KRS-One launched the

weekly rap series, "Plain Rap" at S.O.B.’s in New York City. The "Plain

Rap" series is a new weekly event between S.O.B.’s and AllHipHop, showcasing

various established hip-hop artists, paired with upcoming talent.</

"S.O.B.’s

is representing the true hip-hop," KRS-One told AllHipHop.com. "They

helped make the show a success."

Kool Keith, Jeru,

Foxxy Brown, Melle Mel, Fat Joe, Lord Finesse, The Soul Sonic Force, Cold Crush

Brothers, Busy Bee, Diamond D., newcomer Peedo and a host of other

hip-hop legends were all in attendance or performed at the event.

The evening also

celebrated KRS-One’s Temple Of Hip-Hop and the 30th anniversary of The Zulu

Nation.

Upcoming shows

from Jeru Tha Damaja, High & Mighty, CAGE, Akrobatik, Jean Grae and Brand

Nubian and a rare performance from hip-hop legends Pete Rock & CL Smooth

are all scheduled.

"S.O.B.’s

and AllHipHop really just want to show people a variety of hip-hop and give

some of the upcoming acts a place to showcase their talents," AllHipHop’s

Grouchy Greg said. "S.O.B.’s has a solid reputation in the hip-hop community

for the shows that take place there and we want to really provide a good, positive

atmosphere for people that want to hear great hip-hop music."

The next installment

of Plain Rap features High & Mighty, CAGE and Akrobatik on November 16th.

DreamWorks, the conglomerate

owned by Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg and David Geffen, have agreed to

sell their music division, home to such acts as Mystik, Q-Tip, Sleepy Brown, Vishuss,

Floetry and Nelly Furtado.

Sources stated

that the recorded business will be gobbled up by the mammoth Universal Music

Group for $100 million dollars.

Universal is expected

to make significant cuts to the 120 person staff at the Beverly Hills based

record label, including the head of the label, Mo Ostin.

The 76-year-old

Ostin is legendary in music business circles, developing such artists as Neil

Young, Jimi Hendrix, the Red Hot Chili Peppers and others.

The music industry

is coping with the worst slump in 30 years, blaming rampant internet piracy

and a culture of bootlegging as the main reason behind the downward spiral.

Recently, Sony

Music was swallowed by up BMG and Warner is attempting to sell their music group

to British conglomerate, the EMI Group.

This November, the Universal Zulu Nation celebrates its thirtieth year of existence. In honor of the occasion, a rare performance reconvenes Afrika Bambaataa and the Soulsonic Force for an unforgettable evening on Sunday November 9.The event will take place at SOB’s in New York. Other performances include headliner KRS-One, the Jungle Brothers, and others to be revealed at the show.A performance legend, KRS-One said the celebration even excites him as a performer and fan.“It’s a loose performance in the sense that it’s part of a loose show. The show is Afrika Bambaataa and the Soulsonic Force – the rarity of the night. I might even have them headline in actuality. I [might] go on just before them with an even shorter set. I may shorten my set to a hardcore, savage, thirty minutes. I may do it just like that with guest stars and appearances,” he told AllHipHop.com. “Everybody and they momma who knows I’m coming to SOB’s is gonna wanna get on the mic. That’s how New York always is for me. It’s all good. Freddie Foxxx may come through, the whole crew. Already Tony Touch is DJ’ing, Charlie Chase is DJ’ing, and Red Alert is DJ’ing at the place as well as the Jungle Brothers performing. We got a lot going on that night.”The night also sparks the beginning of SOB’s Hip-Hop series called Plain Rap, which highlights a rap act every Sunday evening.Other dates include acts like Pete Rock & CL Smooth, High & Mighty, Cage, Akrobatik and others, who will be announced later.For the Plain Rap debut, KRS stated that he is going to have his whole Hip-Hop force at the event.“When I travel around the country, sometimes I have my breakers with me, sometimes I don’t. For this event, I will. Kenny Parker is gonna be there DJ’ing on the One and Two’s, my breakers – the Breeze Team is gonna be there as well. The rest of the country doesn’t really get to see [this often].”

