Hip-Hop & R&B

took over Friday night (September 9) on BET’s live Saving Ourselves (S.O.S) Relief

Telethon.

The event

raised over $10 million dollars for the millions of people affected by the devastation

of Hurricane Katrina.

Donations came in

all sizes. Jay-Z and Sean "Diddy" Combs handed over a $1 million check

to the American Red Cross while others, such as Mary J. Blige, gave her 10-carat

diamond ring right off of her finger.

The massive ring will

be up for bid on in BET’s online auction.

Lil’ Jon and Crunk

Energy Juice donated $250,000.

"We at Crunk

and BME (Lil’ Jon’s record label) saw that we also needed to join in on the

efforts to help the victims of hurricane Katrina so we stepped up," Lil’

Jon told AllHipHop.com. "We are also partnering with Delta to fly families

to certain destinations as well as housing 30 people in Atlanta."

Sentiments ran

high as Kimora Lee Simmons, who donated $100,000 alongside her husband Russell,

began crying during her emotional plea for donations.

Rapper David Banner,

a Mississippi native who recently visited the Gulf, didn’t hold back and expressed

frustration with the media coverage of the disaster.

"I went to

the coast and there is nothing there," Banner said. "I watch how my

people are portrayed. I was affected and insulted."

Added fellow Southern

artist Young City [aka Chopper]: "We never thought it was going to hit

like that. I lost my grandma. Some of my friends died."

Rapper Q-Tip offered

advice about how to avoid gentrification in areas that are being rebuilt.

"We are trying

to raise funds for the reconstruction of the Gulf. That’s prime, water-front

property down there. I’m pretty sure when Vice President Dick Cheney went down

there, he went on double duty. In a situation like this you get to prey on the

unfortunate. We have to do everything we can as a hip-hop community to secure

that (land) and to keep that as ours."

National Urban

League president and former mayor of New Orleans Marc Morial echoed Q-Tip in

a moving speech.

"The city

must be rebuilt as the diverse, cultural gumbo that it was," Morial explained

to reporters. "Without that, it’s not New Orleans , its’ a fake cheap penny

ante imitation."

Veteran comic and

"Chappelle’s Show" cast member Paul Mooney said that race relations

in the country could be healed further by the Katrina disaster.

"America is

arrogant. Thank God for Bush. He is going to bring white people and Black people

together," he joked. "My Indian friends called me from the reservation

and said, ‘We told you. What goes around comes around. It’s just God.’"

Hidden Beach recording

artist Jill Scott didn’t quite agree with Mooney’s comedic remarks.

"It’s heartbreaking

for everybody. God is ever present He has not disappeared He’s in every step,"

she said.

Russell Simmons

said that he would adopt a very unconventional method of clothing those in need.

"There are

so many millions of (Phat Farm) clothes that are bootlegged and we are looking

to give them, instead of burning them."

Donations will

be given to the American Red Cross.

The charity has

received $536 million in gifts and pledges for the hurricane victims, of which

an estimated $282.5 million has been received online.

At least .91 cents

of every dollar donated to the American Red Cross goes directly to assist disaster

victims.

Kanye West’s

recent on-air comments that George W. Bush “doesn’t care about black

people” has spurred numerous reactions, the latest coming from New Orleans

rapper Master P and First Lady Laura Bush.

During a nationally televised telethon live on NBC last Friday

(Sept. 2), West stated that President Bush had not adequately supported the

high number of blacks displaced by Hurricane Katrina.

While artists like Jay-Z, T.I. and Nelly have supported West’s

comments, Master P, who lost his home in the hurricane, stated that West’s

remarks simply came at the wrong time.

“I think that if Kanye West [felt] like that, he needed to wait cause

I got people in my community dying right now,” Master P told AllHipHop.com.

“I got kids lost, I got parents lost, I got people got nowhere to go back

to right now, so we need the government. We gon’ need the president.”

Master P, who has started the Team Rescue relief foundation,

also called upon other rappers to support the Hurricane relief effort and contribute

what they could.

“We from New Orleans, we feel the pain, we feel the anger. This what we

going through,” said P. “This is not a game for us. This is not

a joke, this is not about money. This is not about selling records.”

