Tha Slumplordz release The Yakuza has been named as one of the best hip hop albums of 2000 by The San Francisco Bay Guardian. The full length LP, which was released in October, is the group’s first national release and second full-length offering. Other honorees include Dead Prez, Outkast, Blackalicious, Talib Kweli, and Dr. Dre among others. (Related link http://sfbg.com/noise/10/hiphop.html). The Slumplordz first came to prominence in early 1999, when they released their underground LP SunnMoonSekt. With references ranging from The New World Order to the Internet Revolution, and their introduction of the production style called Slump, the album was widely heralded as among the best underground releases in recent memory. As one writer described it, "The ‘Sekt’ venture forth lyrically from the urban here-and-now to the deepest Freudian recesses of the mind, on a magic carpet ride of beats and samples that make Portishead and Tricky sound like the Carpenters by comparison." A re-release of the album is expected from Stray Records early 2001. In a related announcement, Tha Slumplordz have joined the ever growing legion of San Francisco Bay Area artists who are protesting the exhorbitant rental fee hikes, which have accompanied the dot-com explosion of recent years. Billy Jam’s Hip Hop Slam in conjunction with Amoeba Music, 19 artists (including Tha Slumplordz), and various record labels, have released a compilation entitled Just Payin The Rent, to help shed light on a problem, which is quickly approaching critical mass. As penned by Hip Hop Slam’s Billy Jam: "Just Payin The Rent is pretty much the battle cry for each of the nineteen Indie artists on this compilation who, despite their radical range in musical styles, all share the struggle to just pay the rent and be able to create their art. The San Francisco Bay Area, where most of them reside, has felt the seemingly-overnight effects of the new dot-com economy which has escalated housing costs, changed demographics, and had a drastic effect on the local arts community." "Living in San Francisco is like living in a computer: everything is about the Internet," said the Pre-Teens’ Laura Davis. "People are being forced out because of the skyrocketing rents. Clubs are closing down and practice spaces are rare." Indeed a major blow was dealt when on October 1st, San Francisco’s Downtown Rehearsal building, where 500 bands of all types of music had rented spaces, were all evicted after the building was sold for a huge profit.  

After debuting on the Billboard Charts at number 2, only two weeks ago with The Saga Continues, P.Diddy is still in the news. He was in the studio earlier this month with the legendary David Bowie recording a remake to Bowie’s 1985 hit "This is Not America" for the "Training Day" soundtrack. The movie is an upcoming Denzel Washington flick where Washington is a cop schooling a rookie cop (Ethan Hawke) to the streets. Bowie is recording live vocals and Diddy is not relying so much on samples as he did when using Bowie’s track "Let’s Dance" for "Been Around the World" on his No Way Out debut disc. The soundtrack is to feature cuts by Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Trick Daddy, C-Murder, The Lox, Tupac and the Outlawz Gangstarr, Nelly, Cypress Hill, Pharoah Monch, The CD hits stores on September 11th while the movie hits theatres on September 21st. In other P. Diddy related news, he is joining Russell Simmons’ Hip Hop Summit Action Network, a product of last month’s Hip Hop Summit that took place in New York. Their first task on the agenda is to make sure that Hip Hop has fair political representation. Simmons, the Chairman of the Network will be speaking at the "Hip Hop and Political Empowerment Panel" at the Black Congressional Caucus on September 27th.

Russell Simmons, tired of hearing lawmakers diss Hip-Hop music, attended a meeting held by the Senate Government Affairs Committee yesterday. The meeting, which also included various representatives from different Genre’s of the entertainment field including the RIAA’s Hillary Rosen and MPAA’s Jack Valenti. Simmons requested a seat on one of the panels testifying before the committee, but was denied the seat by committee chairman, Sen. Joseph Lieberman. Lieberman said several times during the hearing he hadn’t been able to accommodate Simmons because the final lineup of witnesses had already been determined, yet video game industry representative Doug Lowenstein, was added as a witness late Tuesday. Simmons sat through 5 hours of testimony and then spoke out. “Some of the songs you find offensive are actually reflections of a reality that needs to be expressed,” he said. Lawmakers continuously brought up the often graphic nature of Hip-Hop, and Rosen had entered into the record some comments that Simmons had prepared. Simmons accused lawmakers of racial and cultural insensitivity. “Many of us feel that these hearings are really about us, and it would be better in our view to hear from us and speak to us directly before you pass judgment and deny our fundamental rights,” Simmons said. He continued by saying that Lawmakers and critics of Hip-Hop miss the message behind the profanity-laced lyrics, yet those same lyrics can also have a positive effect. "The plight of kids who live in Compton now is a lot clearer to the kids who live in Beverly Hills,” he told the panel. Other Senators objected to the thought that the meetings contained racial overtones. “The notion that this is racially targeted is not only invalid, but it hurts those of us who are trying to protect the First Amendment rights of artists,” said Sen. Fred Thompson, an actor and the committee’s senior Republican. Simmons clarified that he wasn’t trying to pull the race card during the meeting. “I’m saying that there’s a lack of understanding and cultural references,” he said. “There’s a lack of appreciation of the cultural forces. They’re more fearful of the black kids that came out of the ghetto.”