Tray “Tray Deee” Muhammad was arrested and booked with felony assault with a deadly weapon, for allegedly firing a handgun at people outside of an unnamed business establishment Saturday in Long Beach.Muhammad was identified as a possible suspect in the shooting and was arrested hours after the incident occured at his Fontana home.No one was injured in the shooting. Muhammad was being held in the city jail with bail set at $50,000.As a member of Tha Eastsidaz, Muhammad released two albums before alleging that group member and head of Doggystyle Records, Snoop Dogg, cheated Muhammad out of millions of royalties.In a separate incident, Muhammad told AllHipHop.com that members of Snoop’s security detail fired shots at him after he arrived at Snoop Dogg’s home, attempting to collect a portion of the royalties.Authorities are investigating the incident and had no comment as of press time.

An arrest warrant has been issued for Terius “Juvenile” Grey, for allegedly failing to pay child support to the mother of his 6-month-old daughter.Gwinnett County police in Georgia obtained the warrant on charges of abandonment of a dependent child. Lt. Nick Neal said that the woman was not asking for an unjustified amount of money and that she just needed help in paying for the child’s expenses.Grey’s lawyer said that in the past, other women have claimed that the rapper was the father of their children.Grey, 28, will take a paternity test to determine if he is the father of the girl.

Legendary rapper Slick Rick Walters was officially released from jail on Friday November 7 after being locked up for over 17 months by immigration officials. He is currently back in the Bronx with his wife and two children.

“I still can’t believe it to some degree,” said Rick told the Associated Press. “I’m just thankful to God.

The rapper, who crafted hit albums like The Great Adventures of Slick Rick,said he may include portions of his stay in jail in his upcoming album. But, it won’t be like the majority of rapper’s prison tales.

“I’m not bitter, so I’ll just put it in a humorous way,” Walter said. “We’re happy that I’m able to stay in the country and put this behind us, finally, hopefully and go on with my life and resume my rap career.”

In addition, he has no current intention to sue for his jail term, which Judge Kimba Wood deemed was unjust.

Slick Rick was detained by the INS in June of 2002 after he left America, venturing into international waters to perform aboard a cruise ship. Upon trying to reenter domestic territory, the rapper was arrested.

Slick Rick, a native of Great Britain, has lived in the United States since the age of 11. He faced deportation because of a 1990 incident, in which he shot his cousin and a bystander. Rick served 5 years and 12 days in prison. According to a United States law established in 1996, any non-citizen who serves more than 5 years in prison must be deported.

He has been a resident of the United States Since 1976, but never officially became a citizen.

Eminem’s ex-wife Kim Mathers skipped a preliminary hearing yesterday in a Warren, Michigan and is now a wanted woman by Warren, Michigan authorities.Mathers was scheduled to appear in Warren County District Court to face accusations of drug posession related to a drug raid at a local hotel.Police were responding to reports of a disorderly person at the Candlewood Suites on September 29th. Police said they encountered Mathers in front of her hotel room and heard loud music and yeling from inside.When they opened the door, officers allege they found open bottles of alcohol and cigarette rollng papers. Mathers allegedly told the police that people were using marijuana and Ecstasy.Two bench warrants have been issued for Mathers.

Because of an online internet leak, Interscope Records, 50 Cent and the G-Unit have decided to move their album Beg For Mercy up to November 14, the same day as the Jay-Z’s Black Album.

Lloyd Banks, one of the founding members of G-Unit, explained that he heard of the leak as he and the group toured in support of the project.

“I was in Detroit and I got word that they leaked the albums – the Black Album and our album in the internet. It had got leaked the night before [the Detroit tour date] so that meant the bootleggers are gonna be out [selling it] in the next two days,” Banks told AllHipHop.com

50 Cent, whose last album hit the internet early, said he anticipated that the CD would get leaked because of his current stature in the game.