Since the backlash, West has offered up various motives for his passionate outburst.

But the Chicago rapper was still booed at the NFL kickoff show Thursday (Sept.

8) in Foxborough, MA.

“I just let my heart speak for itself without thinking

about my image or how it’s gonna hurt me financially,” said West

during BET’s S.O.S. (Saving Ourselves) telethon Friday (Sept. 9). “I

felt the world needed to hear from me…I just do it and I say what I really

feel.”

Meanwhile, in defense of her husband, Mrs. Bush described West’s

prior comments as “disgusting.”

“Of course President Bush cares about everyone in our

country and I know that,” said Laura during a Sept. 8 interview with American

Urban Radio Networks. “I know what he’s like and I know what he thinks,

and I know how he cares about people.”

In the aftermath of the Gulf Coast disaster, President Bush

has been criticized for slow response and lack of concern for the poor neighborhoods

devastated by the deadly storm.

But Mrs. Bush stated that the poor people were the most defenseless

during the hurricane, which is the most important matter to be attended to.

“Their neighborhoods

were the ones that were more likely to flood, as we saw in New Orleans,”

said Laura. “That’s what we want to address in our country.”

DJ Muggs of Cypress Hill and

Wu Tang Clan member GZA have teamed up to headline a concert for the 20th anniversary

of the DMC/Technics World DJ Championships.

The DMC/Technics World DJ Championships is an annual competition that features

thousands of DJ’s competing for the worldwide DMC DJ title. The finalists are

chosen through various competitions held world wide.

The winners from the individual competitions then compete for the title at

a final competition. The DJ’s must complete a six minute set using Technics

SL1200 turntables and a Technics EX-DJ1200 mixer. The DJs are then evaluated

by a panel of judges on their performance.

The DMC/Technics Championships were created in 1986 and have continued annually

for the last twenty years. Past guests have included DJ Cheese, DJ Q-bert, Rock

Steady DJ’s, Kentaro, A-Trak, D####, I-Emerge and others.

In addition to the headlining performance at the DMC/Technics

World DJ Championships, DJ Muggs and GZA are gearing up for the release of their

collaborative album entitled DJ Muggs vs. GZA: Grandmasters on Angeles

Records.

The DMC/ Technics Championships will be held in London England

on Sunday, September 25, 2005. DJ Muggs vs. GZA: Grandmasters is due

out October 25th.

For ticket information for

the DMC World Championships log on to www.dmcworld.com

Universal Pictures has obtained worldwide rights to distribute Outkast’s untitled HBO Films project, a 1930s musical that follows the aspirations of two southern entertainers, played by Andre 3000 and Big Boi.

Andre 3000 plays a club piano player named Percival, and Big Boi plays Rooster, the club’s lead performer and manager.

The film will also spawn new songs from the Atlanta duo’s next soundtrack album, due out later this year.

“Their videos have taken the synthesis of music, cinema and style to a whole new dimension,” said HBO Films President Colin Callender in a

statement.

“We are proud and excited that they have chosen to work with HBO to bring their unique vision of an original musical to the screen.”

The musical is the feature film debut for director Bryan Barber, who has directed numerous OutKast music videos.

“It was a pleasure collaborating with Bryan Barber and OutKast in 2002, and I knew then that their talents would translate across all creative mediums,” said producer Chuck Roven.

The film was shot on location in Wilmington, North Carolina and at Universal City, CA.

Cast members include Terrence Howard, Ving Rhames, Faizon Love, Malinda Williams, Paula Jai Parker, Patti LaBelle, and Macy Gray.

Corey “C-Murder/C-Miller”

Miller is alive and well AllHipHop.com has learned.

The rapper was incarcerated in a prison in Gretna, Louisiana

when Hurricane Katrina struck on August 29. The hurricane produced the worst

natural disaster in United States history.

“C is alive, he was shipped off to Angola,” a source

close to Miller told AllHipHop.com. “He personally said he’s alive

and doing OK.”

The Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola is known as one of

the roughest prisons in the country, housing the state’s most notorious

and violent criminals.

In earlier published reports, Miller’s older brother, mogul

Percy "Master P." Miller stated that he didn’t know the whereabouts

of his brother and his expressed concern for his safety.

