Mogul Percy “Master P.” Miller has signed with the American Basketball Association’s The Las Vegas Rattlers.Miller, who’s fortune is estimated to be between $200-300 million dollars, has flirted with basketball in the past.In 1998, the 6 foot 4 inch rapper tried out for the Charlotte Hornets, only to be cut.The following year he inked a deal with the Toronto Raptors, but was let go before the season started.Miller, who has also played with Fort Wayne of the CBA and San Diego of the IBL, was on his way to college to play for the University of Houston, when a knee injury sidelined him.That is when Miller turned to rap music. But the passion for basketball is something he cannot deny.Prior to signing with the ABA, Miller practiced with the NBA’s Denver Nuggets, in hopes of gaining an opportunity to try out for the team.Miller and the Rattlers take on the undefeated Long Beach Jam on December 16th at the Pyramid in Long Beach California.The Rattlers have also signed Joe “Jellybean” Bryant, the father NBA star Kobe Bryant as head coach.

Memphis Bleek and producer Just Blaze are planning to join forces and release a compilation album that features each’s respective artists that they been grooming on the side. The duo is each looking to build their own empire similar to that of the Roc, however they do not want to be under the auspices of the powerhouse label. “I wanna get money that we deserve,” Bleek told AllHipHop.com “I don’t want no handout, I don’t want nothing giving to me. I want to work. “I want to put my artists on mixtapes, [put out] white label records out of my pocket, (and) let then get a buzz. Shoot a video out of my pocket. So that way somebody will be like, ‘hey this guy right here has a buzz. Let’s call him. We gonna give him that money,’ instead of me calling somebody.” The rapper added he has been instilling his team, Dirty Get Low—Geda K, Calico, Proof, and Chrissy Love—with the same work ethic he received at the Roc under the guidance of Jay-Z, Damon Dash, and Kareem “Biggs” Burke. “Just on how real it is, it was tough love at Roc-A-Fella. I was working on my album, and he [Calico] never really came to do nothing. So he ain’t on it [M.A.D.E.]. Same as the girl, Chrissy, she ain’t work, she ain’t on the album,” Bleek said. “But Proof and Geda is. I ain’t gonna stop doing what I’m doing. You don’t want to be here when I’m working, you good.” Though Roc members Cam’ron and Beanie Sigel have labels distributed by Roc-A-Fella, Bleek clarified his decision was driven by him wanting more control which would generate a higher return on the revenue made by sales. “I don’t just want to bring my label up here and get a handout and get $500,000 to make my artists,” the rapper explained. “And then out of that $500,000, I don’t get no money off my artist. Now my artist just becomes a Roc artist or a Def Jam artist. I ain’t with that.” Bleek said a good rapport with Just Blaze lead them to pursue a collaborative effort that would showcase their artists together on an album. Just Blaze, however, has stayed mute in regards to his business plans. “As soon as they cut the check the right way that will be a go and you will be hearing about that,” Just Blaze told AllHipHop.com in May. Memphis Bleek will release his long-delayed third album M.A.D.E. on December 16. The album will feature guest appearances by Jay-Z, Freeway, and Trick Daddy, along with production by Kanye West and Just Blaze.

Incarcerated mogul Marion “Suge” Knight was hit with a lawsuit by the wife of Delmar “Daz Dillinger” Arnaud and the mother of Calvin “Snoop Dogg” Broadus, claiming Knight slandered them on a song from the “Dysfunktional Family” soundtrack.Maria Watkins and Beverly Green filed the lawsuit yesterday (December 10).Lyrics on the song “Tha Row” claimed that Knight fathered Watkins’ child, which led to Dillinger conducting a paternity test and ultimately filing for divorce.Green, Snoop’s mother and a Baptist Minister, also claimed she was slandered on the song, which claim Knight was sleeping with her as well.Both women claim the lyrics were the result of Dillinger winning a $25.5 million dollar settlement against Knight in January of 2003.”The plaintiffs are totally innocent victims being tormented as to force Daz Dillinger and Snoop Dogg to suffer personal anguish and to take retaliatory action.”The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages and names Tha Row, Warner/Chappel, Mirimax Films and the songwriters of the composition.They also seek a restraining order against Knight, claiming they have been threatened over the telephone by his associates.

