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AHH Stray News: Ja Rule’s Guap Boyz Pushed Back

By: Grouchy Greg Watkins (@GrouchyGreg) Updated Category: News
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Rapper Ja Rule’s upcoming new album featuring The Guap Boyz has been pushed back indefinitely, AllHipHop.com has learned. A representative for the group told AllHipHop.com that the group’s upcoming mixtape Ja Rule & Mpire Presents Guap Boyz: The Mixtape Album has been put on hold until “label clearances are finalized.” Two songs from the mixtape, which is to be hosted by DJ Absolut, have been released thus far. “Million Dolla Jewelry” has been circulating on the Internet, while “Head Knock” hit the streets last week. In addition to Ja Rule, The Guap Boyz consist of Young Merc, Life and Harry O. Ja Rule is also working on a highly anticipated new album, which is due out sometime in 2009.

Troy Reed: The Man Behind “Game Over”, “Scarface For Life”, and “The Alpo Story” documentaries

By: Grouchy Greg Watkins (@GrouchyGreg) Updated Category: Reviews / Music
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With the national spotlight recently put on heroin kingpin Frank Lucas through motion picture and television shows now dedicated to chronicling the lives of some of the most notorious gangsters, the streets now have an audience. You can thank Troy Reed for that. 

 

As the founder and owner of Street Stars, Troy Reed revolutionized the urban documentary genre with his films documenting the lives of legendary street figures whose stories never made it past the hood. Back when VHS was still popping, his first title Game Over would cover the infamous rise and tragic fall of 80’s Harlem hustlers AZ, Rich Porter and Alpo. Game Over was so powerful, Dame Dash decided to take the story to the big screen with Paid In Full.

 

His next release The Larry Davis Story, was an in depth account of Davis’ dealings with the law and his infamous shootout with police that lead to a seventeen day manhunt; this was long before B.E.T. even knew what an American Gangster was.

 

Since then, Reed would go on to cover the lives of Nicky Barnes associate Guy Fisher, DC cocaine king Rayful Edmonds, and others. Now with ten plus years in the game and a distribution deal with Warner Brothers, Troy is more than a guy with a camera. He is a brand unto himself.

 

AllHipHop.com: How did Street Stars come about?

 

Troy Reed: Street Stars is an urban documentary DVD series that I started fifteen years ago. I documented the street; people who I called back then street stars. They weren’t famous in Hollywood but were famous in the urban communities across the country. It made me get a camera and start videotaping these guys and start highlighting their stories. It turned into a phenomenon where now you have movies and shows on these guys. To me these guys who I was focusing on where the closest thing to reality.

 

AllHipHop.com: Did you have a film background or did you grab a camera and run with the concept?

 

Troy Reed: When I first started doing these documentaries, I originally had a magazine. But Don Diva and F.E.D.S. came out with the idea so it was kind of like cool; let me take a different route. So that’s when I ended up picking up a camera. They had just put out these smaller cameras instead of using these big broadcast cameras that the television networks used.

 

At the time Azie [Faison] wanted to get his story done and go in depth. He had did it in a magazine but it wasn’t as impactful. I came up with the idea of putting it together where people could visually see it because people never saw him. So when we started doing it we started gathering old video tapes and news footage of when he got shot. Without even us knowing it lead us into the documentary film business.

 

AllHipHop.com: Your first title Game Over which covered the infamous AZ, Rich Porter and Alpo story is considered a classic. How did it come about?

 

 

Troy Reed: AZ wrote the script for the Paid In Full movie; it was originally called Trapped. At that time I just came up with the idea for Street Stars. Everyone I wanted to get for the first tape was in jail. So my boy put me in contact with AZ. That’s how we connected. AZ was impressed with it and was like here. He just gave me a handful of pictures. So we just stayed in contact. We both were on the spiritual tip and we really connected.

 

He wasn’t comfortable at first with getting on that camera. But we connected on a spiritual tip and he got more comfortable. I started interviewing him and he would come through every day because he had something new he wanted to talk about.

 

One of the most touching times where AZ gave it all to me and I never put it in the Game Over. He had called me and said “You know how I knew ‘Po killed Rich? When he didn’t say let’s go get the guns and find the n****s who did this to Rich”. The information on Game Over was so raw and powerful when it came out, it was like having pure coke on the street and I was the only one with it.

 

AllHipHop.com: Your next effort was The Larry Davis Story. Larry has a very interesting story to say the least. Was it surreal to sit with him?

 

 

Troy Reed: I didn’t chase that story. AG from Showbiz and AG put me on to him. After I started to do my history on him then I was like wow. I remember when the Larry Davis situation on TV then it was gone. Larry was a unique character because he had this boldness about him; like he could do whatever he wanted to do. There was a fearlessness about him.

 

AllHipHop.com: Your Scarface For Life film went a little left compared to your trademark story style.

 

 

Troy Reed: Like you said it was a change from my traditional style. A former correction officer Lorenzo Steele presented me with these pictures of guys that got cut in Riker’s Island and we decided we were going to do something. I started filming dudes from my area that were in jail and putting that work in and that’s why that came out like that.

 

The kid Lorenzo had a story about him going to Africa and Riker’s Island was like slavery and I totally understood what he meant because I went to Africa for eight weeks. That’s why there was a message in there. I didn’t want it to be all stab cut stab cut.

 

AllHipHop.com: The Karlton Hines Story took me by surprise; he didn’t really have an infamous story like your other subjects.

