Producer Hi-Tek is hosting a talent search, throughout the Midwest. Taking place at the Cincinnati Convention Center, the search will include a panel of judges including executives from Def Jam and MCA. "I just look for originality, something that catches my ear, somebody that believes in themselves," Hi-Tek told AllHipHop.com. "I don’t care if it’s comedy. If its original and different, I’m with it." Tek said that over 300 people had signed up hoping to be discovered. 12 people will make it to the finals, where one person will emerge victorious. While Tek said that he wanted to give back to the Midwest area from which he hails, he said that the winner should be prepared to work hard to make his or her career take off. "What I did is I got outta the ‘Nati (Cincinnati). I was riding on a Greyhound [bus] with a 20-pound MPC. It don’t matter. If it’s your career, nobody is going to give you anything." The competition is open to all genres of music and will be featured on the local UPN television network. Advertisements will run locally BET and MTV stations as well. The event takes place March 1 at 8PM. Tickets are $16.50 and can be purchased through Ticketmaster or by calling: 513.721.6100. In related news, Hi-Tek is preparing to release Hi-Teknology, Volume 2. So far the album features guest appearances from Snoop Dogg, Slum Village, Jonell, Mos Def, Raphael Saddiq and a variety of upcoming rappers.

Former Cash Money cohort Juvenile pleaded guilty today in court to battery stemming from an incident where the rapper struck a man in the head with a champagne bottle. After the incident, the New Orleans rapper then proceeded to grab a police officer. As a result of the felony charge, the rapper was sentenced to 75 hours of community service as a part of a plea bargain. The episode took place March 28, 2001 at a comedy club, where the recipient of the champagne bottled blow, Jackson Saint Ange, was knocked unconscious. The scuffle was apart of a larger fight that included three additional brawls. In fact, the prosecutor Teresa Williams agreed to a deal with Juvenile because no other participants in the melee were apprehended. Juvenile, whose real name is Terius Gray, reportedly told the police officers at the scene to arrest him, instead of other individuals who were detained. As a result of the rapper’s plea bargain he will be placed on unsupervised probation for one year and make a donation to a local children’s charity in the amount of $5,000. In addition, he must pay $782 in court fees and an undisclosed amount to Saint Agne as a settlement on a civil lawsuit that was filed against him. The Magnolia bred rapper only made one remark upon leaving the courtroom. “I’m a good man,” he said, but declined any further comment.

Fat Joe is a man of many sentiments and, should he win a Grammy on Sunday Feb. 23, the heavyweight rapper said he will run through the full spectrum of positive emotions and rep for New York. “I don’t even know what I’ll do, [I’m going to] just wild out. It would be the first Grammy in the hood,” the Bronx-bred rapper told AllHipHop.com. “Every body claims to be hood, be this. Fat Joe win the Grammy, Harlem will get to touch it, The Bronx will get to touch it, Brooklyn will get to touch it, it will be in the after party. The only after party at the Grammy’s that the hood will be invited to.” Always one to represent for his crew, Terror Squad, Joe said that it wasn’t cheap getting his 6-person entourage in the prestigious award show. “Its terrible. I got six of us. I had to pay serious money to get that, because the Grammy’s ain’t playing that. even though we got nominated,” he explained. “It cost $1600 for every two. So you figure, $1600, $1600, $1600, I mean its that serious. It ain’t as bad as the All-Star weekend,” Joe said laughing. “We like going to special events and it cost us good money to be in seats at special events.” With Ashanti, Joe is nominated for the Best Rap/Sung Collaboration and is ironically facing Ja Rule and Ashanti for “Always On Time”, Nappy Roots with Anthony Hamilton (“Po’ Folks”), Nelly and Kelly Rowland (“Dilemma”) and Justin Timberlake and the Clipse (“Like I Love You”). The 45th Grammy Awards will be televised on Sunday, Feb. 23, 2003 at 8 pm (EST).

Sources at Capitol/Priority Records have confirmed that Carson, CA rapper Ras Kass is a fugitive from the law. Ras, whose government name is John Austin III, didn’t appear for sentencing in Los Angeles over a month ago. The rapper was supposed to be sentenced for a third DUI conviction, and begin serving the state mandatory nine months of time. “We aren’t able to completely comment it at this time, however that is what we understand to be true,” one source at Priority said. In lieu of turning himself in, it’s been rumored by sources at contrabandit.com that Ras is currently in the Big Apple. This matter should further push back the rapper’s next album, Golden Chyld. The rapper’s previous CD, Van Gogh, was shelved permanently after massive bootlegging and other hindrances hindered it.