Yesterday, officials started transferring almost 1,000 inmates

out of flooded prisons. Some prisons were flooded so bad, inmates were forced

to flee for their lives.

US Marshals took a batch of inmates to a federal prison in Florida

and another load is slated to make the trip today (September 9).

In related news, Senators from Arkansas have introduced legislation

that would require criminal background checks for all that have fled to the

state after being displaced by the hurricane.

It is estimated

that at least 1 million people have been displaced from Hurricane Katrina and

have been forced to flee to other parts of the United States to take up refuge.

A Montgomery, Alabama man has hit Ice Cube’s Cube Vision

Productions and Metro Goldwin-Mayer (MGM) with a $100 million dollar copyright

infringement lawsuit, alleging the companies stole the idea for “Barbershop."

Filmmaker James

Davis, 31 said he copyrighted “The Shop” in 1999 as a college student,

based off of his experiences in Atlanta, Georgia.

The breach of contract

and copyright infringement suit was filed yesterday (September 7) in U.S. District

Court for the Middle District of Alabama.

“My script

[“The Shop”] was copyrighted in 1999 while I was in college, and

theirs was copyrighted in 2001, the same year that I was getting investors and

letters of intent,” Davis told AllHipHop.com. “A very famous celebrity

gave Ice Cube my script and the story board. I am not saying two people can’t

have the same idea, but for our concepts to be similar is impossible.”

Davis said similarities

between "The Shop" characters and the characters of “Barbershop”

would ultimately vindicate him in court.

Other defendants

in the lawsuit include “Barbershop” writers Don D. Scott, Marshall

Todd and Mark Brown.

Davis said he negotiated

with various actors and comedians for one year in regards to appearing in the

film. During that time an investor offered to produce his screenplay.

“Once investors

got wind that MGM was doing a film ‘Barbershop,’ my whole operation was shut

down,” Davis claimed. “They stopped me from shooting my own film.”

Davis said he wasn’t

trying to capitalize off of the hundreds of millions of dollars the movie franchise

and subsequent DVD releases have earned.

“This is

not somebody throwing something out in the air,” Davis said. “I

am a filmmaker. They took it from me and I just want just due. It won’t

take a rocket scientist to figure this out.”

Up next for Davis

is a project titled “Black Greek Organizations: The Foundation.”

The DVD focuses on the history and current state of Black masonry, secret societies

and black fraternities and sororities.

The DVD will be

available at Wal-Mart, Target and Best Buy stores nationwide in January and

features John Salley, Shaquille O’Neal and the last known interview with

legendary lawyer and Kappa Alpha Psi member Johnny Cochran.

Representatives for MGM

or Cube Vision Productions could not be reached as of press time.

KRS-One was recently booted from a scheduled lecture at Oxford

University in the United Kingdom. In a recent interview with the California’s

North County Times, the pioneering rapper explained the situation. "Every

philosopher wants to lecture at Oxford," KRS-One said. "I got the

letter in the mail and I framed it. They had a big room for me and a fruit tray.

They’d sold 400 tickets, and the day of the lecture, the dean of the school

cancels the lecture. He said that they weren’t prepared for the kind of audience

I was going to bring in.” KRS said the audience went to the Christ Church

of Oxford where he delivered his lecture to about 80 students. A representative

for Oxford University confirmed an event with the rapper was canceled, but denied

it was to be held at Oxford University. “He was never due to speak here

at Oxford University,” a spokesman for Oxford University told AllHipHop.com.

Kanye West’s

sophomore album Late Registration topped the Billboard’s pop

chart yesterday (September 7). The album took the #1 spot on the Top 200 Albums

chart, on sales of over 860,000 copies in the first week. The album is the second

best selling album of the year, second only to 50 Cent’s album The

Massacre, which moved over 1 million copies when it hit the stores in March.

Sales spiked for West’s debut The College Dropout, which has

moved almost 3 million copies. Tony Yayo’s debut Thoughts of a Predicate

Felon debuted at #2, moving over 200,000 copies.

