Madame Tussauds has announced that Hip-Hop star Snoop Dogg will be the latest rap icon immortalized in wax.

Deceased rappers like Tupac Shakur and The Notorious B.I.G. also have their own wax figures, but Snoop Dogg is the first living Hip-Hop star to be enshrined in one of Madame Tussauds’ world famous wax museums.

Snoop’s wax figure will be fittingly unveiled on April 20, or 4/20 and will feature clothing Snoop Dogg himself donated, including a baseball jacket from his Rich & Infamous clothing line.

According to rep’s for Snoop Dogg, the rapper’s handcrafted wax statue was created in Madame Tussauds’ London studios at a cost of $300,000.

Madame Tussaud’s wax museum has branches in Amsterdam, Berlin, Las Vegas, New York City, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Washington, D.C.

Each year, over 30 million visitors visit Madam Tussauds, which also has wax figures of musicians like Britney Spears, Miley Cyrus, Beyonce, Elvis Presley, Shaquille O’Neal and many other famous figures.

(Ed. Note: The image to the right is the unfinished version of Snoop’s wax figure)

Jadakiss’ new album, The Last Kiss, debuted in at number 3 on Billboard Top 200, an impressive outing for the Lox rapper.

The Yonkers-bred rapper moved close to 135,000 records when the Nielsen SoundScan numbers were announced today.

Jadakiss has been a staple in Hip-Hop music for over 10 years, but hasn’t seen the crossover commercial success that some of his peers have experienced.

The rapper said he expected to sell well based on his work, but would continue to press forward to keep the momentum going.

“Everybody wants to sell a million records but that’s just the least of it. You’ve gotta get sponsors,” he told AllHipHop.com. “Not to mention [that,] I’m going to stay on this tour bus until the wheels fall off. I keep doing shows and arenas and then I’m hopping on a tour. You have to stay on the road and do other things. The sales of the actual physical album are down, you cannot just play on that like it’s the only card in your hand. You have to have to some other Trump card to fall back on.”

To further support The Last Kiss, he said he’s got a reality show on BET in the works.

Jadakiss said, “I’m looking for my next DJ [on the show]. I go to Philly, Chicago, Atlanta across the whole nation looking for the hottest upcoming DJ. I’m going to bring them back to Y.O. for some a la Diddy “Making the Band” type of s**t. They’re gonna go thru a gang of competitions and who wins gets to be my next DJ.”

The Last Kiss marks Jadakiss’ debut on Def Jam/Roc-A-Fella Records.

Superstar Kanye West has just announced a partnership with the NBA to release a playoff themed version of his hit single “Amazing.”

Produced by NBA Entertainment, the video incorporates “Amazing” as the musical backbone while featuring memorable clips of past NBA postseasons with LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Dwyane Wade, and Paul Pierce.

Having previously utilized Hip-Hop artists like Busta Rhymes for their shows, the NBA feels that Kanye’s crossover popularity and eclectic music acumen is a perfect way to kick start this year’s anticipated playoff run.

“We have very strong relationships with music labels, which are well aware of the NBA’s global reach and diverse audience,” Charles Rosenzweig, Sr. Vice President of NBA Entertainment and Player Marketing told AllHipHop.com. “Naturally, from time to time, they will reach out to us with unique opportunities such as this one. This is a classic case where we heard the song and knew right away it as the perfect fit with our overall campaign. It was a no-brainer.”

Rosenzweig also acknowledged that music and sports have had a symbiotic relationship for years, and that many NBA players seek to emulate music star images and lifestyles.

“For decades, the NBA has enjoyed an extensive relationship with the music industry — it is part of our game, our presentation, our marketing,” he stated. “There is also an extraordinary connection between music and sports. All music stars want to be NBA stars and all NBA players want to be music stars.”

The Young Jeezy-assisted “Amazing” will be Kanye West’s third single from the platinum 808’s & Heartbreak.

An original Hype Williams video was recently filmed in Hawaii.

