Legal drama for rapper DMX continues to unfold as the entertainer sits in a Florida jail under a no bail hold status.

TMZ.com reports that DMX, born Earl Simmons, appeared in court on Friday (August 15) after a bench warrant was issued against him in Arizona for drug charges.

The rapper was arrested Thursday (August 14) while attempting to leave a Wal-Mart in Miami, Fla.

The arrest came as result of Simmons skipping a court date on Tuesday (August 12) for a pretrial conference on allegations of marijuana and drug paraphernalia possession.

The rapper had reportedly tried to surrender to police, but was taken in before negations with his lawyer were completed.

Simmons’ lawyer, Brad Cohen, waived extradition for his client and contested a no bond hold, after a $25,000 bond had previously set for Simmons.

Despite Cohen’s attempt to get a fugitive bond in the state of Florida for Simmons to return to Arizona to bond out, Judge Lawrence Schwartz upheld the no bond status, which was issued by the State of Arizona. 

“I am not questioning the veracity of anything you just said to me. I would absolutely have no reason to do that,” Judge Schwartz said. “But until state of Arizona lifts its no bond status, it’s a no bond status at this point.”

As a result of the ruling, Simmons will have to stay in jail in Florida until his October 2 court hearing for a possession charge he obtained in Miami.

Cohen later told TMZ he would have the rapper released before the hearing if everything is straightened out.

Rap star Yung Joc is being sued for back child support by the mother of his seven-year-old son, according to reports.

Local Atlanta television channel WSB-TV reports that Yung Joc, born Jasiel Robinson, owes about $2,000 dollars in back child support.

According to Fatimah Jester, the rapper has made it difficult to collect payments for Yung Joc’s son Amoni.

“I never thought he would be putting me through some of the stuff I’m going through now. I can’t even get in contact with him for things for my baby…it’s just hard,” Jester told WSB-TV. “Mr. Robinson has all kinds of cars, Bentleys, Mercedes Benz, Ranger Rovers, Two Range rovers.”

Jester says that while Yung Joc is earning millions through his career as a chart topping rapper, she and their son struggle financially on a day-to-day basis.

Lawyers for Jester are attempting to serve Yung Joc with court papers, but they have had difficulty locating the rapper.

The case will go before a judge on September 11.

Tupac Shakur’s murder case is approaching its 12th year and remains no closer to being officially solved, a fact the Las Vegas Homicide Department wants to change.

In an exclusive interview with AllHipHop.com, Las Vegas Police Department representative Ramon Denby detailed the current status of the investigation and dispelled rumors of the case being closed.

“We never close murder investigations,” Officer Denby clarified. “But the case has gone cold, meaning there are no active or hot leads.”

Tupac Shakur was gunned down in a drive-by shooting on September 7, 1996 on the Las Vegas Strip.

He succumbed to respiratory failure and cardiopulmonary arrest six days later.

The murder happened just three hours after Shakur was involved in a fight with Southside Crip member Orlando “Baby Lane” Anderson.

While considered a suspect, the LVPD could not directly link Anderson to the slaying due to lack of evidence and witnesses.

Anderson was himself gunned down in 1998.

Tupac’s mother Afeni Shakur had a wrongful death suit pending at the time of Anderson’s death.

Despite the killing happening in a public setting with dozens of witnesses, no arrests have been made in the murder.

Much criticism has been leveled at the LVPD, who some accuse of apathy in their diligence to pursue all leads and theories in the slaying.

The LVPD counters by arguing murder investigations rely heavily on witnesses, a fact that has severely hampered any progress on Tupac’s case.

“We are ready to follow up on any information that comes our way,” Denby states. “But we need cooperation from the Hip-Hop community and the witnesses that were present. Without them, the case cannot move forward. There are people who know what happened and we continue to urge them to step forward.”

There are currently two detectives assigned to the investigation, which is now in the Cold Cases Department.

When asked if he could disclose the last time there was a substantial lead, Officer Denby invoked police confidentiality.