 

 

Troy Reed: Yeah Karlton was a star, but his run was short. He was a star, not necessarily in the streets but in ball. He was already a star to the people that knew him in the Bronx and some people in Harlem. This guy Carey Moore, the guy I did the film with, he had already done his homework on him and I just came in and translated into a film. It was such a compelling story that I don’t even watch the documentaries like that but that’s a documentary I can pop in and be like dam because Karlton Hines had a hell of a story.

 

AllHipHop.com: The Alpo Story in my opinion was your best work.

 

 

Troy Reed: My man PJ and Ollie connected me to ‘Po and from there I got an opportunity to go see the kid. Putting that together was interesting because I spent so much time going to see dudes in the penitentiary then now you going to see a dude who is in a [witness protection] program.

 

One thing I will say I respect about the kid ‘Po, the first thing he said in our conversation was “Yo don’t be afraid to ask me whatever you want to know, I’m going to tell you”. I had people tell me “Why was I doing a story on that rat n***a man,” but when I do a story I don’t have an opinion or take sides. I’m a filmmaker.

 

AllHipHop.com: Was it surreal to sit right in front of the most notorious hustlers from our age?

 

Troy Reed: What people don’t know he was so regular; it’s like you on the block talking to your man. When he came to the room there was no gangster image. He didn’t come out with a mean mug. He came out smiling and laughing. Another thing he spoke so highly of other people.

 

We got to talking about AZ and even Rich and he spoke as a fan of theirs. “Yo Rich showed me to stop wearing all the bulky jewelry and wear the fly pinky rings and the small diamond chains. Rich was the first one who took me to the diamond district.” He spoke about AZ like “AZ bought me my first car and showed me how to feed people, he gave me my shot.” He spent half of the conversation talking about other people.

 

AllHipHop.com: All your efforts seem to pay off as you landed a distribution deal with Warner Brothers.

 

Troy Reed: The deal with Warner was deserved; when I say deserving I mean I put so much work in and struggled for so long. You got to remember I created a whole Urban DVD market. I created an entire brand. At the time these DVD manufacturers were only dealing with Hollywood film companies.

 

When I went to get them pressed they told me we only do a minimum of twenty five thousand copies and I told them cool I’m going to need twenty five thousand. They never saw that. I walked in the door and opened up a new line of business for manufacturers to press stuff for a small guy from the street.

 

Then there was the marketing, to take all your money and wrap your car and sit there for seven years and drive state to state and sell stuff hand to hand. It was like I just got to get to this destination and when I get to this destination I don’t care if I make money out of it or I don’t. I just have to show these people what I’m doing.

 

The first actual DVD we did got bootlegged. When I first did Game Over there wasn’t an independent film market. It was only Menace To Society and Boyz N Da Hood. The only DVD’s out there at the time were And 1 tapes.

 

AllHipHop.com: What can we expect in the future from Street Stars?

 

Troy Reed: It’s not my title but I did the interview for The Son Of Preacher DVD that’s coming out. Also I got The Alpo Story 2, the one on one interview dropping next year. But the DVD outlet is dead now. There are no more mom and pop stores. So I’m kind of waiting for the change to take place; I’m kind of looking for to see what’s next thing.

 

I can’t really do what other people are doing because there is no creativity. I’m spoiled to the fact of coming up with something new and innovative and I like that feel better. I really just want to take my time and be patient. I’m just patiently waiting to catch the next thing right around the corner that nobody has seen so I’ll be the first innovator to make it happen.

 

“Game Over”

 

“Scarface For Life”

“The Alpo Story”

“The Rayful Edmonds Story Part 2”

A-Alikes Explore Political Change in New Film

By: Grouchy Greg Watkins (@GrouchyGreg) Updated Category: News
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The concept of “change” will be the theme explored in a new film featuring New York-based rap duo A-Alikes.

 

The Paul Biedrzycki-directed feature, titled The Ballot or the Bullet, chronicles A-Alikes members Ness and K during the three months leading up to the 2008 Presidential election.

 

In the film, the group takes a look at how the Democratic and Republican parties have built their respective platforms on change.

 

In addition, A-Alikes examine the type of change people want to see in America, while asking the question, “how do oppressed peoples gain freedom, through participation in a system, or through violence?”

 

Among those weighing in on the topic for the film are Public Enemy frontman Chuck D, Immortal Technique and dead prez member M1.

 

Other entertainers and activists featured include Green Party Vice Presidential candidate Rosa Clemente, activist Joy Bryant, Ilyahsah Shabazz, Umi, Melvin Gibbs, Divine from The Dey and Shadia Mansour.

 

A screening of The Ballot or the Bullet will take place at 10 p.m. Thursday (October 30) at the Anthology Film Archive in New York City.

 

Although the event is free and open to the public, but seating is on a first come, first served basis.

