceded by a mixtape, The Incredible Truth, which leaked on the Internet today (October 22).

 

Tha Truth is due in stores February 16th, 2010.

No More Hip-Hop Sequels!

By: Grouchy Greg Watkins (@GrouchyGreg)Category: Uncategorized

“Kill the track, annihilate the sequel”

 

– Dilated Peoples

 

People, people, people.

 

Something needs to change.

 

Quickly.

 

This year, we have seen a dangerous trend overtake our genre and upend it into near oblivion. A trend that seems to grow with each passing month. A trend that may cause the very existence of the genre to be in peril.

Auto-tune?

 

Naw. That’ll hopefully continue its steady decline—thanks “D.O.A.”—until it goes the way of hip-house.

 

It’s the ever-growing album sequel phenomenon. It hasn’t reached fever pitch yet but you can feel the lava bubbles getting bigger and bigger. It’s time to cut this off now, though, before the volcano explodes.

 

You can argue the trend started a decade ago with Dre’s 2001, the follow-up to 1992’s classic The Chronic. Hell, you could argue that EPMD has made a career out of it with their Business series, but they at least always switched up the title a bit.

 

One look at this season’s releases confirms our worst fears: Raekwon’s Only Built 4 Cuban Linx…Pt II, Fat Joe’s Jealous One’s Still Envy 2, Canibus’ Rip The Jacker II, N.O.R.E.’s S.O.R.E. (which just looks weird) and, of course, the granddaddy: Jay-Z’s Blueprint 3. (Lil Wayne, no stranger to sequels is currently prepping Tha Carter IV for release next year.)

 

Why do rappers do it? The obvious reason, of course, is to try to capitalize on their biggest record by instantly tying their new project to an already established classic. But there’s a flipside: by equating your latest album with said classic, you’re immediately telling people, “Please, compare these two albums and hold my latest to a higher (usually unachievable) standard than you would just on a cold listen.” To be fair, most listeners use an artist’s classic as an established guidepost consciously or not (“It’s dope, but it’s nothing like so and so”), but to explicitly instill that point can only be detrimental for the artist and, worse, marginalize all of their other works. (Sometimes justifiably. Immobilarity, anyone?)

 

Don’t get it twisted: this has nothing to do with the quality of the albums themselves. Chef put out one of the best hip-hop albums of the year and Jay-Z? Well, at least the first half was solid. Interestingly, Raekwon’s new one at least sounds similar to the original, while Jay-Z’s latest is the polar opposite to 2001’s The Bluperint. Either way, though, it’s a bizarre trend that, when you think about it, makes absolutely zero sense. In movies, sequels are continuations to a character’s development or plot. Even if you’ve never seen Rocky II, you probably have a pretty good idea that it will be somehow, someway connected to a guy named Rocky. (See Eminem’s upcoming Relapse 2, which uses tracks from the same sessions as the original, for an appropriate use of the sequel.)

 

But music is not cinema. What the hell does The Blueprint 3—sonically, lyrically, thematically—have anything to do with The Blueprint or The Blueprint 2? Had Jay-Z released this album under a different name, there’s no doubt that its already tepid ratings would have at least marginally increased, as at least a certain amount of reviewers and listeners wouldn’t immediately conjure the success of the original and/or the failure of its successor.

 

Which leads us to the absolute nadir of the trend: the sequel of the sequel. Fat Joe dropped Jealous One’s Still Envy 2 (J.O.S.E. 2), the sequel to 2001’s Jealous One’s Still Envy (J.O.S.E.), which itself was a sequel to 1995’s classic Jealous One’s Envy. Emcees can spit all they want about how this or that album is a “continuation” or “progression” and how they’re “getting back to their roots and finding their hunger again,” but to me, this just signals laziness to me. You can’t just put the word “Still” in a title, pick up the check and call it a day if you want to be considered a true artist. Granted, hot music is hot music no matter what the album title is called, but where is the line? Still Jealous One’s Still Envy 3? Still Jealous Still One’s Still Envy 4? Joey Crack is certainly far from the only artist to employ this trick, but you get the idea.

 

What’s next? Tribe Called Quest’s Marauding After Midnight? KRS-One’s Return of Return of the Boom Bap? Common’s Re-resurrection? The Roots’ You Want More? LL Cool J’s Biggerer and Defferer?

 

Consider this a call to arms for the good of the genre. I know artists want to cling to their classics and try to revive them at any opportunity. That’s understandable. But it’s also the easy way out. And once the slippery slope begins, the creativity of all of us falls off the cliff.

 

The Heineken Star Soul Tour Touches Down in NYC

By: Grouchy Greg Watkins (@GrouchyGreg)Category: News

The Heneiken Red Star Soul Tour landed at NYC’s Gotham Hall last Friday delivering one of the most highly anticipated annual concerts in the city.

