Roc-A-Fella CEO’s Jay-Z, Kareem “Biggs” Burke and Dame Dash announced that they have purchased imported Scottish liquor brand, Armadale Vodka. While the terms of the deal were not disclosed, Dash said the Roc-A-Fella heads were excited about the acquisition. “Roc-A-Fella has always respected quality vodkas, such as Belvedere and Grey Goose. Just like we do with all of our businesses we wanted to present a vodka that represented the best and we feel Armadale is of elite quality,” Dame Dash said in a statement to AllHipHop.com. Kareem “Biggs” Burke, the seldom seen third CEO, said the liquor would be marketed to everyone, not just hip-hop heads. “This is something that we think is going to break all barriers,” Burke said to AllHipHop.com. Burke said the 80-proof liquor would be the same quality that the organization has brought to its music and clothing. “People aren’t buying [our products] just for the name right now -they are buying it because its quality sh*t,” he said. “With our marketing power, they got with us. Everything that we touch we are eventually going to maximize right now.”The CEO said the liquor, previously available only in Scotland, would be distributed in New York, Miami and Los Angeles to begin with. Jay-Z has mentioned Armadale in songs like “All I Need” from the Blueprint album, his last release. Members of the Roc-A-Fella online team enjoyed Armadale at a retreat last weekend, according to reps for the company.

Grammy-nominated rapper Mystikal (Michael Tyler), along with two other men, were charged with aggravated rape and extortion, according to the Associated Press. All three men, including Leland Ellis, 36, and Vercy Carter, 34, turned themselves in to police on Thursday morning and were booked in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Thursday afternoon Mystikal was released on $250, 000 bond. If convicted, the charge of aggravated rape carries a mandatory life sentence. The police charge that the rapper raped a 40-year-old woman on July 3. According to reports, the alleged rape occurred because the victim accepted checks against the rapper’s bank account even though she knew he didn’t authorize them. The extortion charges stem from the rapper allegedly soliciting the woman for sex under the condition that he wouldn’t turn her into the police for her crime. When the woman appeared at the rapper’s home in Louisiana, she was threatened and forced to perform oral sex on him, police report. Tyler then called the two other men, Ellis and Carter, and told them to come over to the house, according to police. When Ellis and Carter arrived Tyler allegedly raped her as they watched. After the performer was done, they also allegedly raped and threatened the woman. “During the attacks, the victim was repeatedly threatened with prosecution and great bodily harm. The victim was allowed to leave the residence after the attacks. She was treated and released at a local hospital,” a police statement said. Neither Mystikal nor his record label, Jive, returned calls for comment. Since his 1995 debut, Mystikal has released seven albums. In the mid-90’s he was signed to Master P’s No Limit Records. Last year, he was nominated for a Grammy award with “Shake Ya A**.” His latest CD, Tarantula, has gone gold and yielded the hit, “Bouncin’ Back.” Mystikal is a guest star on the current Ludacris single “Move……” courtesy of BET.com

Dibiase, one of the point rappers in Jaz-O’s Immobilaire crew, has defected and fallen out with the leader Jaz-O. In the unnamed song circulating, Dibiase turns on his former crew member and lyrically tosses disses at the veteran rapper, who is already in a war of words with Jay-Z and the Roc-A-Fella crew. Dibiase is prominently featured on the King Kounty album. On the song Dibiase raps: I helped you Jaz-O/You spit in my face I gave you my last/ and you got the cash to prove it. In the song Dibiase accuses Jaz-O of attempting to woo 16-year-old girls and that Jaz-O betrayed everybody that was close to the veteran rapper. He also accuses Jaz-O of not paying most of the contributors on the Kingz County album, including DJ Premiere. Dibiasie further insults Jaz by claiming that Jaz couldn’t get a buzz so he tried to destroy Jay-Z. Immobilaire is a six person collective that signed to Rancore Records. They dropped their debut, Kingz Kounty, earlier this year.

According to Matador Records, the long awaited album by veteran producer Large Professor will finally hit shelves October 8. Titled 1st Class, the album features Nas, Q-Tip and Busta Rhymes. After several label changes that kept his solo album from being released 1st Class is the Large Professor’s first full album release since he dropped the 1991 classic, Breaking Atoms with his group, Main Source. Shortly after Breaking Atoms was released, Large Professor quit the group and focused on production. He has produced records for Tribe Called Quest, Busta Rhymes and two rappers he introduced on to the world on the same song "Live At The BBQ," which featured Queen’s NY rappers Akinyele and Nas.