Killah Priest’s record release party turned deadly in Los Angeles yesterday morning, leaving one man dead, two wounded and another young woman fighting for her life. Priest, who was celebrating his record release party at The Century Club, was performing to a packed house. Around 2:20am the drama started. According to eye witnesses allhiphop interviewed, a huge brawl occured after the release party was over. "After it let out, about 2:20am, a huge fist fight broke out, like 25 to 30 n##### came out that van and attacked like 10 other n#####. The guys in the van was claiming Hoover Crips," said one man. "N##### just started dumping." "I mean, it was a big free for all dawg, they was stompin n#####," said another witness close to the event. The bullets came from a car at Little Santa Monica Boulevard and Century Park East just after 2:40 a.m., police said. According to Wu-Tang member Prodigal Sun, all of the Wu-Tang was fine and the altercation had nothing to do with any Wu-Tang member. The Los Angeles times reports that the club owner Mark Fitzgerald told the L.A. Times, “We will not be holding any more rap events here. These groups are very hard-core. They draw a clientele we don’t want.”

VH1 will take a look at the life and tragic death of Hip-Hop Icon, The Notorious B.I.G. in an upcoming "Behind The Music" special. The special, which will debut Sunday July 8th will focus on Biggie’s rise to fame and his unfortunate untimely death in a hail of gunfire in Los Angeles. The special features Puffy, Russell Simmons, journalists Dream Hampton and Rob Marriot, manger Mr. C., Faith Evans and Voletta Wallace. Those who knew Biggie Smalls best speak out on his tumultuous life — and still-unsolved murder — when VH1’s highest rated original series airs. When speaking to VH1 for the special, Faith Evans said "Something about him was very warm and cozy, you know, like my daddy. You know how some women call their man daddy? He was just that type of guy. Just very warm and caring and physical." Russell Poole, the gentleman that led the investigation and eventually helped uncover the biggest police scandal in United States history (The Rampart Scandal), and who eventually resigned from his post within the LAPD is a little more direct. "Clearly, the department covered this whole thing up, because to reveal that LAPD officers were involved in the killing of a superstar … it wouldn’t look good for the Los Angeles department."

Big Ed, former No Limit soldier, passed away yesterday in the hospital after a bout with cancer. Ed, who is survived by his wife and two children, was one of the last artists to leave No Limit for non-payment of royalties. Last Fall, Ed released his own solo album, Special Forces, through Select-O-Hits. "Ed was an extremely healthy human being–didn’t smoke, didn’t drink, was a vegetarian, and worked out everyday. He was the healthiest person I know, so we were all shocked by his passing," said a saddened KLC from Beats By The Pound (who now go by The Medicine Men), who was also at the hospital when Ed passed. Big Ed was preparing to release his album Caught In The Crossfire August 21st.

A drama loosely based Eminem temporarily called "Untitled Detroit Project," will begin shooting around Detroit in September. The flick, which is being produced by Imagine Films, focuses on Eminem going from local Hip-Hop artist to international recording star. The movie will be distributed by Universal Studios, who will open a production office in Detroit in August. Academy Award winning director Curtis Hanson, who directed "L.A. Confidential," amongst other films, has signed on board.The film could hit theaters as early as next summer, along with a soundtrack, with at least four new songs written by Eminem and Dr. Dre.