The Cool Kids: The Simple Life

By: Grouchy Greg Watkins (@GrouchyGreg) Updated Category: Features
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Chuck Inglish and Mikey Rock’s love for music goes far beyond paying homage to the influence of 80’s and 90’s Hip-Hop. For both of these Cool Kids, it started out as a hobby, distinguishing this duo from many other artist trying to get rich quick. Arriving at a downtown Chicago diner as if ‘88 is back and they haven’t been all over the world—or haven’t had Rolling Stone and the L.A Times name them Chicago’s next great Hip-Hop duo. Just seven months ago, The Cool Kids admitted to hanging on to their last $100 and scraping up just enough money to pay their cable bill while still making music. Within the last two years, Chuck Inglish (the more outspoken) and Mikey Rocks have made tremendous strides leading up to their upcoming album When Fish Ride Bicycles to be released later this year on independent label Chocolate Industries.Those strides include three releases, two EP, Totally Flossed Out in 2007 and The Bake Sale in June 2008, and the recent That’s Stupid mixtape. Then there’s performing at Lollapalooza 08’, opening for M.I.A, performing at the Pitchfork Festival, having their music featured on HBO’s Entourage and so on and so on. Anxious to go back to their “crib” and play NBA 2K9, which they’re featured in, Inglish recalls how they emerged out of Chicago’s music scene. “We were really doing [music] around our friends and our friends were DJ’s, local rock bands, just people who had way more. It just didn’t feel like we were ever those dudes that hung around those kids, so when we started making our own music, we were giving them to those kids instead of going out trying to network. We were kicking it with people.” The Cool Kids “Black Mags” VideoLong story short, after meeting via MySpace in 2005 (Rocks wanted a beat he heard on Inglish’s webpage), they linked up and started recording. Chicago’s Flosstradamus caught wind of the new duo, booked them for a show and it’s been on ever since. And after making some moves with Diplo and DJ A-Trak, the pair eventually signed with indie label Chocolate Industries in 2007. Not tailoring their style to any boilerplate rap themes (“We’re in our own lane; we’re not going into competition with no one else,” says Inglish), it’s obvious that part of Cool Kids lure is their correlation of ol’ skool Hip-Hop and with today’s Hip-Hop. Yet Inglish feels the music of his generation is short changing fans when compared to the sounds and creativity that sparked the 80’s and 90’s. “They’re getting cheated, even their album covers were great and then [record labels] wonder why people don’t want to buy CD’s,” says Inglish. “Nobody wants to see you on the front…with your arms folded in front of 3 or 4 cars. That ain’t s**t, like GZA had a whole optical illusion on his s**t. Nas had his baby pictures.” The Cool Kids “I’m Mikey” VideoLike the pioneers they salute, the Cool Kids relate more to an era of making music for the love and not money. “They trying to get paid. I’m gonna do this whether I’m broke as s**t cause six, seven months ago…I was not making any money,” says Inglish. “But if all that money went away, our attitude hasn’t changed since that money came in. Now we can stay at home and play video games all day. I don’t need a car, I just wanna have groceries and pay for cable without worrying. You should never try to do nothing because the end result is fame or money.”BEATS & RHYMESMikey was the first to rap over Inglish’s beats and their musical synergy began as simply as that. “I had my own idea of what I wanted the s**t to sound like,” says Inglish, whose plethora of beats made it easy for the two to work together. But little did Inglish know he would be rapping soon and testing his writing skills after being on bed rest with a broken ankle. “I got bored I didn’t have s**t else to do…started writing and wrote a rap,” is how Inglish recalls writing first rhymes. “I was gon’ say what he was gon’ say, because if he was like, ‘Nah n***a that’s wack,’ I would’ve just sucked it up and been like. ‘Aight, let me just do my job. But I just kept on writing” Mikey and Chuck still feel like there’s work to do, especially for their first major album release. With the title, When Fish Ride Bicycles, itself a little abstract, they rest assure that when you hear the songs, you will understand. Keeping their music close to them has been the secret to their demand and highly anticipated music. Says Inglish, “We like people to listen to it but its our s**t, it wasn’t like we would go out to the Hip-Hop shows and pass out s**t. We didn’t pass one thing out and still haven’t passed out s**t.” However, Inglish explains that he wanted to give people something to listen to for the summer, which sparked their most recent mixtape release That’s Stupid. “The beats on the mixtape, I just threw in the album. I wanted people to have something to listen to in the summer cause it was trunk heavy, we had a lotta drums, we was tryna rap a little bit different,” explains Inglish. Hard work mixed with dope beats and dope rhymes have brought the Cool Kids a long way. They intend to continue as trailblazers of the new school and hope to spark their contemporaries to make dope music. In the present, they are content with music and video games but being in their own lane calls for great responsibility, which they are ready to take. “If there is a constant parade of classics coming out like it was back in the day like all the people we met then it will be some hope for the shorties man! If could jump it off I would love to jump it off, there’s nobody that I’m tryna beat out, I’m not tryna compete with no one, I just wanna make the best album that we can make at the ages that we’re at,” says Inglish. Already known for their “trunk-heavy” beats and creative music concepts, ‘dope’ is the simple goal they’re aiming to achieve. “Our song concepts have a lot to with trying to make s**t dope,” says Rocks. “We never have a direct message, more along the lines of this sounds cool, let’s put this together, put cool raps to it. There it is, that’s the song right there, it’s real simple. It’s kind of a sit down [and] get it cracking process.” The Cool Kids “Delivery Man” VideoBut don’t mistake the simplicity for mediocrity. A thick catalog of songs, Internet chatter, international touring—and songs for Mountain Dew [“Delivery Man”]—only means the Chi-Town tag team has to show and prove with When Fish Ride Bicycles. “To go down in history your first album can’t be s**tty. It can’t even be mediocre,” says Inglish matter-of-factly, before confidently adding, “I’m Babe Ruth, I’m pointing to the wall before the ball gets hit.”

Hip-Hop Rumors: Mariah Preg? Fans Mad AT Lil Wayne!

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

TODAY’S RUMORS!

LIL WAYNE NOT GOING WITH JAY-Z

Lil Wayne isn’t getting down with Jay-Z and Roc nation, even though the rumors have carried on for months. Weezy and his people officially rebutted reports that he has signed with Jay-Z’s newly launched Roc Nation label yesterday. I don’t know who, but some site said he had already signed and it prompted the team to issue a statement. Ho hum.

FANS ARE MAD AT WAYNE!

