Hieroglyphics founder Del Tha Funky Homosapien has teamed with Artifacts member Tame One to create a brand new album titled Parallel Uni-Verses.

Newark, New Jersey native Tame One is best known for his role as one-half of The Artifacts, in addition to his involvement with underground super groups The Weathermen and the Leak Brothers.

Oakland bred rapper Del and Tame first met almost 16-years-ago, through a mutual love of the “party life” on the road.

The pair kept in touch throughout out the years, resulting in Parallel Uni-Verses, a ten-track effort produced by producer Parallel Thought.

“Man, I ain’t even gonna be egotistical like that and try to say that we are trying to usher in some new revival of whatever,” Del told AllHipHop.com. “However, he adds, “I’m a say this: we are the element that is missing, not [just] because I said so. That’s what’s up; we didn’t sell out for all the luxury and monetary gains. The original ways, we kept at and built upon those.”

Tame One promised fans the album will stand out over contemporary releases, “because of the sonic quality and clarity of the samples and our vocal performances.”

“I have always been impressed by his [Del] wordplay and originality. Rap-wise, neither of us use words only because they rhyme; I believe we both utilize substance as opposed to nonsense,” Tame One said.

Parallel Uni-Verses is slated to hit stores later this year on Gold Dust Media.

Rappers Eminem, Jay-Z and Kanye West will do battle during the 26th Annual 2009 MTV Video Music Awards, which take place live in New York this September.

Eminem and Kanye West were each nominated in four categories for their videos “We Made You“ and “Love Lock Down,” while Jay-Z landed two nominations for his “D.O.A.” track.

The big showdown in categories this year will take place between Eminem and Kanye West, who will compete for a Moonman in multiple categories, including Video of The Year and Best Special Effects.

A three- way showdown will take place when Eminem, Kanye and Jay-Z battle for Best Male Video, as well as Best Hip-Hop video, although all three also have to deal with Flo Rida’s#### single/video “Right Round.”

A crop of new acts will compete for Best New Artist, including Asher Roth, Kid Cudi and Drake, although they have stiff competition in the form of Lady Gaga, who is also in the running for the title this year.

Lady Gaga and Beyonce Knowles topped all nominees with nine this year for their tracks “Poker Face“ and “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It),” respectively.

The 2009 MTV Music Awards air live Sunday, September 13 at 9:00PM from New York.

Killer Mike has announced his collaboration album featuring an all-star cast of Atlanta rappers will land in stores September 1. Killer Mike’s Underground Atlanta features a number of Atlanta artists together for the first time on one release, which includes artists like T.I., Soulja Boy, Gucci Mane, OJ Da Juiceman, Young Dro, Pastor Troy, Fonzworth Bentley, Stat Quo, Bobby Creekwater and others. “This record is the ATL experience,” Killer Mike said of the album. “In the 90’s, everyone here was on their own particular vibe yet they all vibed together. I remember seeing Goodie Mob, Joi, Monica, Kilo and OutKast all at the Warehouse on the same night and the crowd rocked with each artist regardless of genre. Atlanta is a special city where people party together and not just with their scene; that’s what I wanted to capture with this project.” Killer Mike is still working on his untitled debut for T.I.’s Grand Hustle label.

Incarcerated rapper Shyne will be released on October 6, after serving over 8 years in a New York prison for his role in a shooting inside of a New York City nightclub. HipHopDX spoke with Shyne’s lawyer Oscar Michelen, who confirmed the release date, although the rapper was due in court today (August 4) in regards to the terms of his parole once he is released from Woodbourne Correctional Facility in Sullivan, New York. “What happened was when they sentenced him [in March of 2001 to ten years] they didn’t sentence him to any parole – post release supervision, which was mandatory. So the Correction Department has asked the court to re-sentence him – under the law they can do that,” explained Michelen. In related news, sources told AllHipHop.com that Jay-Z is currently attempting to sign Shyne to his Roc Nation imprint.

Kidz In The Hall have announced details of their new album Land of Make Believe, the follow-up to their debut album The In Crowd. Land of Make Believe, which comments on the state of the music industry. According to group member Double-O, the album “will mean different things to different people.” “For us it is the space between where we are now as artists and where we feel we should be,” Double-O told AllHipHop.com in a statement. “It’s the idea that until you actually get to your destination or goal you have to act like you are already there.” The first single from the album, which will drop October 13 on Duck Down Records, is titled “Flickin.” “As a lyricist, I used this album to serve as a soundtrack to my aspirations and to my downfalls, but also as a chance to evaluate who I am as a man compared to whom I envisioned myself to be,” group member Naledge added.