The 2009 NBA Playoffs are set to begin on April 18 with national games airing on ESPN, ESPN 2, ABC, TNT, and NBA TV.

The NBA “Amazing” video can be viewed below:

The Obama Administration has taken the first step to mending 50 years of antagonism with Cuba by relaxing some of the gift and travel restrictions with the socialist nation.

The main purpose of the policy change is to give Cuban Americans and their relatives better access to each other through travel, and the exchange of funds and goods.

According to White House Latin American policy adviser Dan Restrepo, President Obama hopes the move will create “independence” and “space” for Cuban people “to start the process to a more democratic Cuba.”

Although key provisions from the long-standing trade embargo were modified, non-Cuban Americans are still restricted from traveling, and gifts to high-ranking officials of the Cuban government are still forbidden.

Lead by young revolutionaries Fidel Castro, Raul Castro, Ernesto “Che” Guevara, Camilo Cienfuegos, and Huber Matos, the rebel forces utilized strategic guerrilla warfare to successfully overthrow the oppressive Fulgencio Batista regime on January 1, 1959.

Soon after, Fidel Castro aligned the nation with the Soviet Union, nationalized all foreign interests in Cuba, and removed all democratic and liberal advocates from power.

These actions facilitated the United States’ long-standing trade embargo, and lead to several clashes such as the disastrous Bay of Pigs Invasion (1961), and near nuclear holocaust in the Cuban Missile Crisis (1962).

Due to mounting medical issues, Fidel Castro stepped down as president in 2006 and transferred duties to brother Raul Castro.

A long-time critic of Castro’s regime and the deification of Che Guevara in popular culture, Cuban rapper Pitbull is hopeful that President Obama’s diplomatic relations will eventually move Cuba into democracy.

“I feel that this is a step in the right direction and hopefully we will live to see the day they free Cuba,” Pitbull told AllHipHop.com in an exclusive statement. “Farfetched for now but there is nothing wrong with dreaming.”

Former 2008 Green Party VP candidate Rosa Clemente was less optimistic of Obama’s latest move.

The celebrated African-American, Latino, and Hip-Hop activist interprets the eased restrictions as nothing more than pandering to Miami’s conservative Cuban base.

“It’s nothing new. The embargo stays. If you aren’t Cuban or of Cuban descent, you can’t travel,” Clemente explained to AllHipHop.com. “Only people from Cuba or of Cuban descent can go. Also, if your relative works for or is a member of the Communist Party, you are not allowed to send or receive money. It’s really for him [Obama] to shore up the vote of the right wing Cuban Lobby in Miami. It’s nothing new, it’s not progressive. If it really doesn’t involve the embargo, or if Cuba cannot be at The Summit of Americas taking place next week, what’s the point? It’s a lot of overkill media wise.”

President Obama has already left for Trinidad and Tobago to attend the Summit of Americas, which brings together all the powerful countries in the hemisphere.

In recent years, Cuba has been barred from attending.

In a recent CNN poll, 64 percent of Americans stated that the United States’ travel ban on Cuba should be lifted.

At press time, a group of 20 bipartisan senators are preparing a proposal to lift the ban.

Cleveland, Ohio native Kid Cudi has put to rest any retirement rumors with a new record deal and upcoming record label via a recently inked deal with Universal/Motown.

Universal/Motown President Sylvia Rhone revealed that Kid Cudi’s upcoming debut album Man on the Moon: The Guardian will be released through his label Dream On, in conjunction with Kanye West’s G.O.O.D. Music imprint.

Universal Motown will also distribute Dream On, a new joint venture between Kid Cudi, his partners Emile and Plain Pat and West’s G.O.O.D. Music.