I’ve been out of the loop, but check out this report from a concerned fan:

got some info 4 ya wayne was pose to perform this past sunday in rochester n.y he would not leave the telly they made up some story that he was not in town 8000 people came to the show ,he was on some high s### my brother sold the n#### some s### trust me i dont want to say what on here like that but they spent a lil doe $400 this was like 10;25 pm when he was posed to be on stage at the blue cross arena 4 the lil wayne and friends concert,ludacris held it down and nina sky was OK, luda only came cuz wayne said he wanted him to come up top so he came people was madd sick they was chantin wayn all night when they said he missed the flight at least 2000 people left the place ya dig ,he on some f## s### he was in the rock at the hyett smoken that piff and popin out ya dig ,my dude fabolous will be here this friday 4 the monsters ball halloween night one qb

MORE ANGRY FANS!

Oh man. I didn’t write this so don’t get mad at me. This is straight from the people: and do not represent my views or opinions at all:

Lil Wayne lost fans on Monday night (Oct. 27) in Boston, MA. Wayne was scheduled to perform at Monster Jam @ the TD Banknorth Garden with Jay-z, Neyo, Yung Berg and Brandy. First up was Berg he was wack as expected. Next was Brandy, she was okay Ray-J was her special guest. Neyo represented as usual, Jadakiss was his special guest. Lil Wayne was up next, they announced this fool and his band and DJ are on the stage, his name is flashing on the big screen and he never appears. We had to sit there listening to his DJ play irrelevant music for 30 minutes. Finally the DJ leaves the stage and the workers been to break the stage down to set up for Jay-Z. Hova is always a crowd pleaser so he did his thang grown and sexy. Hova put on an excellent show for 90 minutes. As for Lil Wayne, word is that his punk ass refused to go through security, so he just left the building. How can you sell a million albums and not be willing to perform for the people who made you who you are. He’s a CRACKHEAD…For Real!!!!

HAPPY WAYNE FANS IN NYC

Here is the last letter from a fan in NYC. I think they played NY tonight for Powerhouse and here is what happened in the words of a fan:

Just wanted to give you the word on the Jay and Wayne show in Jersey last night. The show was fiyah! I didn’t think that I would be into Ne-Yo’s performance but it was hot…he brought out Fab, Jadakiss and my boy Plies.

Wayne did his thing of course and brought out Baby. Jay Z as always gave an excellent performance from the band to his video backdrops. Also he brought my girl B out to do Single Ladies and show off the carat on her finger. It was a great show!

M.O.P. WANT THE WWE TO “ANTE UP”

M.O.P. is mostly known for snuffin out people along when their signature rap style. In 2008, the dudes are taking a different approach to mashing people out, according to tmz. They are accusing rap fan and part-time rapper John Cena and the WWE of stealing portions of “Ante Up,” their classic record. Cena’s song is called “The Time Is Now” and it apparently incorporates portions of the original. Apparently, the biggest point of contention is when Cena uses their signature sound… “BRRR Abado” M.O.P. really only wants $150,000 and for Cena’s song to be destroyed. LMAO.

MARIAH PREGNANT?

I heard a rumor that Mariah Carey might be in the earlier staged of a pregnancy. The only thing about that rumor is we have seen a recent shot of her and Nick Cannon. Now, this rumor doe suggest that she’s probably not showing yet, but I’m not sure I am buying it. I’d be happy for them if they were though…

DO REMEMBER! NEW EMAIL!

DOES WAYNE REALLY GET…”NICE”

Wayne always seems to have a cup of something colorful in his hand. But, does he really get it in like Amy Winehouse, as he goes on to the be the biggest thing is rap? I heard from a reliable source that Wayne likes to give the impression that he is all drugged up and zany, but much of that is an act. I don’t know for sure, because as you can read, he sure has rumors swirling. But I heard he’s not high all day and night.

WHITE BOYS CAN RAP?

There is a rumor that Bubba Sparxxx and Paul Wall are going to get together and do a mixtape called “White Boys Can Rap.” I’m hearing this might be a joint effort with DJ Drama. Where the guys attempt top refute that White guys can’t rap. I thought weestablished that they can in the 80s?

2002 MASE INTERVIEW

ILLSEED’S QUICKIES

WHOO! I heard dead prez is finally coming back with an album called Information Age. I don’t know if you heard that, but ‘tis true.

Also, Ghostface is all set to drop Ghostdeini the Great next month. Def Jam is funny.

Do you know Bono of U2 fame? The 48-year-old rock legend was seen with a pair of 19 year olds in St. Tropez. He insists they are only friends and I insist that Bono is a G.

Check out my homey Will Conquor. Will is in the IC and he’s put out a mixtape called “Crank Is Dead.” The Ill Community, baby!

To WHOEVER it applies to: If Barack is “just a man” why don’t YOU run for president and save America from certain damnation, buddy?

There are rumor that Nas and Brandy are dating, but those have to be based on their recent musical collaboration.

I heard Jay-Z and Beans have parted ways at Roc-A-Fella. Is this old news? Somebody told me that Jay had extra security in Philly when he did Powerhouse – just in case.

I have never heard of the Hustlesquad DJs, but they upset a lot of people with a recent retreat. I’m getting a lot of email on it.

They want the guy that played Batman in both “Batman Begins” and “The Dark Knight’” to play the role of Dr. Strange in Marvel comic’s next movie? HUH? Isn’t there a rule against that?

Terrance Howard has been slapped with a $5 million lawsuit from Tex Allen (Debbie’s brother). He claims T-How punched him back in January.

Its not a rumor. Jadakiss has changed the title of his new album to The Last Kiss from the original – Kiss My A**.

LL Cool J has dipped from the Janet Jackson tour, because of “scheduling conflicts.”