“What can you expect when you’re the hottest rapper around? The streets are used to gettin’ my music the unconventional way. So if they want it why not give ‘em the real deal as soon as you can. Why make ‘em wait?” 50 Cent said through his label.

But, Banks also realized the duality of the leak as it pertained to himself.

“The bootlegging this is a problem to a certain extent. My career has been built on the bootleg. It might help us. I mean, if I had a computer and I was in their position, I would probably do it too,” he said.

“There is no guarantee [on the quality of music]. The last five albums [the consumer] bought, they probably got ripped off. They are going to listen to the records [from the internet] and they’ll go back and get the real one. I’m not really sweating it.”

Banks also wasn’t sweating the prospect of going head-to-head with Jay-Z’s last hurrah. In fact, he said he didn’t believe that it was going to be the last one for the living legend.

“I dont believe that [its going to be his last album]. I think his next album is going to be called Turn The Lights On,” Banks joked. “Jay was supposed to come out on the 28th [of November]. He moved up to the 14th and we got the same date. Its cool.”

As a bonus, four versions of Beg For Mercy will contain “Golden Tickets” that will bless the winner with their own diamond studded spinning G Unit medallion valued at $12,500. The tickets will only be included in the first million of the album.

Albert "Prodigy"

Johnson has come forward to dispel media reports of his arrest he deemed inaccurate,

after he was arrested in Cohoes, New York on the way to a show at the Cohoes

Entertainment Complex.

"I was charged

for possession of a gun and marijuana," Johnson told AllHipHop.com. "Several

news outlets reported that crack cocaine was also found in the vehicle and omitted

to specify that the substance belonged to Dave St. Bernard, the driver of the

van, who is not a part of the Mobb Deep entourage and works for a car service

company."

Police responded

to a call about two suspicious vehicles parked on the side of the road and found two customized Ford vans.A search of the vans turned up various small

amounts of marijuana and a fully loaded .25 caliber gun tucked in one of Johnson’s

boots.

David St. Bernard

was charged with felony possession of a controlled substance, after police found

crack and powdered cocaine in a bag belonging to Bernard.

Prodigy was charged

with third-degree criminal possession of a weapon and possession of marijuana

and was released the same day.

"I was released

the same day of the arrest, although, according some incorrect reports, I’m

still in the Albany County Jail," Johnson clarified. "Full details

of this arrest can be obtained from the Cohoes, NY authorities. I would like

to let Mobb Deep fans know that I am back in the studio working on our upcoming

album Amerika’s Nightmare due out this February."

While Kool Moe is preparing to release his book, “There’s A God on The Mic,” pioneering hip-hop photographer Ernie Paniccioli may be filing a lawsuit against the rapper, for not paying for images used in the book.”Moe Dee called me two or three times a day to get images for his book,” Paniccioli told AllHipHop.com. “As soon as he, or rather his publisher received the images, all communications ended. He has not returned even one call since the images were sent.”Paniccioli said that he and Moe Dee signed a contract, agreeing to a “fair price” on 45 never before seen photo’s of various rapper for the book, which rates the 50 greatest rappers of all time. Moe Dee placed himself at number 5.”He promised to pay me half on July 15th and the rest on September 30th. If this was as simple as me not getting paid, it would simply be just another photographer being jerked, but this is the case of one old school pioneer lying and stealing from another.”Paniccioli said Moe Dee recently agreed to have payment in by November 1st, but the date came and went.As a result, Paniccioli called Moe Dee a disgrace to hip-hop and the legacy of the pioneers of the genre.Paniccioli said that he would not endorse or publicize the book due to the behavior of Moe Dee, who is scheduled to do a book signing today at the Virgin Megastore at 45th Street and Broadway in New York.”Since this is Hip-Hop History Month, perhaps this may be noted as another first. Let me promise this, just as LL ended Moe’s rap career with superior skills and longevity, I pledge to end his writing career by outing him as a liar and a thief.”In October of 2002, Pannicioli published his book “Who Shot Ya, Three Decades of Hip-Hop Photography.”