“We really can’t put that out there,” he reveals. “Once facts like that are out there in the media it can hurt the case by possibly deterring potential witnesses and others from coming forward.”

To conclude, Denby offered another plea to the Hip-Hop community to help solve the case.

“If you (AllHipHop.com) can get this out there please do so. We urge anyone with any information to step forward,” he states. “We will exhaust any new leads or information. We are ready to do our part, but we need the community to do theirs to close this matter.”

Tupac Amaru Shakur would have turned 37 this year, had he survived.

Popular personality DJ Vlad has filed a $4 million dollar assault and battery lawsuit against rapper Rick Ross, stemming from an altercation at the Ozone Awards (August 10).

In federal documents filed yesterday in NY District Court, DJ Vlad, born Vlad Lyubovny, alleges that “with calculated planning, Rick Ross lured DJ Vlad to a meeting for the purpose of obtaining retribution.

At that meeting, Rick Ross’ entourage of thugs carried out Rick Ross’ wishes in his presence and severely beat DJ Vlad causing permanent bodily injury.”

According to Vlad, the beating was due to his coverage on Vladtv.com of reports that Ross previously worked as a correction officer.

The attack has left Vlad with 7 stitches below the eye, three fractures to the face, a corneal abrasion and possible permanent nerve damage.

The court documents also claim that Ross sent text messages to Vlad that preceded that attack.

“N*ggas will learn…trillaaa,” Ross is alleged to have sent to Vlad. “I’m hearing things about me on your website. We gonna make a story. We gonna see each other. We going to talk. Where are you?”

In the lawsuit, DJ Vlad states he thought the purpose of the meeting was to give Ross the chance to tell his side in an exclusive story.

After a brief conversation, Vlad charges that the Miami rapper bluntly stated “we got beef” and “Ross’ accomplices, who had surrounded DJ Vlad while he spoke with Ross, proceeded to strike and beat DJ Vlad in Ross’ presence and without any protest on Ross’ part.”

Rick Ross’ latest album Trilla was released in March and has sold over 600,000 copies.

DJ Vlad currently runs the news site Vladtv.com out of New York City which provides interviews and information on Hip-Hop artists.

At press time Rick Ross could not be reached for comment on the lawsuit, which seeks $2 million dollars in punitive damages and and $2 million in compensatory damages. 

DJ Vlad is wrapping up an episode of American Gangster about Mac Dre and the notorious Romper Room Gang.

Contrary to the impression created by a recent radio interview, The Game says he has no desire to engage in a battle of words with Jay-Z.

This comes after the Cali rapper’s comments with Phoenix radio personality Chino of 104.7 KISS FM, during which he broached the subject of beefing with Jay, making statements that appeared to be batting the former Def Jam president.

But Game clarifies that the statements were made in response to an alleged incident of which he has no proof.

“I heard that Jay sorta said something about me at the Wimbledon tennis match,” The Game told AllHipHop.com exclusively. “I didn’t see him say it, I didn’t hear no audio so I don’t really know if he was dissing me, if he said something about me.”

Rumors of animosity between the two artists surfaced in 2005, following the release of a Jay-Z freestyle verse that seemed to be taking aim at the then G-Unit member.

Still, while Game says he recognizes Jay-Z’s ability to subliminally attack an opponent, something which he says he’s incorporated into his own style, the rapper maintains he has no desire to fuel the rumor mill.

“What people don’t know about Jay is Jay is probably the most witty rapper that ever walked the face of the earth,” Game explained. “He’s witty, he’s clever. His metaphors will be sitting right next to you and then hit you in the face so hard that you don’t know what happened. That’s the type of rapper Jay is. I was molded by that part of him and added that to my own persona and my own marksmanship as an emcee.

“Jay-Z’s a legend, man. I respect his music, [but that] doesn’t really mean I have to respect him if he’s disrespecting me. The Jay that was talking about me at Wimbeldon under his breath, or says anything about me, is the Jay that I’ll go at, and that’s just it. Jay the rap artist, Jay the legend, Jay from Marcy Projects; that hustler turned dope artist, turned probably best lyricist that ever lived: I have respect for. I’m not gonna add wood to a fire that’s already burning out.”