 

Performances of the night included the likes of Washington, DC rapper Wale, DJ Biz Markie, British sultry songstress Estelle and Ludacris.

 

The show opened with the highly anticipated DMV representer, Wale.

 

Fresh off of the Jay-Z Blueprint 3 Tour, Wale warmed up the stage alongside the UCB band giving NYC a taste of go-go flair from his upcoming Allido/Intercope Records debut, Attention: Deficit.

 

Next up, the ever fashion forward Estelle charmed the audience with British her accent and dancehall moves, pulling a few up on stage to slow wind and grind with her.

 

She performed songs including “American Boy,” “Come Over” and “Shine.”

 

Finally, Ludacris closed out the casual, yet classy evening by bringing out surprise guest Nas, who he tag-teamed with on “I Do It for Hip-Hop,” off of his Theater of the Mind disc.

 

Hundreds of guests including Melanie Fiona, NFL football players Dwight Sumpter (Indianapolis Colts) and Braylon Edwards (NY Jets), radio and television personality Egypt, Styles P, Nas, model/actor Tyson Beckford,DJ D-Nice, actor Mario Lopez, Cheetah Girls’ singer/actress Adrienne Bailon, Q-Tip and Consequence turned out for the event to enjoy the show while enjoying quality made beer by Heineken.

 

The final leg of the 2009 Heineken Red Star Soul concert series will take place next month in Miami, with headliners Pharrell Williams and N.E.R.D.

Chuck D Chides Gucci Mane; Praises Jay-Z

By: Grouchy Greg Watkins (@GrouchyGreg)Category: News

Chuck D, the front man of Public Enemy, offered his opinion of Jay-Z and Gucci Mane during an interview on AllHipHop Radio’s morning show Eric B and Friends earlier in the day.

 

The rapper expressed his admiration for Jay-Z from a career point of view, and stressed that he was impressed with The Blueprint 3 album.

 

“On Jay-Z – quote me on this – Jay-Z is the Rookie of the Year in 2009. You want to know why? Because at age 40, he is just getting started,” Chuck said this morning. “He is simply forwarding the artform. Just imagine if he decided to pick up two more languages to add to his craft. He is #1.” (Editor’s note: Jay-Z turns 40 in December.)

 

Chuck also said that rappers such as Gucci Mane and Baby of Cash Money, who both sharply contested Jay-Z’s top slot on MTV’s “Hottest Rapper” list had no artistic right to be so vocal.

 

Chuck D stated these were unfounded criticisms based on Jay-Z’s body of work.

 

Chuck said, “Jay-Z’s just getting started. Gucci Mane, he’d be better off jumping in a swimming pool with a plugged in toaster.”

 

Jay-Z stressed that his former Def Jam alumni could likely expand his brand if he further embraced the global community.

 

“The only thing what will make Jay-Z totally untouchable, would be if he learned another language.”

 

Eric B & Friends broadcasts live from 9 am to 1 pm. Click here to launch AllHipHop Radio.

 

AHH Stray News: Lady Gaga/Kanye, Cory Gunz Trailer, Digable Planets

By: Grouchy Greg Watkins (@GrouchyGreg)Category: News

Pop sensation Lady Gaga has suggested that a future collaboration with rapper Kanye West is still an option. She dismissed rumors that West was booted from their “Fame Kills” tour due to the rapper’s erratic behavior. She also revealed that she revamped the tour and did not use any of the ideas that she and West have developed for the outing. “It just wasn’t the right timing (to go on tour with West). I don’t want to embellish on it too much, because I want to respect Kanye’s privacy,” Lady Gaga told Rolling Stone. “But we just had our own reasons…We’re real friends, real friends can make decisions like that, and we wanted to keep the momentum going in terms of pop music staying innovative with hip-hop and R&B, and we really wanted to do it, and it just wasn’t the right time. But who’s to say what will happen in the future?” Lady Gaga will hit the road on the new Monster Ball tour in November supported by Kanye’s protégé, Kid Cudi.

 

Actor/director Nick Cannon unveiled the trailer for a new upcoming reality show featuring Bronx, New York rapper Cory Gunz. The reality show, titled Son of A Gun, follows Cory Gunz as he records his album and develops his career. “Nick is like my big brother now,” Cory Gunz told AllHipHop.com in a previous interview. “He’s opening a lot of doors for me. He’s bringing a lot to the table – all of which I know is going to contribute to the success of all of my upcoming projects.” The trailer for Son of A Gun is below. video platformvideo managementvideo solutionsfree video player

 