R&B, Hip-Hop Win Big At Billboard Hip-hop and R&B rocked the Billboard Awards last night in Las Vegas as Beyonce, 50 Cent, R.Kelly materialized as the biggest winners of the evening. Kelly and Beyonce were the king and queen for the evening, both receiving four awards for the evening. Beyonce emerged victorious categories new female artist of the year, new R&B artist, Hot 100 female artist and a special Hot 100 because of her chart dominance. At the climax of the evening, R.Kelly was courted into the MGM Grand Casino in a horse-drawn carriage, emblazoned in red. The embattled singer went on to win accolades for Hot 100 producer, R&B producer, Hot 100 songwriter and R&B songwriter. His album, The Chocolate Factory, has already sold over two million units. 50 Cent, the biggest winner of the year thus far, won for top artist, R&B artist and rap artist. Outkast won the first-ever digital track of the year award for their song “Hey Ya. The award goes to the song most downloaded legally. Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz grabbed the award for R&B/hip-hop Group of the year while DTP newcomer Chingy took New male R&B Artist of the Year. The Billboard Awards are based on chart listings, which are rooted in sales and radio airplay. Below is a partial list of the winners: Artist of the Year: 50 Cent New Female Artist of the Year: Beyoncé R&B Artist of the Year: 50 Cent R&B/hip-hop Group of the year: Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz R&B Producer of the Year: R. Kelly R&B Songwriter of the Year: R. Kelly New R&B Artist of the Year: Beyoncé New male R&B Artist of the Year: Chingy Rap Artist of the Year: 50 Cent Independent Album of the Year: “Kings of Crunk” Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz (TVT) Mainstream Top 40 Track of the Year: “Where Is the Love,” Black Eyed Peas Digital Track of the Year: “Hey Ya!,” OutKast No. 1 Rhythmic top 40 title of the Year: “Right Thurr,” Chingy Hot 100 Female Artist of the Year: Beyoncé Hot 100 Producer of the Year: R. Kelly Hot 100 songwriter of the Year: R. Kelly Hot 100 Award for Most Weeks at No. 1: Beyoncé “Crazy in Love” featuring Jay-Z and “Baby Boy” Independent Album Artists of the Year: Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz

Tray Deee’s arraignment on felony assault charges was delayed after the rapper failed to appear in a Long Beach, California court.Tray Deee is facing a charge of assault with a semiautomatic firearm, possession of a firearm by a felon and shooting at an occupied vehicle.According to officials, Trey Deee could not attend the arraignment, which was scheduled yesterday (December 10) for unspecified medical reasons.Tray Deee was arrested in early November for allegedly firing into a crowd.The motive for the attack remains unclear. Prior to the shooting, Tha Eastsidaz member had a public falling out with mentor Snoop Dogg.Tray Deee claimed Snoop had conspired to cheat the group out of millions of dollars and the two had several altercations prior to the shooting.Trey Deee is currently being held in lieu of bail exceeding $700,000.