New Jersey police said that rapper Joe Budden and his entourage were the targets of a failed drive by shooting on October 17, releasing official details on the incident yesterday.Police said that Budden was riding in his Humvee with two passengers in Jersey City, when he came to a stop and a man on a bicycle rode up next to the passenger side window wearing a ski-mask.The man pulled out a handgun, pointed at the passenger and pulled the trigger, but the gun did not fire. The man then pointed the gun at Budden and pulled the trigger, but again the gun failed to fire.Police said the man allegedly exclaimed, “Ah, I’m just playing,” and peddled off on the bicycle. Budden followed the gunman, but lost track of him when the man hopped off the bicycle and ran into a nearby doorway.That doorway however, was the Jersey City’s West District Police Station. Police took the man into custody and later, found a 9mm handgun with a bullet jammed in the chamber in a garbage can on the police station’s front steps.The man was charged with aggravated assault and weapons charges.

Jay-Z has opted to move his highly anticipated Black Album forward to combat rampant piracy online and subsequent street bootlegging. The album was initially supposed to drop on November 28, Black Friday also the unofficial start of Christmas shopping, but leaked via the internet as early as Monday.

Now the album has been bumped to drop on November 14, two weeks earlier than planned.

Hova was not pleased, but understood he had to roll with the punches.

“You plan to do one thing and you just have to go to plan B. That’s why we’re moving the release date…. There’s no honor among thieves, people bootleg strictly for capital gain. ” Jay-Z said via statement.

Fans that support the album will be privy to special, high-end incentives not to download the rapper’s “victory lap” out of the rap game.

“I have made sure that my album is available at a lower price for my fans. In turn, I hope my fans will support me and Roc-A-Fella Records and buy my final release in an appropriate way, either via a retail store or a legitimate digital distribution site,” he said.

Furthermore three customers, who purchase the album, will win a Black CLK 320 sport sedan Mercedes Benz. Others will be entered into contests to win limited edition books featuring Jay’s lyrics and original artwork.

According to Roc-A-Fella, “Change Clothes,” Jay’s current single, is the #1 song in the country.

Albert “Prodigy” Johnson of popular rap group Mobb Deep, was arrested in upstate New York on Saturday and charged with third-degree criminal possession of a weapon and possession of marijuana.Police were allegedly responding to calls about two suspicious vehicles on Remsen Street in Cohoes, New York near the state capital of Albany.Police encountered two Ford vans they say were “customized” and found various amounts of marijuana. A driver of one the vans, David St. Bernard, 46, was charged with felony charges for possession of a controlled substance.Police said that they found crack and powdered cocaine which they said was found in a bag belonging to St. Bernard. Johnson allegedly had a fully loaded .25 caliber handgun, hidden away in one of his boots.Seven other men travelling in the vans were also arrested and charged with unlawful possession of marijuana, a violation, and released without bail.The group was on the way to perform at the Cohoes Entertainment Complex.

Arrested Development is taking on Fox Broadcasting, Imagine Films Entertainment and New World Communications, alleging the companies infringed on their trademark of the name “Arrested Development,” the same name of a television series that premiered this month.”The use of our name by FOX is not only confusing to the public, but also has the potential to significantly dilute what the ‘Arrested Development’ name means to our fans,” Arrested Development’s Todd “Speech” Thomas said in a statement.The lawsuit was filed on October 16 in DeKalb County, Georgia Superior Court on October 16.Fox settled a similar lawsuit almost ten years ago when Living Colour, the rock band, filed a trademark infringement suit against the popular comedy show, “In Living Color.””FOX has no more right to use ‘Arrested Development’ for its show than a band would have to name itself after one of FOX’s sit-coms,” Thomas said.