Eminem was on for a December 23 street date, but now it is TBA. Blah!

NOV. 4 – VOTE, VOTE, VOTE!

Check out Young Jeezy, The Game, Kids In The Hall, Common and others talk about the up coming election.

I would like to add that everybody should get out there and volunteer to help in this election! I know people of all ages (including myself) that are helping out in a number of ways! Some are even at the polls on Election Day to make sure no funny business goes down.

Also, I want to remind the you that can to get out and take advantage of early voting…..Please! A lot of people are waiting until November 4, but we know that this will potentially be a day of mass confusion and trickery. When you get there, STAY IN LINE! Don’t wake up on November 5 and say, we could have DONE MORE.

I know some people that are sitting on the sidelines all disenchanted, but for the rest of us – Lets do this! Watch these Diebold Machines! McCain has “guaranteed” victory….prove ‘em wrong!

EPIC FAIL OF THE DAY

Check this out. Two fire engines in St. Louis were going to put out a fire and guess what happened?

WHY NOT: EPIC FAIL OF THE DAY PART 2

SIGNS THE WORLD IS COMING TO AN END

How bad is the global economic crisis? Pep this!

In India, Amar and Kundar Singh Pundir are brothers. They are very, very close and there is a special reason why. They live in Himachal Pradesh, India and they have a unique living situation. Kundar and Amar share Indira Devi as their wife. That’s right. They share their wife. What they call it is fraternal polyandry and a big part of the reason they are sharing the lady is purely rooted in economics. They don’t want to have to divide up the land that they own to too many people so they keep their inherited property among less people. If they had another woman, she would be taking their bread – literally. Here are some parts of the story from CNN:

In this difficult terrain there isn’t enough land to go around. So, instead of finding separate wives and splitting up their inherited property, the brothers marry the same woman and keep their land together.Wife Indira Devi says life with two husbands isn’t easy.

“We fight a lot.”

But like any married couple they fight mostly over mundane stuff, except there are three spouses instead of two.

And here is the sexual situation:

One thing they agreed on was the need to have children; They have three. So how does a married trio deal with sex?

“We make shifts, change shifts and sleep on alternate days. We have to make shifts otherwise it won’t work,” Kundan says.

“To run our families we have to do this, overcome the hurdles as well and then we have to control our hearts from feeling too much,” Amar adds.

The other half of this situation is purely tradition. Her other relatives have two husbands too and it goes way back in time. So, I can’t knock that.

SHELZ DELIVERS THE RUMORS

(If any of this is “late,” blame illseed, not Shelz. Thanks!)

The Twins! The Twins!

I swear, yall know how us mommas get when we see babies. They are so cuuute and they actually seem to know who Diddy is, which is a good thing. But seeing this reminds me of those struggling sit-coms that always introduce a cute kid near the end of the life of the show after people stop watching in the hopes that the kid can help them squeeze out a few more episodes. But anyway, Diddy and the mini-Didz say vote for Obama!

New York Gets Human.

Obviously letting all the craziness of the last month or so between her and J-Hud fall by the wayside, New York comes from the heart to let Ms. Hudson know how she feels.

It’s Right. Then Again, It’s Not.

I want to see how many diss hours Shawty Lo can pull out of this 30 second video. Instead of TI vs TIP we have TI = TIP. It’s too funny for words.

Hopefully someone dropped this on us from the archives without mentioning it.

Soulja Boy Tellem To Kiss Your A**

Soulja Boys crew seems to be crumbling. First there was that DJ Cornbread or Wheat Bread or whatever his name is who said SB fired him because he was getting more love on the road than SB was. Now we have SB’s personal Assistant who claims he was a victim of a home invasion and when the robbers asked for money he wrote them a check. Ummm… I’m sure no one believes that. However, the alleged check was written on SB’s account. Yes, he claims the home invaders actually took the check to the bank to cash it. But that was cool because the Personal Assistant never bothered to tell anyone including SB that he was robbed. So he was fired because well… that story makes no sense and SB believes this dude stole the $45,000 from him.

World Series of Hip Hop Allegedly Not Paying Folks

Ok, so in the 12th hour the show seemed to pick up a lil steam and like 36 folks tuned in, including me for the bargain basement price of $10. So then us 36 texted who we thought should win for the bargain basement price of a dollar a text. Then the WSOHH people said the texts didn’t go through and we should revote at the bargain basement price of a dollar a text. And after all that, the folks who won said they haven’t been paid. That’s if they even know who won. Damn shame.

THE KING HAS SOMETHING TO SAY!

Dear ALLHIPHOP.COM

This is KING PHAZE from YONKERS, NEW YORK. I’ am the artist who has the new song out called “YONKERS ANTHEM” KING PHAZE FT. STYLES P, SHEEK LOUCH & DMX. I’m writing this statement in regards to the last BIG MIKE mix tape which featured my song “YONKERS ANTHEM” with out me on it.

The first time I herd about my verse being chopped off was from BIG MIKE him self. I got a phone call from BIG MIKE the day his mix tape dropped. BIG MIKE was very apologetic, his exact words were, PHAZE, I’m very sorry, my mixing engineer messed up your song when he put the final CD together and some how your verse got chopped off. BIG MIKE said PHAZE, I’ am very sorry and I will make it up to you. BIG MIKE said he will putting out the “YONKERS ANTHEM” again on his next mix tape along with one of my new songs

“GET DOWN & GO HARD” FT. DMX.

I was real heated about the whole situation in general and was about to get real dirty, but BIG MIKE calling me like a man and taking responsibility for his actions decently helped the situation not esculate to the next level. Coming from a artist, A&R, engineer & producer backround, I don’t see how the first half of a song could get chopped off by accident. You would have to make a dump of the song in pro-tools and actually chop off the beginning of the song and than make a new bounce of the song in order to chop my verse off the song.