Eminem was granted his visa from the Australian government to perform, along with a strict message to respect the countries value and multicultural society. Lawmakers and other groups were opposed to allowing Eminem and D-12 into the country, claiming that his lyrics were violent and homophobic. The groups were attempting to ban Em on the grounds that his legal record, most of which he gathered this year, should keep him from coming into the country because of bad character. Immigration Minister Philip Ruddock said " The Visa carries with it a responsibility of respect for our multicultural society and values and the need to avoid vilifying or inciting discord."

DMX has been indicted by an Erie County grand jury on charges that he failed to show up at Cheektowaga town court, to serve his jail time for a traffic violation conviction last year. DMX, who was supposed to serve 15 days for driving without a license, was released in March after showing up 13 days late to begin serving his time, because he was finishing up promotional work for "Exit Wounds," in which he starred opposite Steven Segal. DMX is also facing felony assault charges in Alden after a scuffle with officers. According to charges, DMX became upset when authorities told him he had to stay the full duration of his sentence, due to his behavior while locked down. DMX responded to the news by throwing a food tray, which struck and bruised a correctional officer, resulting in a felony charge of assaulting a corrections officer. "He vehemently denies assaulting anyone." DMX’s lawyer Paul Cambria said.  

Puff Daddy is being sought by Miami police, for allegedly driving producer Dallas Austin’s Ferrari recklessly and evading police. According to sources, on June 9th, police spotted Puff driving a silver 2000 Ferrari and watched as he almost struck a pedestrian. As he pulled up to the Goldrush strip club, patrons scattered to avoid being hit. Combs then allegedly ran into the club abandoning Austin’s Ferrari. The police say Combs left the friend in the passenger seat, Jovar Andrews, who was arrested after police found a small amount of Marijuana in the car. Andrews attorney said that the weed did not belong to his client.

Beanie Sigel was picked up by Philadelphia police Friday and charged with assault, for attacking a man on Sigel Street, July 5th. 27 year old Sigel, allegedly used his Bentley to block a motorist from getting by a group of his friends. The motorist, Frank Ferrer 31, also of Philly was trying to pass when Sigel blocked Ferrer’s Ford pickup. When Ferrer got out of the truck, Sigel punched and kicked him. Ferrer was treated at a local hospital for a broken rib, an eye injury and a contusion. Sigel was charged with aggravated and simple assault.

Jadakiss, who is preparing to release his solo LP, Kiss The Game Goodbye, recently spoke to allhiphop’s Jigsaw in an upcoming issue of Mass Appeal Magazine. Kiss shed some light on the so-called beef between himself and Jay-Z, his relationship with The Lox and the future. "We’ll probably squeeze another LOX album out before the end of the year," Kiss said. "We just knew that we couldn’t stop. We forming Voltron. We probably got like 200 songs done." When asked about the alleged beef between himself and fellow star Jay-Z, Kiss just shrugged the whole matter off. "He just called me yesterday," Kiss said referring to Jigga. "He wants to sit down before it gets out of control. Let bygones be bygones. It ain’t even let bygones be bygones, because it was never nothing. We always f##### with hom’ so it was always love. The streets just blew it out of proportion," Jadakiss said. You can peep the full interview in the next issue of Mass Appeal magazine.

The International African Arts Festival celebrated its 30th Anniversary with a performance from Lauryn Hill on the 4th of July. With only an acoustic guitar, Lauryn sang and rapped for an attentive crowd that filled the outdoor baseball field in Brooklyn. "I used to try and look cute but now all I offer is reality," Lauryn said, "Don’t worry about my hair and my big belly." The multicultural crowd paid a mere $7 for the performance while the ex-Fugee usually charges about $50 per ticket. Singing for the crowd, Lauryn was often overcome with emotion and cried as she played, causing the crowd to cheer. Also, when Lauryn rhymed a bevy of politically charged rhymes (still while playing the guitar), she clearly demonstrated that her skills on the mic had not deteriorated one bit. Only when boyfriend and father of her 2 children Rohan Marley entered the stage due to sound difficulties, did a massive quiet come over the crowd. Marley allegedly cheated on Lauryn with her hairstylist and, because of it, she cut her dreadlocks off. Before leaving, the crowd cheered for the Hill to perform additional songs so as a treat, she performed a work in progress, pulling out a torn sheet of paper. No released date has been set for her next album.