Digable Planets members Butterfly and Doodlebug have announced a nationwide tour with their new backing band, Cosmic Funk Orchestra (CFO) Band. The pair will present an evening of Hip-Hop and funk featuring brand new material from Butterfly’s upcoming album as well as Doodlebug’s Cosmic Funk Orchestra‘s album Intifadah. The tour kicks off November 3 in Cleveland, Ohio and winds down on December 13 in Portland, Oregon. The pair will also run through a number of classic Digable Planet tracks, including “Rebirth of Slick,” “Nickelbags of Funk,” “9th Wonder” and others. Tour dates are listed below:

 

November:

11/3 Cleveland, OH @ Beachland Ballroom 11/4 Kent, OH @ Kent University Stage 11/6 Rock Island, IL @ Rock Island Brewing Company 11/7 Des Moines, IA @ People’s Court 11/8 St Louis, MO @ Old Rock House 11/10 Chicago, IL @ Abbey Pub 11/12 Minneapolis, MN @ The Cabooze 11/13 Lawrence, KS @ The Bottleneck

 

December: 12/2 Santa Barbara, CA @ Soho music club 12/3 West Hollywood, CA @ Key Club 12/4 San Diego, CA @ Winstons 12/5 San Francisco, CA @ Rockit Room 12/7 Santa Cruz, CA @ Moe’s Alley 12/9 Sebastol, CA @ Hopmonk Tavern 12/11 Seattle, WA @ Nectar 12/12 Boise, ID @ Neurolux 12/13 Portland OR @ Doug Fir Lounge

The RZA: Do the Knowledge (Tao of the Wu), Part 2

By: Grouchy Greg Watkins (@GrouchyGreg)Category: Reviews / Music

In part 1 of RZA’s exclusive discussion with AllHipHop.com, the Abbott laid out his thoughts on religion, spirituality, and his new philosophical book The Tao of the Wu. Here, he discusses publicly for the first time intimate details on the tragic passing of Ol’ Dirty Bastard. Also, the RZA opens up about how his mother’s words saved him, overcoming fears of marraige, and his greatest achievements.

 

AllHipHop.com: For years none of the Clan would talk about Ol’ Dirty Bastard’s passing because it was so painful. What finally made you comfortable putting it out there in the book?

 

RZA: His son is old enough now, and his son was there. His nuclear children are old enough to understand. That would have been a problem [before]. Second reason was the truth will always have its time. The truth out of season bears no fruit. Now it’s time. It’s 5 years later, we can speak on that and shed light to it. And it took a lot of time for me to really understand it too. I replayed that day in my head over and over looking for everything. I looked for the science, the chemistry, God, and every cause and effect that lead to that death, yo!

 

 

A year and half later Flava Flav told me a story that helped me clear my mind, because I was really puzzled about how it happened. My cousin Mario who I hadn’t seen in 4 years was coming to meet me at the studio because he wanted some money for his school tuition. And I exiled that cousin because he had stole my gun 4 years earlier. I didn’t want to f**k with him but I finally gave in. He comes on his own and right before I left I started to tell everybody don’t let nobody in. That’s what I meant to say.

 

Dirty was right near the elevator and I told him I’d see him in about two hours. And I left. And something in my mind said call the studio and tell them not to let nobody in. I didn’t want Mario stealing no s**t, but I didn’t make the call. I was late and rushing. And then Mario was the one who comes and gives him that pill! Ain’t that crazy? If only I would’ve knew. He died when the bag of coke opened up in his stomach.

 

I asked everybody who was with him that day if they had done any coke. They all lied! They didn’t tell the truth until after he was finished. And they still didn’t tell that he swallowed it! Only way I found out is when Flav told me he was with the guy that booked the show for him that day. And Dirty brought a couple Gs worth of s**t, and he couldn’t use but $400-$500 of it that day, and he swallowed the rest because he didn’t want to leave his s**t.

 

If we would’ve had that little bit of information we would’ve had his stomach pumped. So I replay that day but you know what, I share my part of the story with the world.

 

AllHipHop.com: When you speak about your mother in the book it reminds me of the Nas lyric where he says your mom is closest thing to God you’ll ever have. What is the biggest lesson you’d say your mom instilled in you?

 

RZA: Hmmm. There’s so many but the one that popped in my head first is when I was doing a lot of negativity and acting crazy, I got in some legal trouble and got out of it. My mom just looked in my eyes, knew I was a good kid and said “look boy, this is your second chance. God is giving you a second chance, Rakeem. Don’t waste it. Walk the right path.” And that’s what I did. And it lead to everything that’s here today: from Wu-Tang, to my company, to my babies, everything. I listened to her, and I stopped doing the negative s**t. I’m not doing nothing. I stayed away from all that s**t we were doing in those days.

 

Here an example that Ghost can vouch for. With street business, let’s say you get a kilo. You know how much more trouble you got on your hands? [laughs] Not just the law, but the people who want to shoot and rob you. You gotta carry a gun and all this negativity is all in your life. A kilo can probably make you $100 Gs. But then you got 5 to 6 n##### to work on it. And each one of those lives are at risk because they were giving a year a gram. One gram you got a year. That’s a 1000 years of jail, easily! [laughs] If you make it through you got a $100 grand that won’t last more than 4 months. Crazy game.