If I would have herd the mix tape before BIG MIKE called me, we defiantly be fist fighting, and I have a army of L. K. soldier’s ready to move at any second, but I did respected the fact that BIG MIKE called me like a man and took responsibility and apologized to me.

BIG MIKE was the first person to debut the song “THE WRONG WAY”!

With that said I want to thank www.allhiphop.com for correcting the situation and placing the correct version of my song on your site.

You will hear more KING PHAZE on the new BIG MIKE mix tape with the corrected version of the “YONKERS ANTHEM” from KING PHAZE FT. STYLES P, SHEEK LOUCH & DMX. Also go to www.myspace.com/diamondkrownz this is the official KING PHAZE myspace page.

YOU COULD DOWNLOAD ALL THE SONGS ON MY PAGE FOR FREE INCLUDING “YONKERS ANTHEM”! Thank you to all of my fans for showing me all the love that I been getting.

My new mix tape “YONKERS ROCK STAR” is coming soon.

Respectfully,

King Phaze

FOR THE SCUMBAG THAT KILLED J-HUD’S NEPHEW, MOTHER AND BROTHER!

I am so p##### and upset about the tragedy that has struck the family of Jennifer Hudson that I can’t put it into words. I hope the person doesn’t get the death penalty. Let them live with what they’ve done and deal with all that prison has to offer in a lifetime bid.

Here is a song called “Dear Shooter” from my homey Kidd Russell. It is a very pertainent song with a great message against gun violence. A lot of people are pro-guns, but what happens when they lose somebody?

Here is what Julia Hudson recently posted on her myspace page:

“LETS SEE IM 29 YEARS OLD I HAVE ONE CHILD AND I’M ALWAYS BORED, I LOVE TO HAVE FUN EVEN START A LITTLE S*** HERE AND THEIR i HAVE TWO YOUNGER SIBLINGS MY SISTER IS JENNIFER HUDSON YES THE JENNIFER HUDSON AND MY BROTHER IS JASON,

I GUESS IT’S TIME TO UPDATE THIS WHEN I STARTED MY MYSPACE ALL OF THE ABOVE WAS TRUE , NOW BECAUSE I CHOSE TO DO WHAT WAS NATURAL TO ME AND LOVE SOMEONE , IT COST ME MY BEAUTIFUL FAMILY MY WONDERFUL BEAUTIFUL LOVING SUPPORTING MOTHER DARNELL, MY TRUE BLUE BABY BROTHER JASON , I LOVE U BIG BABY …

AND LAST BUT NEVER NOT LEAST MY ONLY SON JULIAN , MY INNOCENT BABY ONE THAT WAS SHELTERED FROM ALL THE EVIL OIN THE WORLD BECAUSE WE LOVED HIM SO MUCH… BUT THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR LOVING SUPPORT, I KNOW SOME OF YAL HAVE YOUR OPINIONS AND YOU ARE ENTITLED TO THAT , LIKE WHY IS SHE LOGGING ON TO MYSPACE AT A TIME LIKE THIS , LET ME TELL YOU WHY I WAS HOPING THAT , THAT WAS A WAY TO MAYBE HELP ME GET MY SON, MY BABY THE ONE I CARRIED UNDER MY HEART FOR 8 1/2 MONTHS THE SON IT TOOK ME 21 HOURS OF LABOR TO BRING HERE THE SON I GREW TO KNOW AND LOVE FOR JUST A FEW MONTHS OVER 7 YEARS THATS WHY …

AND NOW FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO ACTUALLY CARED THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR WORDS OF ENCOURAGEMENT , THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRAYERS , THANK YOU FOR POSTING HIS PICTURE ON YOUR PAGES AS YOUR DEFAULT PICTURE THANK YOU… BUT HIS LIL SOUL IS AT EASE, I TAKE COMFORT IN KNOWING THAT JULIAN IS WITH MY MOTHER AND MY BROTHER AND MOST OF ALL THE LORD AND NOW HE’S MY ANGEL HE’S PROTECTING ME… ..

OBAMA REACTS TO HATE GROUPS

FINISH THE RACE

ILL PICS

I could have made Lauryn happy!

SARAH PALIN’S FAKE FACEBOOK PAGE

OBAMA, 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 al*************@***il.com.WHERE ELSE? Twitter.com/illseed

– allhiphop rumors

El DeBarge Gets Two-Year Prison Sentence

By: Grouchy Greg Watkins (@GrouchyGreg) Updated Category: News
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R&B crooner El DeBarge will spend more time incarcerated after appearing in court to answer a drug possession charge.

 

TMZ.com reports the singer was sentenced to two years in state prison on Tuesday (October 28).

 

The ruling comes on the heels of DeBarge’s arrest on Monday in Los Angeles.

 

The entertainer, who is best known as the former lead singer of the ‘80s group DeBarge, was charged with possession of a controlled substance.

 

Tuesday’s decision came after the judge in the case concluded that DeBarge violated his probation from a 2007 drug case.

 

The violation stemmed from the entertainer’s conduct, after authorities allegedly found him with crack cocaine earlier this month.

 

El Debarge is best known for the 1985 hit song “Rhythm of the Night” as well as recent collaborations with rappers such as Warren G. and DJ Quik.

 

El DeBarge immediately began his sentence after the hearing. He will serve his sentence at California State Prison in Lancaster.

