The freedom to dictate his musical direction provided the motivation for famed reggae/dancehall artist Beenie Man to align with New York-based independent record label Brookland Entertainment/Universal Republic.

According to the Kingston, Jamaica native, transitioning from a major label to an independent was a no-brainer, considering his track record with well-known labels.

“Being signed to a major label, you lose creative control,” Beenie Man said, as he cited Brookland president Eric Nicks’ track record as a music industry veteran as a factor in his decision to make the label his new recording home. “My company, MD Entertainment, will provide the music and Brookland will work their magic,” Beenie stated. “It’s as simple as ABC. No politics. Let’s make good music and make the fans happy.”

Beenie Man’s joint venture deal with Brookland/Universal marks a new chapter in his near 30-year career in music.

The Grammy winner, whose first major deal came with Virgin Records in 1998, is known for a string of hits that include “Dude,” “Who Am I,” “Girls Dem Sugar,” and “King of the Dancehall.”

Among those who have collaborated with Beenie Man are Janet Jackson, Wyclef Jean, and Mya.

To celebrate his 30-year anniversary, Beenie Man will appear at a star-studded concert in Kingston, along with rappers Rick Ross, Hurricane Chris, Heavy D.

As part of Brookland, the dancehall star joins a roster comprised of rap diva Lil’ Kim, West Coast crooner LeMarvin, soul songbird Yolanda Renee, and producer/singer August Rigo.

“Beenie Man’s signing with Brookland is yet another example of major artists choosing independent labels over the majors because of the better treatment they receive at the indie companies,” added Brookland president Eric Nicks. “We look forward to extending Beenie’s incredible music legacy well into the next decade.”

Beenie Man’s first album on Brookland will be his 19th studio release, The Legend Returns.

The project, which features the single, “Gimmi Gimmi,” is slated to hit stores this fall.

Next month, Brookland will release Brookland Entertainment Presents: Independence Declared, a compilation album featuring songs from its artist roster.

The Game’s efforts to humiliate Jay-Z have entered a new phase with “I’m so Wavy,” a new recorded dis of the Compton MC’s Brooklyn-based counterpart.

In the four minute and 50 second song, which hit the Internet on Saturday (July 11), The Game degrades Jay-Z as he references Jay-Z’s looks and age throughout the track, in addition to weighing in on the rap mogul’s ability to conceive children with his wife, R&B vocalist/actress Beyonce Knowles.

“N****s pop tags, I pop the 4-5/N*****s got swag, I got the tech nine…Yeah, you got cheese and I kill rats/Translation, I still trap/Now do something with that, or respond to this/And with those big a** lips, you got my name in your mouth I hope it taste like uhhh, no h###, one more time/uhhh, that’s your promo.”

“I’m So Wavy” is the latest in a string of criticism leveled at Jay-Z by the Game.

The former G-Unit member’s opposition stemmed from Jay-Z mentioning The Game earlier this month when he performed the introduction to his highly anticipated album Blueprint 3.

Days later, the Game responded to Jay-Z when he aired his grievances overseas by leading a “F**k Jay-Z” call and response chant during a live performance where he also referred to his rival as a “old a** n***a.”

The Game continued his taunts at another international concert as he mentioned Knowles during a freestyle that alleged an intimate relationship between the former Destiny Child’s member and various players from Texas based professional teams.

On Saturday, the rapper further commented on the beef on Twitter.

Although his efforts may echo his previous conflict with G-Unit, The Game maintained that his problems with Jay-Z paled in comparison to what he experienced with the 50 Cent-fronted collective.

“SEE, Y’ALL GOT IT CONFUSED. THIS IS NOTHING LIKE THE G-UNIT BEEF. THAT ONE WAS WON IN THE STREETS AS WELL AS THE MIXTAPES! “300 BARS” LIVES,” the rapper tweeted in all caps while noting how the conflict will not move beyond words.

“THIS BEEF IS A HIP HOP “CHESS MOVE”. STRICTLY A LYRICAL WAR! DON’T MAKE IT MORE THAN WHAT IT IS… THOSE WHO DON’T BELIEVE WILL SOON SEE,” The Game said.

Despite the Game’s insults, Jay-Z has yet to issue a response to his rival.

Nevertheless, the West Coast rhymesayer clarified his reasons behind dissing Knowles as he stated that Jay-Z had done the same thing in previous battles.  

“I WAS FREESTYLIN’ & SHE GOT HIT.” 4 THOSE DEFENDIN JAY ASKIN Y? AINT JAY DA N***A WHO SAID HE CAME ON NAS’s BABY SEAT,” The Game added.

“HE CAME OUT HIS MOUTH 2 SAY “GAME” & JUST LIKE ANY N***A WIT ENUFF SKILLS 2 LOCK IN, I “LOCKED IN”! IM SO WAAAAVY AINT S**T BUT A STATEMENT.”

In addition to Jay-Z and Knowles, The Game mentioned fellow rapper’s Lil Wayne and Drake in “I’m So Wavy” as well as Amber Rose, the girlfriend of rapper/producer Kanye West.

The video model’s loyalty to West was highlighted in the song by Game, who advised the Chicago artist to “get rid of Amber Rose.

“I’mma tell you how she get down/ I was at Diddy’s afterparty/ Sippin’ Cris, she was whispering at Chris Brown/ I seen Chris turn his head like, ‘No’/ Then ‘Gold Digger’ came on, I pointed like, ‘Ho!’,” The Game continued.

The Game also mentioned a rift between Jay-Z and West that allegedly resulted in a backstage fight at a concert.