A cousin of The Game has filed a civil suit against The Game in regards to an assault during a funeral for a cousin last year. Robert “Kirky” Kirkwood filed a lawsuit against The Game in Los Angeles Superior Court, claiming that The Game and a group of men assaulted him last July, after he confronted the rapper about paying for $7,000 worth of funeral costs. Kirkwood is seeking financial compensation from the incident and is seeking medical and court costs, in addition to his claims of severe and permanent damages during the attack.

West Coast rap icon Snoop Dogg will be among a group of celebrities slated to help celebrate t he 10th anniversary of ABC’s#### game show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.

The two-week run will include a different celebrity, who will take the hot seat every night to answer a single question.

A correct answer will result in the celebrity winning $50,000 for his or her favorite charity.

In addition to Snoop Dogg, the Millionaire 10th anniversary will include appearances from Vanessa Williams, Sherri Shepard, Katy Perry, Rachel Ray, Steve Nash, Lauren Conrad, Patricia Heaton, Shawn Johnson, Wynonna… and a “surprise guest.”

The 10th anniversary of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire will premiere from 8 p.m. to p.m. Sunday (Aug. 9) on ABC.

The celebration will continue for 11 nights as it airs at 8 p.m. Sunday-Thursday. The 10th anniversary finale is scheduled to air from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. ET Aug. 23.

A woman from Fort Bend County, Texas is suing Wu-Tang Clan member Method Man, for alleging shooting her with a pellet gun as she sought at autograph after a concert with Redman at the House of Blues in Houston.

Method Man, born Clifford Smith, is accused of shooting a pellet gun at Mary Anderson from the window of his tour bus, as she sought an autograph.

In the lawsuit which was filed on Thursday (July 30) in the District Court of Harris County, Texas, Anderson claims she was struck at least six times in the chest and torso area and required medical attention after the incident.

The rapper is also accused of infliction of bodily injury, infliction of emotional distress, as well as offensive physical contact.

“The conduct of the defendant was so extreme and outrageous in character and so extreme in degree as to go beyond all bounds of decency and should be regarded as atrocious conduct and utterly intolerable in a civilized society,” Anderson’s Daniel Horowitz III of said.

Anderson is seeking compensation for physical pain in suffering in the past and future, mental anguish, physical impairment, disfigurement and legal and medical bills incurred because of the shooting.

At press time, Method Man was not available for comment.

The second trial of New Orleans rapper C-Murder began Monday (Aug. 3) with the tentative selection of 11 jurors.

The Times-Picayune reports that the proceedings began when the No Limit Records rapper (born Corey Miller arrived in court in handcuffs.

Miller’s attorney, Ron Rakosky, referenced remarks made by the late Sheriff Harry Lee to resurrect his request to have his client’s trial moved outside of Jefferson Parish.

Before his death in 2007, Lee labeled Miller as a “gangster” who was “living out his lyrics.” As a result, Rakosky maintained that Miller’s right to a fair trial was “poisoned from the day of his arrest.”

“We’re talking about an extraordinary, an extraordinary, amount of coverage,” Rakosky said. “This man will never get a fair trial.”

Jefferson Parish District Attorney David Wolff countered Rakosky by saying the defense attorney’s claims were the same arguments he made when Rakosky’s previous change of venue request was denied in April.

The D.A.’s argument registered with 24th Judicial District Court Judge Hans Liljeberg, who denied Rakosky’s new change of venue request.

Jury selection for the case commenced Monday morning as a panel of 39 potential jurors was sworn in and questioned about their knowledge of Miller and whether pre-trial publicity has hurt their chance to fairly assess the facts surrounding the case. The tentative selection of the 11 jurors comes seven years after the death of 16-year-old Steve Thomas.

According to reports, Thomas died Jan. 12, 2002 after he was shot through his heart while being stomped by a group of men during a rap concert at the now-closed Platinum Club. Miller, who has denied killing Thomas, is charged with second-degree murder.

Although a jury convicted him of the charge in 2003, then-Judge Martha Sassone overturned the 38-year-old rapper’s conviction a year later after agreeing with defense attorneys that prosecutors improperly withheld criminal background information on three key eyewitnesses.