Steve Harvey has inked a

joint syndication deal with Clear Channel’s Premiere Radio and Inner City

Radio. Clear Channel reps said “The Steve Harvey Show” morning program

will showcase the comedian’s talents, feature celebrity guests and have

compelling features. Harvey will be based out of WBLS in New York and the show

already has singed up radio stations in Detroit, Michigan, Chicago, Illinois,

Columbia, South Carolina and Jackson, Mississippi.

Miri Ben-Ari, the

“Hip-Hop Violinist,” has been signed to Reebok’s "I Am What

I Am" ad campaign. Ari joins the likes of Allen Iverson, Nelly, Jay-Z and

50 Cent for the campaign. "The partnering with Reebok is a natural fit

for me because I truly value artists who are not afraid to be different, and

stand out from the crowd." Ari said. Ari has created string arrangements

for Hip-Hop artists Kanye West and Twista and has worked with such artists as

Anthony Hamilton, Scarface, Patti Labelle, Britney Spears and Janet Jackson.

Miri Ben-Ari ‘s debut album Miri Ben-Ari The Hip-Hop Violinist drops

September 20.

Cassidy can expect further legal hassles, as prosecutors plan to refile a first-degree murder charge against the rapper, stemming from an April 15 shooting, in which one man was killed and two wounded.

Although Cassidy, 23, turned himself in on June 17 and is currently being held without bail, prosecutors are arranging for another arrest warrant, according to Cathie Abookire, a spokeswoman for District Attorney Lynne M. Abraham.

Officials suspect that the rapper, whose real name is Barry Reese, was involved in a shooting along with several other assailants, accused of shooting up a van on a street behind Cassidy’s home on West Oak Lane.

Desmond Hawkins, 22, was killed and his friends Bobby Hoyle and Daniel Irvin were wounded in the incident.

Hoyle, who testified that Hawkins was visiting Cassidy’s home to make amends after an earlier argument, said he did not see who fired the shots.

On August 16, Municipal Judge Marsha Neifield ruled that prosecutors had sufficient evidence to charge Cassidy with third-degree murder, attempted murder charges, and weapons offenses.

The case is expected to go before a Common Pleas Court judge, according to Cassidy’s attorney, Fortunato Perri Jr., who has continually maintained the rapper’s innocence.

Another preliminary hearing is possible next week.

Cassidy’s sophomore album I’m a Hustla was released June 28 in the midst of his arrest and subsequent legal proceedings.

Common, Kanye West, Mos Def and Talib Kweli have answered a call from Kevin Powell and have helped the journalist/ activist transport an assortment of goods directly to victims of Hurricane Katrina.

Tonight (Sept. 8), Powell hosts a free benefit event at the Canal Room located at 285 West Broadway in Manhattan. While the event is free, those that attend must bring supplies to those in need.

Additionally, Powell is calling for leaders within the Hip-Hop nation, industry and corporations to lead the charge of aid.

“I wanted to mobilize the Hip-Hop community and those of us in the industry, as we say. We went after rappers we thought would respond right away. Kanye, Common, Talib [Kweli] and Mos Def all caked up money for a 53-foot tractor-trailer that we will have at the event,” Kevin Powell told AllHipHop.com. “They put their money where their mouth is, so to speak.”

“Hopefully, it will encourage other artists, other industry people to get down as well. T.I. did his thing down in ATL (by raising over $250, 000) and Kanye is gonna be on the West coast. It just shows that the Hip-Hop community is willing to step up.”

Powell said the 53-foot tractor-trailer truck would be driven directly to Claiborne County Health Center in Port Gibson, Mississippi. The accomplished author explained said that he would be flying to New Orleans by way of nearby Baton Rouge and documenting the strife first hand. From Louisiana, he will then go to Houston, which houses the bulk of the evacuees to further aid the relief effort.

While much is going down now, Powell urged that the process of helping is an ongoing procedure, not one that should end with a single pledge, donation or effort. The activist stated that his annual holiday benefit in December would also be devoted to those displaced by Hurricane Katrina.

“This is a first step in getting us involved on a regular basis,” Powell said. “Entertainment is great, but it’s got to be a balance. In the mainstream community, you always see Sting, Elton John. We need to be consistent like that in the Hip-Hop community.”