Goodie MOb will issue a greatest hits package, Dirty South Classics encompassing the work of the group from all three of their gold-certified albums dating back to 1995. The album will feature past collaborative efforts with Outkast, such as “Black Ice (Sky High)” as well as the group’s debut song, “Cell Therapy.” After gaining critical acclaim with their first two albums, Soul Food and Still Standing, Goodie MOb released World Party to poor reviews as they reached for more mainstream appeal. When news came that group member Cee-Lo would release a solo album amid the lukewarm reception to World Party, speculation began that the group was breaking up. Cee-Lo, however, refuted that claim, but hinted that the period of time may have lead to the group ultimately breaking up. “I wanted to do a solo album just to do it,” Cee-Lo told AllHipHop.com “Not to break up and they [the group] didn’t support it.” The MC turned soul singer was receptive to the idea of a greatest hits album as a way for younger fans to learn about Goodie, as he explained that he, T-Mo, Khujo, and Big Gipp are finished recording together as a group. “I think it’s cool, since the rest of these fellas done messed it up so bad, we ain’t never gonna get back together,” he said. “There was hope at one time, but they done been so slanderous and disrespectful. You know, they attempting to do an album without me, One Monkey Don’t Stop No Show.” News broke that the group would be calling it quits when Cee-Lo made the announcement last October at the Shortlist Award ceremony. Prior to breaking up, Arista Records announced they were dropping the group from their label group, which occurred around the same time group member Khujo was involved in a serious car accident that resulted in his right leg being amputated below the knee. Dirty South Classics will be released December 16 and the remaining members of the group are expected to release new material early next year under the tentative title One Monkey Don’t Stop No Show. Cee-Lo is set to follow up his critically acclaimed Cee-Lo Green and His Perfect Imperfections, with a new album January 20 titled Cee-Lo Green Is the Soul Machine.

Legendary producer and Def Jam co-founder Rick Rubin surprised those who old enough to remember the days he was involved in hip-hop, by working with Jay-Z on his Black Album. Jay-Z, the first hip-hop act that Rubin has worked with in over 15 years, managed to snag the rapper for his farewell album. Rubin produced the song "." In a rare interview featured rollingstone.com Rubin, who founded Def American and signed the influential Geto Boys, before changing his label name to American, revealed why he decided to leave the hip-hop. "When I started there really was a community of people who were doing it for the art," Rubin said. "With the success of our records I started hearing a lot of records that sounded like our records, and it didn’t really feel like being part of a creative community anymore. But since then there have been a lot of things that have been revolutionary and great in hip-hop. N.W.A would be a great example of a band that really radically took it to the next level in the time since I left hip-hop." Rubin said that his admiration for N.W.A. was so great, that he visited them in the recording studio as they were recording one of hip-hop’s most influential albums, Straight Outta Compton. Rubin said that he would have signed the group to his label, but they were already signed to Ruthless/Priority. Rubin gave two reasons as to why Def Jam was such a successful label. He said that their early records were the first to capture the true spirit of hip-hop and that early hip-hop music wasn’t structured the way it is today, until Def Jam came along and introduced a few changes to make the music more marketable. "At the point we got involved in hip-hop, a song would be between six and nine minutes long, and it would be more like a Jamaican toasting record — it wouldn’t really have a chorus, it would just be rapping for nine minutes and telling a story. That format would be more difficult for a suburban audience to digest. We picked up strong songwriting from listening to the Beatles and applied it to this new form of music." Rubin is currently working on a peace themed album, which features Weezer, System of a Down, Sheryl Crow and others.

Multi-platinum rapper DMX’s show at the Sullivan Arena in Anchorage, Alaska was postponed last night, leaving fans confused as to what exactly happened. According to promoters, the show was canceled because X’s flight was delayed by bad weather, which X’s representatives confirmed, but added that the promoter failed to sell enough tickets. "The promoter didn’t sell enough tickets,"a representative for DMX told AllHipHop.com. "He wanted to wait for X to get to Anchorage and then have him do a radio drop to get the people to the show tonight." The promoter of the situation told the Anchorage Daily News that he was frustrated at the situation, because of the flight delay. X’s representatives said the promoter knew in advance that DMX would not be at the concert. Fans that purchased tickets can return to the Sullivan Arena box office today for a full refund or contact 907-884-6860 for information on when and where the show will be rescheduled.