Luke Campbell and Miami-Dade County officials have criticized popular game "Grand Theft Auto III," for it’s portrayal of Liberty City, a real neighborhood in Miami, Florida. "I guarantee no one in Liberty City is making any money off this," Campbell told the South Florida Sun Sentinel. "That’s a disgrace," he said. "We know there’s violence but things like this don’t happen every day anymore." The game’s goal is to complete various missions. Players are awarded points for stealing cars, killing people and avoiding the authorities. The game has been banned in Brazil and pulled from the shelves in Australia. Dorrin D. Rolle, who is exploring legal options to protect the real Liberty City’s name. "I am appalled and offended, as are other members of my community at the Grand Theft Auto video game inventors," added Miami-Dade County Commissioner Dorrin D.Rolle. "Liberty City is a community of respectable, hard-working and predominantly African American families. Their inclusion and portrayal of this community as dangerous, is shameful." In its first year, GTA III’ sold more than 6 million copies in the U.S. and Europe at $30 to $50 each. Executives at Rockstar Games, the company that produces GTA III had no comment. They previously issued statements saying that the game’s designers did not intend for the game to be identified with actual persons, living or dead, or actual events.

Cleveland’s Bone Thugs have restored harmony in their ranks and have moved forward with a new single with an unlikely ally – 80’s rock icon Phil Collins. The collaboration, “Home,” the current single from their Thug World Order set, almost didn’t happen due to early apprehension. The song is a play on Collins 1985 hit, “Take Me Home.” “We weren’t even going to try [to sample Phil Collins] because we didn’t think it would get cleared, but somebody said just try it at least,” Krayzie told AllHipHop.com. The rapper compared the effort to his “Hard Time Hustlin’” where he sampled jazzy-diva Sade in 2001. Furthermore, Collins was actually eager to work with the Thugs after hearing the song and other songs the group previously recorded. “He wanted to do it, but he was busy, he was on tour, he was doing Disney – basically, we had to go out to Switzerland to get it going,” Layzie added. “We hopped on a flight and put it down.” And when they got to Switzerland, the newly formed trio said Collins was gracious not displaying any of the arrogance, pompousness typically associated with a rock legend. “Nobody was trippin’. He brought his own clothes, drove himself to the video and he kicked it like us. We show up with our own clothes to videos too,” Wish Bone said. And the crew re-confirmed they have permanently ousted founding member Bizzy Bone, who they charge cause unnecessary tension within the quartet. Last year, the group kicked him out and then brought him back hoping to iron out their differences. But, most recently, they decided to part ways amicably so all parties can remain friends. “With Bizzy it came to a point where we had to make a decision about how we wanted to move forward with our future,” Layzie Bone stated. “He chose his way and we choose our way.”

Hip-hop DJ Funkmaster Flex will join TNN this fall, as host of "The Funkmaster Flex Show," a new series that will take viewers into the world of celebrities and "hiphop car culture." The series will feature the most popular car shows in the country as well as the latest in automobile styling. Flex founded Team Baurtwell, a high profile custom car club that includes such members as Missy Elliot, Shaquille O’Neil and Busta Rhymes. Flex will also serve as executive producer of the series along with Emmy nominated producer Monica Taylor (Live With Regis and Kathy Lee) and Lashan Browning. So far TNN has ordered six episodes of the show.

Chuck D. was guest speaker at Radford University’s Black History Month program yesterday (Feb. 18). The rapper spoke on the looming war with Iraq and accused U.S. leaders of ignoring the global opposition to the war. “Bush doesn’t listen to the people,” Chuck D. said. “I don’t know who he’s representing. The whole world is saying this is not wise, but he’s pushing ahead. Everybody in the world is telling this cat ‘no.’” Chuck said that many American’s were receiving blatant propaganda from the Bush Administration and said that when the facts were examined, the current war effort boils down to money and oil. “America’s talking about fixing the rest of the world, but our own backyard ain’t right. We can lead by example, but we’re not better than anyone else.” “We the people are getting F*cked,” he said. Chuck also told the crowd that corporations were profiting from the divisions between cultures, citing the differences between the Middle East and the United States. “It’s all propaganda.” In related news, Rock The Vote will honor Chuck D. Feb. 22 at New York’s Roseland Ballroom. Chuck will be bestowed with the Rock The Vote Founder’s Award.