LAX, which Game has said will be his last offering as an artist, is due in stores on August 26.

The star-studded opus features appearances by Lil’ Wayne, Nas, Common, Ludacris, Raekwon and Ice Cube, as well as R&B inflections courtesy of Bilal, Chrisette Michelle, Raheem DeVaughn, Ne-Yo, and Keyshia Cole, who appears on the album’s lead single “Game’s Pain.”

The album also serves as a springboard for Game’s renewed focus on building his Black Wall Street imprint.

“I have a slew of producers and I’m starting to develop artists and getting more focused,” he says. “This my third album, and it’s time to focus on my folks. And my label. The camp’s on the album. So we’re just learning each other, growing as a family, and we’re gonna do big things in 2009 and the years to come.”

LAX features productions by two of BWS’s producers: Tre Beatz and E.P., contributed three tracks and served as the album’s executive producer.

Entrepreneur P. Miller today confirmed the launch of Better Black Television, a family-oriented cable network set to debut in 2009.

Dubbed BBTV, the network promises to cover the diverse experience of African-American culture by offering a myriad of genres: politics, movies, teen and children’s educational programming, animation, sports, and news.

In response to the criticism leveled at BET’s music video choices, the network has guaranteed to deliver “responsible Hip-Hop music and videos.”

P. Miller will oversee the channel as its chairman and CEO.

The advisory board team includes Oscar winner Denzel Washington, NAACP executive director Vicangelo Bullock, Hip-Hop founder Kool Herc, cable industry veteran Professor Sal Martino, and real estate mogul Curtis Oakes.

While seen as a risky business endeavor, Miller states he’s planned this venture for several years and feels he has gathered a strong team to uphold his vision.

“I believe that there is a market in our community for a new diverse network,” he explains. “(A network) that provides superior programming that caters to all aspects of television, from reality to original programming. We believe TV content can be positive and responsible and still have good ratings with great content.”

Aware that his network will be seen as a direct challenge to Viacom and its BET and MTV brands, Miller remained diplomatic on his competition.

“I have a great relationship with BET and MTV and will continue to work with them and support their networks,” he states.

Miller also had kind words for controversial BET founder Bob Johnson, who he credits as a mentor to his cable network plans.

“I remember him telling me back in the day that if you wanted to know real estate, you’ve got to hang out with real estate investors,” Miller explicates. “If you wanted to know sports, you’ve got to hang out with athletes. I wanted to know TV, so I hung out with Bob and learned the TV game from one of the best in the business.”

BBTV’s news programs have begun airing in Florida, Louisiana, California, and New York.

At press time, the network is purchasing local cable channel affiliates in preparation for its 2009 debut.

Rapper Pharoahe Monch is launching a seven-city tour of Europe starting today (August 15) in Belgium. Monch will make high profile appearances at a number of festivals taking place across Europe, including the Hip-Hop Kemp Festival in Prague and the Royal Arena Festival in Switzerland, where tens of thousands of Hip-Hop fans will gather to celebrate rap music. “Europe has always felt like a home away from home for me,” Pharoahe Monch told AllHipHop.com in a statement. “Everytime I perform out there, I get nothing but love from those who know and appreciate the art of true classic hip-hop.” Pharoahe Monch is working on Let My People Go, the follow up to his 2007 sophomore release, Desire.

Pharoahe Monch’s Tour Dates:August 15 Muziekclub Petrol Antwerp, Belgium August 16 Spirit Of Burgas Festival Varnia, Bulgaria August 19 Arenan Malmoe, Sweden August 20 Rust-Heat Copenhagen, Denmark August 21 Jazz Café London, United Kingdom August 22 Royal Arena Festival Mulhouse, Switzerland August 23 Hip Hop Kemp Festival Prague, Czech Republic