 

 

That’s how stupid we were. 2 years after that I’m selling beats for $100,000. It takes 10 minutes to make in my crib without no chance of getting in trouble. [laughs] But it shows you how positivity multiplies. I’d never become a millionaire stealing clothes and all the other dumb s**t we were doing as kids. 1 or 2 years of righteousness gave millionaire status. And not to say money is everything, it just shows you the multiplication of positivity. My mom inspired that.

 

AllHipHop.com: A lot of young men struggle with taking the step to marriage. When did you know it was the right time to take that leap with your spouse?

 

RZA: We became one 10 years ago. At first I wasn’t going to get married again. I was married once before. It was hell and I wasn’t going through that s**t again. I didn’t like the divorce system, the whole tricknology of it. So we decided to get engaged and live as husband and wife without going through a whole ceremony of bureaucracy.

 

But living like this with her brought peace and harmony and my life was getting more beautiful every day. I decided to make it official so everyone in the world would look at us as one. The sad part is you can love someone and feel like your husband and wife, but if you’re not married and have children, you’re going to come across a lot of difficulty. Why go through that with them when there’s a solution?

 

And my woman comes from a family who has a long tradition of marriage. They live it out. Her parents were married for 30 plus years. So it was the good quality of family as well.

 

So I did without a shadow of doubt. Yo, I did it without a prenup…

 

AllHipHop.com: Wow, really?

 

RZA: Yeah [laughs]. Before I was like “I’m getting a prenup s**t, after the last divorce.” But then I was like I’ve already defined my life with yours, so if we separated then half my life has been yours anyway so it wouldn’t really matter anymore [laughs].

 

AllHipHop.com: Final question, what would you say is your greatest achievement first as an artist, and then as a man?

 

RZA: As an artist I appreciate the birth of the Wu-Tang Clan. I’m grateful, it changed my life and thousands of families. But as far as feeling just proud, it’s really when I hear people say they’ve read the book and learned something from it, whether it’s the Wu-Tang Manual or someone who got an advance copy of this one. That s**t feels very gratifying. As an artist that’s my creative high, to know my wisdom has multiplied in another vessel.

 

As a man, there’s nothing greater than your children. There’s nothing greater than providing for your family and being able to watch them grow. I watched them come out of the wombs of their mothers. Well at least 5 out of 7. [laughs] I’m a Hip-Hop dude so I had a few over here and over there being caught up in the hype. My children say they love me, and that’s real because my pops disappeared. If I wanted to tell him I loved him I couldn’t say nothing. It took years for us to catch up with each other. For me to be here and part of this family is a great achievement.

 

This generation of Hip-Hoppers are striving to be better fathers then what we’ve seen in a long time. I’m striving to be a real good father, man.

 

Now since you’re the man with all the answers, I have a question for you.

 

AllHipHop.com: What’s that?

 

RZA: What does your name mean?

 

AllHipHop.com: Ismael means “Allah will listen” and AbduSalaam means “Servant of Peace or Most Peaceful.”

 

RZA: All praises due.

 

AllHipHop.com: Indeed, brother! Peace.

 

RZA: Peace…

 

BREAKING NEWS: Lil Wayne Pleads Guilty To Gun Charge

By: Grouchy Greg Watkins (@GrouchyGreg)Category: News

Rapper Lil Wayne pleaded guilty to attempted weapons possession charges today (October 22).

 

As reported by AllHipHop.com yesterday (October 21), the rapper is expected to receive a maximum sentence of one year in jail, although he is expected to serve around eight months in prison for the offense.

 

The rapper had previously pleaded not guilty to the charges, but changed the plea to avoid a trial that was due to start January 20 and could have resulted in at least 3 ½ years in prison.

 

The guilty plea stems from an incident in New York in 2007, after police found a .40 caliber handgun during a search of his tour bus.

 

Originally, lawyers for Wayne planned to contest the charges.

 

Yesterday (October 21), the plea was entered after Wayne’s DNA evidence was allegedly found on the weapon and deemed admissible by a judge.

 

The DNA evidence found was reportedly small, and Wayne’s lawyers initially sparred with the prosecution over whether the DNA profiling technique used was scientifically acceptable.

 

Before the trial, Lil Wayne’s manager had publicly taken responsibility for the gun on the rapper’s VH1 special.

 

Lil Wayne, 27, also faces a trial in Arizona for felony drug possession and weapons charges, after a 2008 arrest during a routine stop at a U.S. Border Patrol checkpoint.

 

At press time, Lil Wayne could not be reached for comment.

 

His much-delayed rock debut, The Rebirth, is scheduled to hit stores on December 15.