Sticky Fingaz is preparing his sophomore solo set, Decade (But Wait, It Gets Worse), slated for an April 29th release. The album, which features production by Sticky and Aftermath beatsmith Scott Storch, is dedicated to the late Jam Master Jay. Sticky and Onyx released their debut 1993 album Bacdafucup, on Jam Master Jay’s JMJ Records imprint. "I dedicate this album to my mentor, my brother, the N*gga that put me on," Sticky said. "I am not going to mourn his death, I am going to celebrate his life!" The album, which is a follow up to 2000’s Black Trash: The Autobiography of Kirk Jones, features cameo’s from Onxy member Fredro Starr and actor Omar Epps. The first single from the album is "Can’t Call It" and will impact radio on April 8th.

The Source co-owner and founder Dave Mays, appeared on Bill O’Reilly’s "O’Reilly Factor" television show on Feb. 18., after the magazine criticized O’Reilly for his repeated commentaries on "thug rap," labeling him a "racist" and a "hypocrite" in the March issue of the magazine. "There are issues as far as what rap music’s impact is that’s allow to get to kids that’s adult oriented music and adult oriented material," Mays admitted. "Those are some issues within the hip-hop community that we discuss." O’Reilly said the only reason hip-hop attacks O’him is because there is no other way to win the "argument, " which mays disagreed with, labeling O’Reilly a racist, who promoted racist points of views. O’Reilly then interrupted Mays. "Just the fact that you say that and you use that argument because I criticize this pernicious industry, cheapens you. You’re not rebutting my argument based upon facts and testimony, you’re saying that because I make the argument, I am a racist," O’Reilly said. Mays continued, saying that O’Reilly represented a powerful media, that promoted stereotypes and imagery that programs minds, contributes to the notion of white supremacy and "middle America’s fear of black people." "If I were fabricating this stuff you’d be right," O’Reilly shot back. "We know what the lyrics that Ludacris put out are, we know what the lyrics Eminem put out are, we know the lyrics that Jay-Z put out. They are down on paper. I couldn’t care less about their lifestyle." May interrupted, telling O’Reilly he was reducing the rappers to a lyric on the page, which O’Reilly agreed to, saying that a nine year-old kid who hears "these insidious lyrics," would adopt them into their "presentation." "Once they do that it hurts them and stigmatizes them, and they cannot fight the battle that they need to succeed," O’Reilly continued. "You cannot deny the stats, you cannot the damage. You sell, mind poison. You’ve gotten rich off that! You should be on my side!" Mays disagreed, saying that he sold and promoted a culture that empowers people and creates entrepreneurs. "Hip-hop has created a generation of those same nine year-olds that your thinking of, that now believe that they can build business and overcome the way society programs them, the way people like you who want to impose your point of view and your way of thinking, that paternalistic way on everybody else," Mays said. "We’re supposed to listen to you, because you think you know everything, and you haven’t spent a day in the hood." O’Reilly disagreed, saying that he indeed spent 28 years reporting in the worst neighborhoods in America. Mays said that hip-hop created a generation of youth who had self esteem and that O’Reilly should respect the influence the culture truly possesses. "I’m down with that," O’Reilly said. "But I am not down with the poison stuff." "We should all be concerned about that and focus on the few negative things," Mays concluded.

Eve has entered into a distribution deal with Innovo Azteca Apparel, who will design, market and distribute the rapper’s Fetish clothing line. The Fetish brand will be marketed to the junior and contemporary women’s market through better department and specialty stores. "Eve has become an influential fashion force, and we are excited to collaborate with her to transform her fashion dreams into a fashion reality. In recent years, the urban fashion lines have grown into a major component of the retail marketplace with retailers understanding that urban brands will play a very important role in their future success," said Jay Furrow, CEO of Innovo Group Inc. "From what we have noted, the marketplace has been waiting with great anticipation for Eve to launch the Fetish brand. We feel very fortunate to have the opportunity to work with Eve in developing the brand and hope to quickly fill the already existing demand for Fetish and establish it as a premier fashion brand for years to come."

Fans of Jay-Z won’t be let down after all. In a bizarre twist, Mike Tyson has announced that he will indeed fight Clifford Etienne on Saturday, Feb. 22. The news came less than 24 hours after Tyson’s camp decided to call off the fight. Tyson’s management decided to pull the plug on the fight yesterday, when Tyson missed a flight to Memphis two days in a row. "He woke up today and called and said, ‘I want to do it,"’ Tyson’s manager Shelly Finkel said. "He’s leaving today." Officials said that Tyson was too sick to fight. According to sources, the boxer had an allergic reaction to a large tattoo he received on the left side of his face. According to reports, Tyson has not trained in over a week. Showtime has been promoting the fight utilizing rap superstar Jay-Z, who is to give a concert before Tyson hits the ring. In related Jay-Z news, the rapper will be featured in Heineken USA’s latest commercial, which will air during this years Grammy Awards telecast. Fans will also be able to access behind the scenes footage of "The Takeover" commercial, taped during the making of the commercial at Heineken’s website.