If convicted, Miller faces a mandatory life sentence in prison for the 2002 incident. In addition to the Thomas case, the rapper also faces a sentencing hearing on August 25 for his role in an Aug. 14, 2001, incident at Club Raggs, a bar located in Baton Rouge. In May, Miller pleaded no contest to two counts of attempted second-degree murder in connection with the incident.

As a result, the plea deal calls for the rapper to serve a 10-year sentence, minus the time he has already been behind bars and under house arrest. Prosecutors in the case hope to use a surveillance video taken of the incident at Club Raggs incident in his Jefferson Parish trial, as well as lyrics from Miller’s song “What’s the Reason.”

According to prosecutors, the tune, which is featured on Miller’s 2002 album Tru Dawgs, includes a description of both cases. Rakosky disputed prosecutors’ claims as he argued that there was no evidence of when the song was written or produced.

Eminem has denied being the rapper on a song called “Die Already,” which is a scathing diss towards Soulja Boy.

“Wow whoever made ‘Die Already’ really does sound like me. But it ain’t,” the rapper said from his official Twitter account.

The song was released to the Internet and was also posted on AllHipHop.com as an official song. D12 rapper/producer Dawaun Parker even called out AllHipHop online.

“That new Em diss is a straight up hoax. Can’t ya’ll tell? Couldn’t Allhiphop?” he said.

The song comes on the heels of Eminem dissing both Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon.

The song has since been removed from AllHipHop.com.

The proceeds of Slum Villages highly anticipated album Villa Manifesto featuring reunited group member Titus “Baatin” Glover will go the deceased rapper’s family.

Glover, aka “Baatin,” 35, was found dead on Saturday (August 1). While police await a toxicology report, AllHipHop.com has confirmed that tragically, the rapper was found dead just yards from a known crack house in Detroit.

Baatin was supposed to be at the Rock The Bells date on August 1 in Toronto, Canada, but was turned away by Canadian immigration officials, due to his prior criminal record. In an exclusive interview with AllHipHop.com, Barak Records’ founder RJ Rice shed some positive news in the aftermath of the death of Baatin.

Rice, of RJ & The Latest Arrival fame, founded Barak Records in 1998 and has since released at least six Slum Village albums in partnership with lifelong friends and associates James “J. Dilla” Yancey, R.L. “T3” Altman III and Baatin.

“We are going to hire an independent CPA to track the sales of Villa Manifesto so that money can get to Baatin’s family and the appropriate parties,” RJ Rice told AllHipHop.com. “It’s not going to be stopped and we are not going to pull a bunch of “I.O.U.s’ as the record label. We are going to start the clock at zero. Mrs. Maureen Yancey [J. Dilla’s mother] raised all three of the group members. Jay Dee was an instrumental figure and founder of Slum Village. We don’t want to see Mrs. Yancey struggling, so we are going to do the same for her. She is having real tough times right now. And we are going to try and develop some investments so that these woman can have some residual income, so we don’t have to go down this path again.”

Rice has worked with each one of the group members since they were teens, helping to manage or guide their careers, even founding Barak Records to release projects for each of the artists or their groups.

Both Slum Village and J. Dilla’s earlier works have been heavily circulated on the Internet, including instrumental productions and mixtapes of J. Dilla’s work in particular, cutting into potential proceeds for the rapper.

“We started this thing 17 years ago. And now that people have died and moved on these people have families and they hope that thing could have taken care of them as well too,” Rice said. “And they dedicated their lives for them to be who they were. Please do not bootleg the upcoming Villa Manifesto album.”

Slum Village had just released a new single “Cloud 9” featuring Marsha Ambrosius from Villa Manifesto album, which features high powered producers like Hi-Tek, Mr. Porter, Madlib, Pete Rock, Young RJ and FOCUS.

“I know that this would be a relief on those two of the founding members that were part of Slum to at least know something is going to happen,” Rice continued. “Who would want to see their mothers in need?”

A full, in-depth feature on Slum Village and the life of Titus “Baatin” Glover will run on AllHipHop.com tomorrow (August 4).

The friends and family of Titus “Baatin” Glover are currently making plans for a memorial service and funeral.

Slum Village’s Villa Manifesto hits stores September 22, 2009 and will be distributed worldwide digitally by IODA.video platformvideo managementvideo solutionsfree video player