Outkast, who recently launched their own clothing line, Outkast Clothing, has teamed with Canal Jean Outlet Center in New York City. July 16th the group will push their new clothing line and include a meet and greet with the artists. "Canal Jean Co. has always appealed to the fashion conscious consumers, it’s the perfect hope for our line of clothes," Big Boi said. "The fashion industry has trampled over conventional marketing strategies. Getting with the fans is what we are all about, the hip hop vibe and culture has roots here in Brooklyn." This will be a an opportunity to take a sneak peak at Canal Jean Co.’s new Brooklyn Store located at 2236 Nostrand Avenue at Flatbush Junction, Brooklyn, NY and Outkast’s fresh new line of clothing for this season. There will be a fashion show, autograph signing with the Hip Hop duo, live DJs and lots of giveaways from Canal Jean Co. and HOT 97. "Outkast is currently noted as hip-hop’s style icons," exclaims Ira Russak owner of Canal Jean Co. "Their celebrity line of clothing fits perfectly with our mix of up to the minute trends in style. When they offered to come to the store to meet fans and work with us to show off their new line of clothes, it was the perfect opportunity to share our new store."

Puffy, who just released his latest CD, P. Diddy and the Bad Boy Family: The Saga Continues, was slapped with a child support lawsuit as he was leaving the Regis & Kelly show. According to people present at the scene, Puff came out of the building and stopped to sign autographs for fans on West 67th Street. Caswell Bryan, the man who served Puff, posed as a fan. He stuck out a notebook appearing to ask for an autograph and stuck the papers in the CEO’s hand. Puff’s ex, Kim Porter is suing Puffy over more child support for their son, Christian. He currently pays out $7,000 a month now. Puffy listed all of his children as Executive Producers on the latest album. Kim Porter has raised money issues in the past with Puff Daddy, and recently was almost evicted from her Manhattan apartment for not paying back rent. She filed a paternity suit last month accusing Puff of cheating on Jennifer Lopez. According to the lawsuit, while Puff has aknowledge his role as father, she wants an order declaring him to be the boys "legal father," and more money. The suit demands 17 percent of his adjusted gross income, money for a full time live in nanny, summer camp money, after school program money, tutors, lessons and private school tuition. "He’s a great father and we’re working things out," Porter told the New York Post. "The procedures we’re going through are standard procedures, we just have to get everything signed, sealed and delivered with a court order."

On the final day of The 2nd Hip-Hop Summit, artists, executives and leaders from the African-American community said they would label sexually explicit and violent music, as well as posters and websites that promote it. Plans are also in the works to mentor young rappers and executives. A political group will be formed to address the issues of free speech and racial profiling. Hip-hop is one of the fastest-growing music genres in the United States, accounting for $1.84 billion in sales last year out of a $14.3 billion total for the U.S. recording industry, according to industry statistics. Despite its popularity, it has been attacked by politicians for violent, sexually explicit and misogynistic songs. Rappers and black record label producers voiced support for parental advisory guidelines on promotional materials, advertisements, CD covers and websites. The labels also said they would post the lyrics to objectional material on their websites. "We talked with Chuck D. and Harry Allen about forming some sort of coalition on the internet for Hip-Hop so that we don’t have to deal with the same issues the recording industry is going through," said allhiphop.com co-founder Greg Watkins. "If people act the way they did during the Summit once they are back in their normal life, there should be a lot of visible changes." "Rather than have the industry interpret the meaning of lyrics, let people read it themselves,” said Hilary Rosen, president and chief executive of the Recording Industry Association of America (news – web sites), which supports the labeling system. ”The music should speak for itself.” "We realize how much power we have, and we are prepared to use it in a positive way,” Puffy said. "We have grown from girls and boys into men and women. What you are witnessing right now is history.”

Brooklyn Born MC The Bad Seed, who nearly died as a child due to asthma, signed with Warner Brothers yesterday. The Bad Seed, who hails from Marcy Projects, the same New York City that brought Hip-Hop Jay-Z and Memphis Bleek, recently appeared on Funk Flex’s Vol.4, 60 Minutes Of Funk on the track "Uhhnnh." Speaking to allhiphop.com, Seed said "Its been a long time coming. I’m grateful for the opportunity for the world to hear my music." Seed was signed to Makin’ Records, where he formed O.B.S. (Original Blunted Soldiers) with labelmates Pumpkinhead and Meat Pie. After putting that project on hold, he dropped his single,”Grits,” during the summer of 1998. His debut LP, Inevitable, followed shortly after. The Bad Seed’s major label debut is set for a 2002 release date.