M.O.P., John Cena Caught In Tangled Lawsuit With WWE

By: Grouchy Greg Watkins (@GrouchyGreg) Updated Category: News
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Wrestler John Cena has found himself at the center of a tangled, new copyright infringement lawsuit over his use of an M.O.P. sample.

 

According to a lawsuit filed by publishing administration firm The Royalty Network, Inc. Cena, the WWE, Sony BMG Music, Stephanie Music Publishing and Cherry Lane are accused of unauthorized use of the sample from M.O.P.’s 2000 hit “Ante Up.”

 

At issue is a line described in court documents as “a distinctive freestyle rap – ‘BRRR Abado’,” the infamous war cry which appears at the beginning of the anthem.

 

The same line appears three times in Cena’s song “The Time is Now (John Cena’s theme),” from the WWE star’s lofty 2005 Hip-Hop debut You Can’t See Me.

 

The song was also featured on the 2007 compilation WWE: Raw Greatest Hits – The Music, and was played each time Cena appeared on a WWE broadcast and in some WWE television commercials.

 

Royalty Network is pursuing the lawsuit on behalf of M.O.P.’s long time manager – Laze Elliot – not M.O.P.

 

The Royalty Network represents Elliot through an agreement his publishing company, Blind Man’s Bluff Music.

 

Because of a 1993 recording agreement between Elliot’s Blaze Entertainment and M.O.P., the publishing company has a 50 percent stake in the group’s 2/3 ownership of the song, with the additional third belonging to producer D/R Period.

 

In December 2004, the law firm of Pryor, Cashman, Sherman and Flynn requested that Blind Man’s Bluff release the sample through a “gratis license,” meaning that they would forfeit all royalties tied to the use of the sample.

 

That request was denied.

 

According to the lawsuit, the request would be later granted, allegedly by an unauthorized employee of Next Level Music, a company co-owned by D/R Period.

 

However, he had allegedly already signed away the licensing rights of his minority interest in the song, giving a company named Spirit Two Music, the sole control of those rights.

 

This, in turn, made the sample clearance null and void, as it was given to the WWE by someone who held no rights to it.

 

The Royalty Network is seeking to have John Cena’s “The Time Is Now” destroyed.

 

They are also asking for compensatory damages equal to $750 to $30,000 for each time the song has been used, for a grand total of no less than $150,000.

 

At press time, M.O.P. member Billy Danze declined to comment on the lawsuit, as he was examining the details surrounding it.

LL Cool J Leaves Janet Jackson Tour

By: Grouchy Greg Watkins (@GrouchyGreg) Updated Category: News
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Rapper/actor LL Cool J is no longer a part of Janet Jackson’s Rock Witchu tour.

 

The Hip-Hop star’s publicity firm cited unnamed scheduling conflicts as the reason for the rapper dropping out as Jackson’s opening act.

 

The loss, which was announced Monday (October 27), is the newest development in a string of problems for Jackson, who recently resumed the tour after canceling a series of earlier concert dates.

 

The cancellations stemmed from the singer being diagnosed with “migraine-associated vertigo.”

 

Jackson, who returned to the stage October 15, is currently being treated for the condition, which includes symptoms such as dizziness and imbalance.

 

Last week, the vocalist thanked fans for their support during her illness via a YouTube video. “I want to thank you for all your messages and all your love and support when I wasn’t feeling very well,” Jackson said. “I’m a lot better now.”

 

Despite Cool J’s departure, Jackson will continue the tour, as she is expected to announce more concert dates.

 

Jackson will take the stage on Saturday (November 1) for a performance in New York.

Representatives For Lil Wayne Deny Roc Nation Signing

By: Grouchy Greg Watkins (@GrouchyGreg) Updated Category: News
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Earlier today, representatives for Lil Wayne officially rebutted reports that he has signed with Jay-Z’s newly launched Roc Nation label.The rumors began yesterday (October 27) when an entertainment site

reported that the superstar New Orleans emcee had signed with

Jay-Z for a flat rate of $5 million, and would release a new version of

Tha Carter III in early 2009.

Roc

Nation is the cornerstone of Jay-Z’s $150 million partnership with

concert promoter Live Nation. To date, Jay himself is the only Hip-Hop

artist signed to the label.

            The

rebuttal comes as Wayne is receiving backlash from fans for missing two

high-profile concert appearances in the last two days.

            On

Sunday October 26, Wayne abruptly no-showed a headline concert

featuring Ludacris, T-Pain, and Rick Ross after being dissatisfied with

the venue’s sound system.

            The

angry crowd of 8,000 fans were offered full refunds, and many left

before the show’s conclusion following the announcement. While Ludacris did

his best to salvage the show, concert officials report the Atlanta rapper was

greeted with loud Wayne chants throughout his set.

            Last night (October 27), Wayne again no-showed in Boston for JAMN’s 94.5 Monster Jam.

            The

concert was set to feature Wayne and Jay-Z as co-headliners. However,

reports allege the New Orleans native refused to perform once notified

his camp would be screened per the venue’s security regulations.

            Forced

to improvise, Jay-Z took the stage early and was supported by

additional performances from Ne-Yo, Yung Berg, Brandy, Ray J, and

Jadakiss.

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

Rapper Common Narrowly Avoids Deadly Shooting

By: Grouchy Greg Watkins (@GrouchyGreg) Updated Category: News
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Chicago rap star Common was nearly a witness in a fatal shooting that has left one man dead and four people injured.

 

The incident occurred yesterday (October 27) afternoon near the intersection of 704 Fulton Street and South Oxford Street in the Fort Greene section of Brooklyn, NY.

 

According to eyewitness reports, two gunmen opened fire on a 19-year-old man who was waiting at the corner for the friend.