Chicago producer NoID has inked a deal with Def Jam for his label, Face The Music. NoID has produced tracks for Common, Method Man, new Def Jam artist Diego & tracks for Jay-Z, which NoID said would be featured on Jigga’s album, or on an upcoming Roc-A-Fella Allstar album that is being recorded. The first act to drop on Face The Music will be female singer K.Fox. NoID described her album, "For Goodness Sake," as "Resurrection (Common’s classic second album) on steroids with a female Marvin Gaye singing." "K.Fox isn’t like this new neo-Soul music that is out now," This is hip-hop mixed with R&B the way it is meant to be done," NoID said confidently. NoID explained to AllHipHop.com why he choose to work with Def Jam. "Def Jam out bid the competition to get the label," NoID said. "I just wanna show them I am about my business & make it happen." And NoID appears to be handling his business. "I came to the table with 25 songs done for K. Fox’s album. I got real good points and I want to recoup. Also, I have never done a publishing deal in my whole career and now I have that on the table." NoID rose to fame with Common, after he produced most of Common’s early material. NoID revealed that while they haven’t worked together recently, they are still friends. "We are still good friends. It’s just that we are both moving in different directions," NoID said. K.Fox’s album For Goodness Sake hits stores later this year.

Ice T is executive producing and hosting a new series on TLC, "Beyond Tough." Ice, who served in the U.S. Army’s elite Ranger regiment, is executive producing the series with long time friend Andre Jetmir. The new show focuses on men and women who’s career’s put them in the path of danger and death everyday. "It’s about being able to go up against odds that other people will not," Ice-T says. "It’s a matter of who will persevere past the level of ‘I can’t do it," Ice-T said during the TV Critics Association press tour. The series premieres September 18th.

Lox member Styles P will serve an 8 month bid starting in November, for stabbing a man in the "backside," according to a published report in the New York Daily News. Style’s, who is known for his hard core lyrics, admitted that he is not looking forward to lockdown. "Who wants to go to jail? Jail sucks," he said. "You get treated like an animal." Styles said that he would put his time in prison to good use. "I’ll catch up on my reading, get in better physical shape, get some rest," he said. Styles first solo album, A Gangster and a Gentleman, is in stores now.

Veteran rapper Heavy D is putting the final touches on his 8th album, Hev. According to Heavy, the album unfinished album features Faith Evans, Loon and P.Diddy, while Heavy is locking down other guest appearances. The album will feature production by The Trackmasters, Tony Dofat, P.Diddy and Heavy D. himself. "I’m excited about everything that’s going on. My album will reflect where I am in my life and I’m in a real good place," Heavy told AllHipHop.com. Heavy also stated that he has been in the studio producing a track one of hip-hop’s biggest stars. I’m also in the studio producing a track for Jay-z, for new album." Outside of his recording career, Hev was recently tapped by P.Diddy to head the Big & Tall division of Diddy’s white hot clothing label, Sean John. In addition to this, Heavy has a recurring role on Fox’s TV series, "Boston Republic." "Life is good," an optimistic Heavy concluded.

Canada’s Choclair recently shot a video for his second single, "Skunk," off of his latest album, Memoirs Of Blake Savage. The single features Kurupt, who was also on hand for the video shoot, which was shot during Canada Day Weekend by Wendy Morgan. Morgan recently lensed Swollen Members award winning video, "Fuel Injected." The new single "Skunk" is an ode to Cannabis smoking, yet it contains references to the 9-11 terror attacks on the U.S. "[Skunk was recorded] on the 11th [of September] – the day everything happened," Choclair explains. "That’s why there’s a few references to it, ’cause it happened that same day. And it almost didn’t happen because we called and we were just tryin’ to see ‘is everybody cool to still do this?’ And they’re like, ‘yeah man, we gotta keep doing it!’ And definitely it was on people’s minds when we were recording but we still came up with the song. So that song will definitely always have a little bit of history in it because of when it was recorded and where it was recorded." The video for "Skunk" also features appearances from, Saukrates, Solitaire and Kardinall Offishall. Memoirs Of Blake Savage is in stores now.