The collection of hip-hop journalists who penned the best selling "ego trip’s Big Book of Racism!," are looking to turn their tome into television through a partnership with VH1. According to Chairman Mao, a member of the editorial team behind the defunct ego trip magazine, they are developing a "spin-off television program" titled "TV Race Riot!." The program will examine the trials and tribulations of minorities on television. Backed with the irreverent wit which ego trip was known to deliver, the show will provide an acerbic tone to the sensitive subject of race and the visual medium of television. Chairman Mao, a founder of ego trip, has said the country has an obsessive fixation for all things race and his team simply is bringing that idea to the forefront, much to the chagrin of conservative talk-show host Bill O’Reilly who denounced their book as "a big mistake." "We presented the idea that race is the new pornography," the scribe told Fortune magazine. "[It’s] a fascinating taboo that America still has problems talking about openly." The five-man ego trip collective-Elliot Wilson of XXL magazine, Sacha Jenkins, Gabriel Alvarez, Chairman Mao, and photographer Brent Rollins-also released "ego trip’s Book of Rap Lists," in November of 1999. There is no word when "TV Race Riot!," will air. Another television project put together by ego trip alumni is the XXL & MTV2 presentation of the most anticipated hip-hop albums of 2004. The show is slated to his airwaves January 25 at 2 p.m. ET.

Corey “C-Murder” Miller will return to court on December 12th, attempting to get a retrial in a controversial murder case, in which the rapper was convicted of murdering 16-year-old Steve Thomas in a Jefferson-Parish, Louisiana nightclub.In an exclusive interview, Miller’s brother Percy “Master P” Miller told AllHipHop.com that his brother was not the shooter and was the victim of Doug Freese, a District Attorney whom Miller claims is corrupt.Miller said Freese bolstered at least five prosecution witnesses credibility by expunging their criminal records.”The witnesses that they produced all had prior records,” Miller revealed to AllHipHop.com. “Their testimony was made credible by not having records. How you gonna blame him when there was so many people in the club? They never printed how many people said that he didn’t do it.”According to Miller, one of the judges that helped expunge the criminal records of the prosecution witnesses was fired in connection with the murder case and several other incidents.Miller said that in addition to the younger Miller’s original attorney, Ronald J. Rokosky, Attorney Martin Regan, will represent his younger sibling in an attempt to have him released from jail.”You convict Corey, but he’s not sentenced,” Miller said. “They pushed his actual sentencing back four times. Something is wrong and it’s wrong to keep an innocent man incarcerated. People have to realize that you can’t prejudge someone until all of the facts are revealed. All the stuff with the D.A. was never printed. Mainstream media never printed that witnesses were paid off or that they had criminal histories. All the negative stuff in the media was directed toward C because of his name.”During the trial Miller’s defense attorney, Ron Rokofsky, produced several witnesses who claimed they saw Miller in different parts of the club.”There is no way shouldn’t get a new trial. They know he is innocent. He’s my brother, I love him and he’s innocent.”The hearing starts at 10:00 AM at the Gretna, Louisiana court house.

Snoop Dogg was served with a subpoena in the trial of Weldon Hal Angelos, the owner of Utah based Extravagant Records.Angelos is accused of distributing marijuana, possession of marijuana with intent to distribute, money laundering and possession of stolen firearms.The government accuses Angelos of renting a house and an apartment and using them to store marijuana and other criminal activities.The trial started yesterday in Utah and is expected to last at least six days.Snoop Dogg was featured on a compilation CD, which was as soundtrack from a DVD/VHS the company was producing titled “We From The L.B.C.”