The Game also harped on Brown, whom the rapper said was supposedly blackballed from this year’s BET Awards, after Jay-Z threatened to stay at home instead of taking the stage for their scheduled performances.

At press time, Jay-Z has yet-to-address any of The Game’s insults.

As his less-than-amicable divorce from singer Kelis rages on, rapper Nas has disclosed his earnings and expenses to support the fact that his financial state is not quite what his estranged wife believes it is.

According to TMZ.com, the Queensbridge native reports that while Kelis’ divorce petition indicated that he had received $11 million for his deal with Def Jam in 2006, he in fact only received close to $4 million.

Since then, he says, his monthly income has decreased to $147, 165.

Nas’ monthly expenses, on the other hand, currently total $71, 371.96, including $10,000 on his personal grooming alone, clothing and toiletries included.

Almost a month ago, Kelis made a similar disclosure, telling the courts that since her separation from Nas in November of last year, her average monthly income had decreased to $21, 616, almost $60,000 less than her projected expenses, once she gives birth to the child she is expecting with her ex.

The “Milkshake” songbird requested that a judge order Nas to pay all pregnancy-related expenses, half of all medical expenses after the baby is born, child support, and spousal support to maintain the life she lead while married.

“My survival is based on [his] will at this time,” Kelis said. “If he does not want to pay for an expense, it does not get paid.”

Though Kelis claims Nas has not offered any support since their separation, Nas told the judge that has agreed to pay $350 for a stroller, $450 for a baby sling, and $1,598 for two cribs.

He also indicated that he’d be willing to pay $5,000 a month in child support, which he called a “reasonable amount.”

He went on to say that he wants to be “fully involved” with raising his second child.

Nas has a 12-year-old daughter with ex-fiancée Carmen Bryan.

Although two months removed from their latest effort (Guru 8.0: Lost and Found), former Gangstarr frontman Guru and producer Solar are just getting warmed up in promoting the LP through a world tour.

Marketing themselves as the “#1 Hip-Hop/Jazz act on the planet,” the group has recently completed shows in Switzerland, Austria, Hungary, and London.

While the reception back home has been mixed, Guru explained that their experimental sound has been enthusiastically embraced overseas.

“Every concert on the tour has been sold out. This is considerably the biggest world tour of any independent Hip-Hop act/label this year,” Guru detailed. “Our killer Hip-Hop/Jazz set produced by Solar has consistently proven without a doubt that we have the best Hip-Hop/Jazz show on the planet.”

Building on an audience first cultivated over a decade ago with the Jazzmatazz series, Guru elaborated that the duo’s fans reflect the diverse influences heard in the music.

“The cool thing was that our audience is so vastly mixed and includes many 7 Grand supporters of varied ages, generations and backgrounds,” Guru stated. “We work our show so that no one is left out. Whether you’re into straight ahead Jazz, Pop, R&B or Hip-Hop, there’s a musical experience for everybody. This is Hip-Hop/Jazz in its purest blend.”

Even with these various blends of music and culture, Solar clarified that the foundation of the music remains and will always be Hip-Hop.

“Our goal with 7 Grand is to continue to be vital catalyst in keeping Real Hip-Hop alive for the future by bridging the generation gap and blending genres,” Solar explained. “My partner Guru is known for his groundbreaking Jazzmatazz album series where he collaborated with the likes of Chaka Khan, Herbie Hancock, Isaac Hayes, Erykah Badu, The Roots, Macy Gray and David Sanborn, so we’ve raised the bar for Hip-Hop musically and we do that on-stage as well.”

Overseas fans can catch Guru and Solar on these remaining European tour dates:

Haarlem, Netherlands (July 16 – Patranaat) Berlin, Germany(July 17 – Astra) Stockholm, Sweden (July 18 – Stockholm International Jazz Festival)

Flavor Flav will bring his unique brand of Hip-Hop to Middle Tennessee this weekend in Murfreesboro. Flavor, known as “the world’s greatest hype man,” will perform at club 527 Main Street on July 18. Flavor’s shows are known to be high paced and energetic. Flavor Flav is known to rap, DJ and also play the drums during his shows. Tickets to see the VH1 Flavor of Love reality show star are priced between $20-$35.

Jay-Z is reportedly in final negotiations with publisher Spiegel & Grau for a new book deal. The rapper’s is said to be writing a book that would consist of the stories behind his lyrics, as well as Jay-Z’s commentary on the words in his music. The Observer reports that, according to sources, Jay’s literary agent Matthew Guma originally approached editors and publishers about releasing three books: a memoir, a business book, and the project which seems to have landed a home at Spiegel & Grau. Spiegel & Grau is an imprint of publishing giant Random House.

Wale has announced a release date for his debut album Attention: Deficit. The album is slated to hit stores on September 22. Wale, who is signed to Mark Ronson’s Allido imprint, landed a number of high profile appearances for the Attention: Deficit, including K’Naan, Jazmine Sullivan, Marsha Ambrosius and Lady Gaga, who is featured on the album’s debut single “Chillin’.” Production duties on the album were handled by Ronson, Cool and Dre, Dave Sitek, Sleepwalkers and Sean and LV.

Fans of Atlanta rapper OJ Da Juiceman will have to wait a little longer for his upcoming major label debut, the Otis Williams Jr. Story. The album, which so far features appearances by R. Kelly (“Superman High”), Gucci Mane and others, no has release date. OJ Da Juiceman told MTV that he decided to push the album back in order to perfect the album, which features production by Zaytoven and Fat Boy.