Below are the details of the benefit event at the Canal Room in Manhattan:

Clothing for children and adults

Adult shoes and sneakers

Adult socks

Children’s shoes and sneakers

Children socks

Bottles of water

Diapers

Baby wipes

Baby food

Baby aspirin

Aspirin

Vitamins

Toilet paper

Sanitary napkins

Portable radios with batteries

Plastic forks, knives, and spoons

Cotton balls

Cotton swabs

Hydrogen peroxide BUT NOT rubbing alcohol, because that is flammable

Band aids

Shaving cream

Male AND female razors

Blankets

Air mattresses

Sheets

Pillows and pillow cases

Gift cards for gas

Wal mart gift cards

Garbage bags

Cleaning supplies

Soap

Toothpaste and toothbrushes

Flashlights

Batteries

Candles

Books for children, including coloring books

Books for adults

Magazines

Clothing and shoes/sneakers should be in new or in clean and good condition. No monetary donations will be accepted. Canal Room has generously donated the space, but there will be a cash bar all evening. Canal Room is located at 285 West Broadway, at Canal Street in TriBeCa. The event will run from 7pm-11pm and no one under 21 will be admitted. Please bring proper ID and RSVP to [email protected].

Brooklyn rapper Lil’

Kim will hold the unique distinction of being the first female to ever get a 5-mic

rating from The Source magazine.

The Naked Truth, the rapper’s fourth solo album,

will be bestowed with the prestigious honor in the October issue of the magazine.

“I think

it just does great for the evolution of women,” Lil’ Kim told AllHipHop.com.

“I thinks it’s gonna be great for women now too.”

With her latest

offering, Lil’ Kim said she’ll help change the pessimistic attitudes

for females in Hip-Hop.

“Some women

probably feel like, ‘I’m not even gonna try to get five mics, I know I

ain’t getting five mics,’” Lil’ Kim said. “So women

[will] be like, ‘Now I know I can get five mics.’”

The Naked Truth

release date has also been changed. The album was originally slated to hit stores

September 13, but will now hit stores September 27.

Lil’ Kim,

once a member of Notorious B.I.G.’s Junior Mafia rap group, was sentenced

to 366 days in federal prison for lying to a federal grand jury about her knowledge

of a 2001 broad daylight shoot out in front of Hot 97’s offices in New

York.

The rapper will

report to a Connecticut prison on September 19 to start serving her prison term.

La Bella Mafia,

Kim’s last album, got four and a half mics from the Source, known as the

“Hip-Hop Bible.”

Hip-Hop superstar and business

mogul Jay-Z was named International Man of the Year at GQ’s annual GQ’s

Men of the Year Awards last night in London.

The rapper was presented

with his award by Jade Jagger, daughter of legendary Rolling Stones front man,

Mick Jagger.

Jay-Z appeared at the glitzy

event in a white suit, white and red pinstriped shirt, black tie and black shades.

"The secret is to wear

the suit, don’t let the suit wear you," Jay-Z said. Jagger was wearing

a necklace with a diamond pendant that Jay-Z, known for his diamond collection,

even took notice of.

“I dig your jewelry,”

Jay-Z said in jest.

Others honored at the men’s

magazine’s annual awards included Live 8 organizer Bob Geldof, who won

the Outstanding Contribution Award and Charlotte Church, who was named Woman of

the Year.

Coldplay, Morrissey, Pierce

Brosnan, Simon Cowell, Daniel Craig and others were honored at the event, which

took place at Royal Opera House in Covent Garden.

The GQ Men of the Year Awards

was hosted by Rory Bremner. Last year another rapper, Outkast’s Andre

“3000” Benjamin won International Man of the Year honors.

DJ Whoo Kid has

announced the formation of The Shadyville DJ Coalition along with Hustle.’s

Datu Faison, John Monopoly and Don C.

According to Hustle.

co-founder John Monopoly, the new coalition was formed to the premiere DJ’s

making waves in radio and through mixtapes.

Monopoly explained

that The Shadyville DJ’s would have nationally and internationally known

DJ’s, but would also focus on building relationships with markets traditionally

overlooked.