George W. Bush’s Secret Service has decided not to launch a formal probe into a bootleg song by Eminem, but admitted they were considering it. The U.S. government agency, whose primary job is to protect the president, revealed that they thought the lyrics might become influential fans that absorb a message in “We As American,” the song in question. “We are concerned about communications that can be interpreted in a manner perhaps not intended by the artist, and the potential peripheral impact that such lyrics can have on other individuals,” said spokes person John Gill though the Associated Press. “The Secret Service has no current plans to open an investigation into this matter.” In the song, which has been bootlegged on the internet, Eminem says. “F**k money. I don’t rap for dead presidents. I’d rather see the president dead. It’s never been said, but I set precedents and the standards and they can’t stand it… We as Americans. Us as a citizen. We’ve got to protect ourselves…we better check ourselves.” Gill said they look into similar types of threats to the president of the United States. “The Secret Service takes every potential threat against the president seriously. We don’t have the luxury to do otherwise, Gill concluded. He also stated that there was a fine line between infringing on free speech and looking into the artistry of entertainers. Dennis Dennehy of Interscope Records initially told CNN, “This was an unfinished song, either lost or stolen.” Previously, the Secret Service said they were possibly going to investigate if Eminem presented a real threat to the president. “We are aware of the lyric and are in the process of determining what action, if any, will be taken,” Gill said.

Funk legend George Clinton was arrested in Tallahassee, Florida after police allegedly witnessed him drop a crack pipe while sitting in a gas station parking lot. Police said they noticed a man sitting in the passenger seat of a car around 2 a.m. Saturday morning. When the officer approached the car, the 63-year-old Clinton allegedly tried to hide the pipe by dropping it. When asked by the officer if he was concealing any dangerous items, police claim Clinton allegedly responded "I’ve got a little cocaine.” Clinton was arrested and charged with drug possession and was bonded out of jail shortly after the incident. Clinton launched his career as a member of The Parliments, which later became Parliament and Funkadelic and then P-Funk. Clinton’s music has largely influenced hip-hop music. A publishing company that owns the majority of Clinton’s work sued over 800 record labels in 2001 for using the Funkster’s music without permission.

Russell Simmons and Rush Communications have partnered with Jackson Hewitt, the nation’s second largest tax preparation company. The partnership will allow 48 million Americans without traditional banking services to get access to discounted tax preparation services for the upcoming tax services. The partnership also seeks to education and inform Americans who do not have bank accounts about the IRS Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). The EITC is a federal income tax credit for low-income workers who are eligible for and claim the credit. The credit reduces the amount of tax an individual owes, and may be returned in the form of a refund. Over $2 billion in Earned Income Tax Credits go unclaimed.

Rosa Parks won a decision against Outkast today, after the Supreme Court refused to intervene in a lawsuit over 1998’s#### song "Rosa Parks." The 90-year-old Parks alleges that Outkast violated her trademark rights and defamed her. Parks and her lawyer, famed attorney Johnnie Cochran, scored a victory earlier this year, when a portion of the lawsuit was reinstated earlier this year. Cochran claimed that Parks had approved an album of gospel recordings titled Verity Records Presents: A Tribute to Mrs. Rosa Parks and that fans accidently bought Aquemeni instead of the gospel album. Cochran presented 21 affidavits at the last hearing from people who said they were "fooled into buying the rap album out of a belief that it had something to do with Parks and the civil rights movements." OutKast argues that the song is neither false advertising nor a violation of Parks’ publicity rights and is protected by the First Amendment. Parks made history in December 1955 when she was arrested for refusing to give up her seat to a white man on a Montgomery, Alabama, city bus.

The United States Secret Service, assigned to protect the President of the United States, is considering action against Eminem, due to the lyrics of an unreleased song. On "We as Americans," the rapper recites the lines "F*ck money, I don’t rap for dead presidents/I’ de rather see the President dead." The pro gun song doesn’t specifically mention President Bush, but the Secret Service told CNN they were taking the lyrics seriously. "We are aware of the lyric and are in the process of determining what action, if any, will be taken," Secret Service spokesman John Gill said. Eminem’s spokesman, Dennis Dennehy said that the song was unfinished and that is was either lost or stolen. Dennehy also said that he was not sure when of if the song would ever be released. The song appeared on the Internet last week with seven other unreleased Eminem tracks from an EP titled Straight From the Lab.