“Kid Cudi is at the vanguard of a game-changing new generation of artists,” Universal Motown President Sylvia Rhone told AllHipHop.com in a statement. “He crosses musical boundaries with an appeal that goes beyond genre, format, race, language, and culture. Cudi lives easily in the Hip-Hop, indie rock, pop, and R&B worlds – a diversity that shows in his innovative music and his all-embracing persona. He is a born storyteller who brings a positive, life-affirming message to his brilliant lyrical flow and compelling music. There are no clichés in what Cudi does. He is a breath of fresh air – a dynamic and important new voice, not only in the next phase of Hip-Hop, but as a groundbreaking trendsetter who represents the future. I am thrilled to welcome Kid Cudi into the Universal Motown family.”

The deal comes on the heels of the worldwide success of Kid Cudi’s single “Day’ N’ Nite,” as well as West’s#### single “Heartless,” which Kid Cudi co-wrote.

His own single “Day N’ Nite” debuted at #6 on Billboard’s Hot Digital Tracks chart, in addition to rising as high as #3 on iTunes’ Hip-Hop charts.

“Day N’ Nite” is also a hit in Canada, New Zealand and Belgium and the U.K., where a remix of the track is sitting at #2 on the U.K. charts.

The single is also approaching gold certification, which over 450,000 units purchased thus far.

“Partnering Kid Cudi with Universal Motown and Sylvia Rhone couldn’t be a more natural fit,” added Emile and Plain Pat. “They were the first major company to take notice of our movement and truly grasp our vision. We are thrilled to extend and deepen our relationship. It’s a great feeling to watch the world discover the talent we saw in Cudi over these past years.”

Kid Cudi’s debut album Man on the Moon: The Guardian is due in stores this summer.

Plies has welcomed his brother home after a three-year bid in a Florida jail.

Ronell “Big Gates” Levatte left a correctional facility on April 9 and was reunited with his younger brother and loved ones.

“I thank everybody that continued to support not only me, but my situation. I thank everybody that continued to pray for my situation with my brother,”

Plies told MTV.com.

Levatte was sentenced  to jail because he had some involvement in a 2006 shooting at a Gainesville, Florida club.

Through his music, Plies has addressed his brother and other jailed citizens in songs such as “100 Years” and “2nd Chance,” which can be heard on his new album Da Realist.

“I think it’s important,” he said about addressing the prison system and its inequities. “[Me and my brother] talked a long time yesterday and, like I said, it’s so many more people,” Plies said. “He gave it to me in the simplest form possible. He said, ‘Behind that wall, there’s more people who are suffering, struggling, disappointed, sincerely hurting.’ People will never understand it unless you are a part of that system.”

In related news, a report by the Washington Post has revealed that the incarceration rates for African Americans has hit its lowest point in 20 years since the “War On Drugs” started in the 1980’s.

Sean “P. Diddy” Combs continues his push into the world of mainstream acting with a high profile role in the new movie Get Him to the Greek.

Combs will star in the movie alongside actors Russell Brand, Jonah Hill, Elisabeth Moss and Rose Byrne.

The flick centers around a record company intern who is charged with getting an “out-of-control” rock star from London, to Los Angeles’ Greek Theater.

In Get Him to the Greek, which is an unofficial sequel to Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Combs will star as “Sergio,” a record label boss that hires Hill’s character to perform the seemingly impossible task, which introduces him to world of sex, drugs and Rock & Roll.

In the past, Combs has maintained that he is taking his acting career serious and wanted to be more than a mogul/rapper-turned-actor.

In addition to starring in the Broadway incarnation of the Emmy-Award winning play A Raisin in the Sun, Combs has made appearances in the TV version of the play, as well as movies like Monster’s Ball, Made and two episodes of CSI: Miami.

Combs is also executive producer of a number of hit reality shows, including Making the Band, Run’s House and I Want to Work for Diddy.

“It’s an extremely gratifying feeling, especially when you’re doing something artistic that so many people were skeptical about or didn’t believe that you could do,” the mogul told AllHipHop.com in a previous interview.

The news comes as Combs prepares his latest album, Last Train to Paris, which is due in stores on September 22.