The mother of Nas’ daughter has accused Jay-Z, Cam’ron and Russell Simmons of using the 7 year old as a pawn in Nas’ on going feuds. "Jay-Z, Cam’ron and Russell Simmons should be ashamed of promoting music which attacks innocent children," Carmen Bryan said Friday at a news conference in Harlem. Bryan called Jay-Z and Cam’ron cowards for the insults hurled at the 7 year old in raps geared at insulting Nas. The insults hurled at the child took an ugly turn when Cam’ron threatened to kidnap the girl and give her to R. Kelly as a sexual favor. Kelly has been charged with 21 counts of for allegedly having sex with a 14 year old. Charles Fisher, chairman and founder of the Hip-Hop Summit Council, told News Day the rivalry is an example of how negative hip-hop has become. Fisher said his organization has founded the Media Complaint Review Board and Artist Mediation Board, which will intervene as a neutral third party among rap artists, record executives and the public. Fisher defend Simmons, saying that the founder of Def Jam has nothing to do with the rivalry and that the burden of responsibility rests on Roc-A-Fella executives Damon Dash and Jay-Z, who control their own recordings. "I want to broker a peace between Jay-Z and Nas and set some rules and guidelines in the industry," Simmons said.

Suge Knight was hit with a $6 million dollar income tax bill that accrued while he was incarcerated in Mule Creek State Prison in Ione, California. Knight was serving a 9 year prison sentence for violation of his probation for getting involved in a fight with rival gang member Orlando Anderson, the night Tupac Shakur was gunned down in Las Vegas. According to Knight’s attorney, the IRS sent the multimillion dollar tax bill this week. The bill is in regard to taxes unpaid in 1997. The notice comes on the heels of Knight’s former lawyer, David Kenner, being sentenced to three years probation, after he admitted to hiding more than $4 million in earnings from the IRS. In January, Death Row also pleaded guilty to misdemeanor tax charges related to income tax evasion charges. "We don’t have the collateral information to evaluate this yet," Knight’s lawyer Arthur Barens told the LA Times. "It came as a surprise. Suge Knight absolutely pays his taxes. [Knight] is a hardworking citizen and meets all his responsibilities. He intends to respond. He plans to pay it." In related news, Suge commented on the recent incident at the BET Awards between he and Snoop Dogg. Knight claims he took a member of Outkast’s seat when the group went to accept their awards, because a woman was sitting in his. "It’s paranoia. I was by myself. You don’t see any of these guys rolling like me [alone]. Snoop had two rows of people — 20 guys afraid of one guy," Knight said. "He’s supposed to be a tough, street, gangster type and he’s acting like a coward. Snoop was ducking down in his seat like he was about to melt." Knight said that his attitude had changed since he had a stay in prison. "I was just glad to be watching the BET Awards live instead of on a 19-inch [prison] TV. I’m the one who’s happy." Knight also says he will release an album by N.I.N.A aka the late Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes next month and an album by Crooked I.

Dr. Dre’s Aftermath Entertainment is in settlement negotiations with the Calcutta, India based music and film conglomerate, Saregama India Limited. The settlement talks are based on an illegal sample used in Truth Hurt’s smash hit, “Addictive.” The song contains samples of an Indian movie soundtrack owned by the company. The original singer was also unlawfully used on the track, according to Dedra Davis, the attorney representing the Indian company. The track, which was produced by DJ Quik used portions of Hindi track “Thoda Resham Lagta Hai,” by Lata Mangeshkar. The song appeared in a popular Hindi movie, “Jyoti.” According to Davis, Dr. Dre’s legal counsel was contacted about the sample issue. The counsel responded that they didn’t know how to find the owner of the track, because the company had changed names several times. “Producers, if you are going to use someone else work, ask first,” Davis told AllHipHop.com. “If you can’t find them, don’t use the work. What is done in the dark, does come to light!”

Fat Joe was arrested Wednesday July 10 in conjunction with the alleged assault of a 31-year-old man, which took place at B.B. King’s in New York. Joe turned himself in after being on tour for the assault that took place early morning May 12. After apparently getting in a dispute with a member of Joe’s crew, the victim in the crime suffered a broken jaw, when the rapper allegedly punched him. Joe said he was innocent of the assault charges even though he was fingered in a lineup. Charged with one count of second-degree gang assault, Joe faces a maximum of 15 years in prison and possible civil suits from the victim. Fat Joe’s last album, J.O.S.E., achieved platinum status, a first for the rap vet.