 

The man fled into a nearby hair salon, and was subsequently cornered and killed by the suspects.

 

In the fusillade of 30 shots, four innocent bystanders in the shop were hit including an off duty police officer.

 

Witnesses also allege one of the killers fired a coup de grace shot to the head to make sure the victim perished. Afterward, the suspects fled in a blue Chevrolet Tahoe.

 

Common, a regular of the establishment, had just received a hair cut hours before the murder, stated Dana Jeter, a representative for the star’s record label.

 

The brazen shooting comes as a shock to new residents of the recently gentrified Fort Greene, but recalls the 1980s and early to mid 1990s when the area was a ravaged by drugs, crime, and home to such infamous figures as the original 50 Cent aka Kelvin Martin.

 

No motive for the crime has been determined, although authorities are certain the victim was a scoped target and stalked before the actual shooting.

 

At press time, the two gunmen are still at large.

 

In related news, Common’s latest album Universal Mind Control lands in stores December 9.

Legendary Poet Nikki Giovanni Uses Hip-Hop for Child Literacy

By: Grouchy Greg Watkins (@GrouchyGreg) Updated Category: News
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Award-winning poet and educator Nikki Giovanni has released an innovative anthology entitled Hip Hop Speaks to Children: A Celebration of Poetry with a Beat, aimed at introducing children to poetry, and nurturing a love of reading.

 

Already #3 on the New York Times bestseller list, the anthology combines pictures, words, and audio elements of poet performances to create a unique, interactive experience for young readers.

 

Giovanni, who has championed the African and African-American experience throughout her career, explained to AllHipHop.com that the project began as a way to take focus away from today’s negative Hip-Hop elements, and illuminate the culture’s sociological foundation.

 

“Though Hip-Hop has notorious elements these days, the art form, like poetry, began as part of the human experience, and has been used as a positive cultural force,” Giovanni detailed. “Originating with the African-American community, Hip-Hop was born using creativity to improve dismal circumstances.”

 

The collection displays 51 selections from 42 poets and performers, including A Tribe Called Quest, Queen Latifah, Stetsasonic, SugarHill Gang, Langston Hughes, and Gwendolyn Brooks.

 

By including Hip-Hop predecessors in poets like Hughes and Brooks, Nikki Giovanni is focusing on showing youth how their art form is the natural heir of the African/African-American tradition.

 

“When slaves were prevented from learning to read and write, they used coded drumbeats to communicate ideas, culture, and family legacy,” she explained. “Gospel preachers refined the ‘call and response’ to teach God’s word.”

 

Blues musicians turned the repeated cadence into the 20th century’s most influential music form.

 

And finally, inner city youth, the first Hip-Hop artists, combined the elements to form one of the most influential urban cultures in American history.”

 

Although only in its first month of release, the anthology has garnered considerable praise from academics and is being utilized by teachers, librarians, and parents across the country.

 

Hip Hop Speaks to Children: A Celebration of Poetry with a Beat is available now in hardcover at all major book outlets.

Joe Budden: Halfway House (Digital Album Review)

By: Grouchy Greg Watkins (@GrouchyGreg) Updated Category: Reviews / Music
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7/10

In real life, halfway houses serve as living centers for drug users and the mentally ill who are fresh from prison and other likely institutions. The troubled individuals housed there are monitored in order to properly reintegrate them back with normal society. Joe Budden can most certainly relate to that process.

 

Since his lukewarm 2003 self titled debut, Joe has been keeping his name afloat through mixtapes. Now on the cusp of reentering the commercial Rap world, Halfway House (Amalgam Digital) serves as the non-prequel prequel to his much hyped and often delayed sophomore effort The Padded Room.

 

After a rather superfluous intro, Joe gets right into it with “On My Grind”. Anchored by manic guitars, he sets a strong tempo with a barrage of bars wrapped around his unsettling drive. “Overkill” follows nicely with assistance from Heartbreak. Both New Jersey natives exercise a subtle delivery full of stinging battle raps over a quick three minutes of climatic production provided by Blastah Beatz.

 

On the soul sample laden “Check Me Out”, Joey finesses the track with his signature wit. While exploring his progressing maturity, he sneaks in a quick jab at Hip-Hop’s biggest name: “They tell me tricking ain’t tricking if you got it, I’ve never heard more false words spoken / So if I tell you I’m going to leave your wrist frozen, I was either lying to you or just joking”.

 

Collaborations are thin here but Budden did manage to pull in some big guns with “Slaughterhouse”. Featuring Joell Ortiz, Nino Bless, Royce Da 5’9 and Crooked I, all five emcees show no mercy to the up tempo Scram Jones beat. Fans of Budden’s more “moody” musical offerings can look no further to “Under The Sun” and “Just To Be Different”.

 

As with any Jumpoff project, there are a couple of tracks that fall short of the mark. Aspirations of being embraced at radio once again are stopped short with “Touch & Go”. With lackluster production and a quirky voice chanting the hook, this could be likened to a poor man’s “Touch It”. Additionally, tales of seducing females backed by less then impressive R&B vocals send “One Night F***” right into the penalty box.

 

While Halfway House takes a slight dip from the high standards set forth by the Mood Musik series, it is still a respectable effort. Joe Budden proves that he is still one of the game’s best kept secrets regardless of a release date.

Joe Budden

“On My Grind”

On My Grind – Joe BuddenJoe Budden Featuring Joell Ortiz, Nino Bless, Royce Da 5’9 and Crooked I”Slaughterhouse”

Slaughterhouse – Joe Budden Featuring Joell Ortiz, Nino Bless, Royce Da59, Crooked I