In a follow up to the January 14th Community Tribunal that revealed censorship of, and separate standards for Black Music on New York music media, Bob Law of the National Leadership Alliance recently announced that a coalition of prominent community leaders, ministers and elected officials are calling for the first major Turn Off The Radio Rally Tuesday February 18. Chuck D and Dead Prez, as well as the Rev. Calvin Butts, Dr. Leonard Jeffries, Minister Kevin Muhummad and Rev Richard Ashley will be present to protest New York radio standards. The coalition charges that New York airwaves that target the Black community are filled with a preponderance of negative, violent, and destructive ideas. The coalition will ask the community to on selected days to turn off the radio. Law said that the turn off the radio strategy came from Dead Prez, whose sophomore set was titled Turn Off The Radio: The Ulcer in the Belly of the Beast. "In our conversations with young people in the hip hop community we learned that there is a great deal of music both hip hop and R&B that is positive and nourishing," Law told AllHipHop.com in a statement. "Music radio and music TV simply refuse to play it." The National Leadership Alliance alleges this programming policy is part of the assault on the spirit and physic of the Black community. At the rally the organizers will issue an open letter that will articulate the community’s concern and they will announce the first radio off day.

In a less than flattering gesture, FBI officials have dubbed a bank robber who has knocked off 10 banks in New Jersey "Eminem," saying that the robber resembles the rap star. Officials claim the bank robber resembles Eminem due to the oversized ski caps and jackets that he wears when he robs a bank. When FBI agents and local detectives converged to brainstorm, "someone just yelled out, ‘This guy reminds me of Eminem,’’’ lead FBI investigator John Conway told The Record of Bergen County. The robber has stolen about $30,000. He hands notes to tellers threatening to shoot them if they don’t cooperate.

Wu-Tang Clan member Raekwon has inked a multi album deal with IceWater, becoming Chief Creative Officer of the newly formed multimedia company. The company executives include members of Raekwon’s camp, along with top executives from Los Angeles based labels Vocab Records and Goodvibe Recordings. IceWater’s first order of business is to drop Raekwon’s hotly anticipated third solo LP. IceWater is finalizing a major label deal with Universal Records. According to Vocab and IceWater joint founder Eric “Big E” Hochstein, Raekwon’s next effort will be a banger. “This record will be on some classic Cuban Linx s### and will put Rae back where he always deserved to be in hip-hop,” Big E told AllHipHop.com. “We are planning to make this record a modern day classic which will have features from all of his brothers from the Clan, along with many more special surprise guests.” Big E also said IceWater plans to release additional projects which Raekwon likely will executive produce. Selected tracks have already been completed for Raekwon’s IceWater debut, which should hit stores in the second quarter of this year. One of those joints is “Smith Bros,” currently garnering spins on Hot 97 and other prominent radio outlets. While many listeners of this popular, promo only cut contend its title to be “Won’t Stop,” Big E confirms it’s “Smith Bros,” named after the song’s production team. Big E expects the record to be commercially available on vinyl soon. In other Raekwon news, the Chef will be featured on Vocab Records’ debut full length, a producer LP from Philly’s Chops of Mountain Brothers fame. Other guests on that effort include Bahamadia, Planet Asia, Talib Kweli, Grand Agent and Ras Kass. That album should hit store shelves in late April.

Suge Knight continued to help victims of gang violence, this time picking up the funeral expenses for a 57-year-old woman, who was murdered in Los Angeles Feb. 5. Betty Jean Rothchild was caught in gunfire as she left her South Central Los Angeles home to purchase groceries for a church sponsored dinner. Knight agreed to pay the funeral expenses for Rothchild, who leaves behind two sons, 13 grandchildren and a great-granddaughter. Following the viewing at the Harrison-Ross Mortuary, Rothchild will be laid to rest today ( Feb. 15th). "Suge Knight didn’t have to do this," said Marvin Rothchild, her youngest surviving son. "He could have just looked at the news, seen this as a tragedy and turned away. Instead, he has really helped our family. I appreciate what he’s doing, and I want to meet him, shake his hand and thank him." Knight also provided funds for the families of two innocent children murdered in Compton and Pomona and has also provided transportation to penitentiaries on Father’s Day for children to visit their incarcerated dads, given turkeys to hungry families on Thanksgiving and donated the money to completely rebuild a playground destroyed by arson at a Head Start school in Sacramento.