“The whole Shadyville

DJ Coalition is a positive movement,” Monopoly told AllHipHop.com. “We

are taking another path and perspective to get these secondary markets the hot

new exclusive material.”

DJ’s are selected

and screened by Mawuli "Mo Chedda" Hormeku, the Director of Urban

Promotions for Hustle. and the coordinator for the coalition.

He looks for DJ’s

with a unique quality to push the coalition closer to becoming a dominant force

in the Hip-Hop game.

"Shadyville

DJ’s will be the new appraiser/critic/go-between/intermediary/ of the streets

for the Hip-Hop consumer as well as corporate America," said Hormeku. "We

have the ability to determine who are the hottest artists and singles out in

the market."

Shadyville DJ’s will have

access to unique marketing services, event management, mixtape collaborations

and project support.

They will also be able to

network with other talented DJ’s and artists. St. Robert, Missouri’s

DJ Impact was recently announced as a new member of the Shadyville DJ Coalition.

DJ Impact has created a

buzz for himself in the Midwest through his "Main Event" mixtapes

and DJ’ing various clubs throughout the area.

Currently, Impact holds

down a spot as a Rotation Mixshow DJ on Sirius Satellite Radio’s Channel 42-Wax.

Rap mogul Marion “Suge”

Knight was released from a Miami hospital late last week after being shot in

the leg during a Kanye West-hosted party for the MTV Video Music Awards.

Due to patient confidentiality,

a rep from the Mt. Sinai Medical Center, where Knight was treated, declined

to disclose further details.

According to Miami police,

Knight’s shooter approached the Death Row Records cofounder at a VIP table

at the Shore Club and fired twice, hitting Knight in the upper right leg.

Mt. Sinai doctors performed

an emergency operation to remove the bullet and mend the fractured bone.

Other than a tip that the

assailant was a black male wearing a pink shirt, police said they had no leads

in their investigation.

Knight also currently graces

the cover of XXL’s October issue alongside his newest protégé,

rapper Petey Pablo. In the article, Suge discusses his violent reputation and

his efforts to rebuild Death Row.

In related news,

Tha Row has released a statement regarding Kurupt’s new album, Against

Tha Grain, which the label has refused to promote.

“Basically

we do not support nor endorse this record. Many songs made for the album were

removed by Koch,” the label stated. “This was not the intended

Against Tha Grain we wanted to release and for this reason we urge fans

not to purchase the album.”

In more upsetting news for Murder Inc., federal investigators reportedly suspected that employees of the record label conspired with drug kingpin Kenneth “Supreme” McGriff to kill 50 Cent, according to legal documents released Tuesday (September 6).

A search warrant affidavit from 2003 published on The Smoking Gun Web site revealed that the murder was allegedly planned as retaliation for a

song 50 Cent wrote that addressed McGriff’s drug history.

Officials have also investigated whether the still unsolved murder of Run DMC DJ Jam Master Jay, who was shot in 2002 at a Queens recording studio, was a result of him violating the music industry’s supposed blacklist of 50 Cent, the documents revealed.

In the affidavit, IRS criminal investigator Francis Mace wrote that law enforcement suspected 50 Cent’s shooting in May 2000 to be payback for

his song “Ghetto Koran.”

Investigators believed that Inc. employees continued to aid McGriff in trying to murder 50 Cent after he endured a 2000 shooting, Mace stated.

Feds reportedly seized about 150,000 text messages from Skytel Communications, according to court documents, including a message from

Inc. head Irv Gotti’s brother, Christopher Lorenzo, stating “50 is in the hood guy r. brewer!”

Mace wrote that the text messages were sent to McGriff by Inc. employees who were trailing 50 Cent.

Prior to being exposed, the documents were concealed in a motion filed by Irv Gotti’s defense attorney last week.

McGriff’s previous attorney, Robert Simels said the document was “much ado about nothing” and that the government has presumably dismissed the claims, according to New York Newsday.

Christopher and Irv’s current defense attorney Gerald Shargel also questioned the strength of the documents, stating that Christopher would

have been charged with a crime if authorities had sufficient evidence concerning the plot.

The Lorenzos are expected to go on trial next month on charges of laundering more than $1 million of drug money through the Inc.