Vita has decided to disassociate with Murder Inc, her label home of two years, Def Jam confirmed with AllHipHop.com. Representatives for Def Jam said that the rapper was not dropped, but “requested to leave and was allowed to.” Vita anticipated dropping her first full-length album, La Vita Dolce (“The Good Life”), later this year. In an interview at Urban Aid, Vita indicated to AllHipHop that she was content with the label and that patience was imperative to achieve a high level of success. Vita, who performed a duet with mega-star Ja Rule on “Put It on Me,” wanted write her own rhymes, but wasn’t allowed to according to Irv Gotti. “The chemistry was with me coming up with concepts and [Caddillac] Tah writing the hooks,” Gotti said to AllHipHop.com, “Or Ja coming up with concepts and writing the songs.” According to Gottie, Vita “spazzed out,” but “Charlie Baltimore lit a fire under her ass” and “she had a major refocus.” Originally Vita was signed to Murder Inc as a favor to Gotti’s long-term friend director Hype Williams, who like the way Vita could be projected in video. William featured Vita in a cameo in his feature, “Belly,” Gotti said. Vita was featured on two Murder Inc compilations; Irv Gotti Presents … the Inc and 2000’s Irv Gotti Presents The Murderers. “The Inc” debuted at number three on the Billboard album charts, selling more than 190,000 units in its first week. At press time, Vita had not signed to another label.

Juvenile has released a new underground CD on his label, UTP Records titled 600 Degreez. While Wayne and the Big Tymers maintained in interviews that there is no beef with former cash money artists, a freestyle Lil Wayne did over the beat from Camron’s "Oh boy" calls out Juvenile and proclaims that he’s glad he’s the only hot boy left. Juvenile’s response to the "Oh boy" freestyle appears on 600 Degreez. The scathing diss song "A Hoe" has UTP artist Skip and Juvenile rampaging on Lil Wayne. Skip’s rhymes: "How you pull a nerve to ever start dissin ni**az /When you were on BET straight kissin ni**AZ?" The hook on the song continues, saying "What kinda ni**a kiss another man? A hoe/ What kinda ni**ga needs his mama to hold his hand? A hoe/ What kinda ni**a wear tear drops and ain’t killed s###? A hoe/ Saying he a drug lord and ain’t deal s###? A hoe." 50 Cent and Noreaga make guest appearances on 600 Degreez. If you live outside of Louisiana you may have trouble finding the album. As of today, the album has limited distribution. Here is the tracklisting for Juvenile’s 600 Degreez: 01 Right Now 4:15 02 All About Money ft. Skip 4:40 03 On Your Own ft Skip 3:32 04 Holla At A Ni**a ft. Skip 3:21 05 Party ft Skip 4:13 06 With Me ft. Skip 3:55 07 Mind Ya Business ft Skip 3:49 08 Ride With Us 4:38 09 NY To NO ft Skip 50 Cent 3:44 10 Little Bit 3:27 11 Thug Ni**AZ ft Noreaga 3:42 12 Hope Yall Ready ft Playas Dynasty 4:16 13 Hustle ft Fyre Dank 4:11 14 You Ready 4:03 15 A Hoe (Lil Wayne Diss) featuring Skip 4:13

Ludacris and his DTP (Disturbing The Peace) crew are stated to drop their first full album, The Golden Grain. The group said the title is a metaphor for a particularly strong brand of alcohol. The group, consists of members Ludacris, Lil’ Fate, Tittyboy (formerly Tittybaby), J.C. and Shaunda, the female seen on "What’s Your Fantasy." Group member Lil’ Fate said the group is ready to explode on the scene after being on both of Ludacris’ multi-platinum albums. "We’ve been on both albums and we’ve been with Ludacris everywhere he’s been, so people have already been getting a DTP vibe from the get-go. They just didn’t know the faces with the voices. Now we’re just showing our personalities along with his and showing how it’s going to be a monster," Lil’ Fate told AllHipHop.com The group’s first single ", Growing Pains," will reflect on the group’s childhood and early days. Scarface, rap vet and head of Def Jam South, will appear on the song. Ludacris told AllHipHop.com, "This is for people who grew up in the 80’s playing Super Mario and Nintendo riding Big Wheels getting shags and tails in they head. It’s time for a song like that because nobody’s really represented that era right there and we think its perfect timing with that record." The groups shot the video for "Growing Pains" late last month in California.