(AllHipHop News) Rapper Drake has teamed with organizations Green The Block and The Hip-Hop Caucus to help promote a cleaner green environment. Drake is slated to perform tomorrow (June 13th) during the “Stop The Off Shore Drilling” rally being held at the 9:30 Club in Washington D.C. The partnership between Drake, Green The Block and The Hip-Hop Caucus started when the organizations joined Drake on his “Campus Consciousness Tour” and witnessed the rapper’s commitment to a green lifestyle first hand. Drake aims to educate fans about the importance of keeping the environment clean, especially in the wake of the BP oil disaster. “Every where you turn, pollution and poverty are hurting our communities,” Drake said. “We can change that. Going green is the solution. I’m green on my tour, I am greenin’ block and you can too. It’s easier than you think.”The collective will also protest BP and the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico which started on April 20th and has been leaking over 1 million gallons of oil into the Gulf per-day. So far, the leak has ruined vast stretches of coastal areas and marsh lands in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida. The Hip-Hop Caucus and Green The Block will protest the oil spill and the oil industry as a whole, on a new upcoming mixtape titled Stop Offshore Drilling!, which will be released tomorrow. Drake’s highly anticipated album Thank Me Later is due in stores on June 15th.

The highly delayed Dirty Money album has been pushed back once again, according to front man Sean “Diddy” Combs. Diddy made the revelation on the BBC’s Scott Mills show, stating the Last Train to Paris would now hit retail on September 20. The album was originally slated for September of 2009. The group couples Diddy with singers Dawn Richard of Danity Kane fame and Kalenna. Diddy has previously regarded the opus as an “electro-hip-hop-soul funk” album. A plethora of guests have been confirmed, including Justin Timberlake, Drake, Nicki Minaj, Lil Wayne, Rick Ross, T.I. and others.

(AllHipHop News) Nicki Minaj has been hit with a lawsuit over a pink Lamborghini featured in the video for her latest single “Massive Attack.” Nicki Minaj rented the Lambo from Hollywood Exotic Car Rental at the cost of $1,750 per day, to include the 2008 luxury vehicle in her video. According to a lawsuit filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court, someone caused $11,589.41 in damages to the  Lamborghini during the video shoot.Additionally, Nicki Minaj, who is signed to Lil Wayne’s Young Money imprint, is being accused of stiffing Hollywood Exotic Car Rental out of $5,250 for the three days she rented the car for the video. Hollywood Exotic Car Rental is suing the rapper for damaged property and rental charges, in addition to punitive damages. “Massive Attack” featuring Sean Garrett is Nicki Minaj’s first single from her upcoming major label debut.

(AllHipHop News) Cleveland, Ohio rapper Kid Cudi was arrested today (June 11th) in New York city and hit with criminal and drug charges. According to TMZ.com, the rapper went into a rage and smashed a 24-year-old woman’s cell phone, in addition to ripping her door off the hinges. When police arrived, they found a glass bottle containing a controlled substance and arrested Kid Cudi. He was charged with felony criminal mischief and possession of a controlled substance.

(AllHipHop News) As fans of The A-Team gear up for the movie’s debut tonight, Compton rapper Game expressed his frustration with the director’s choice of Quinton “Rampage” Jackson as the iconic figure “B.A. Baracus.”The Game was one of several rappers who expressed serious interest in playing the role of “B.A. Baracus,” the character made famous by Mr. T. Both Ice Cube and Common, two critically acclaimed rapper/actors, also wanted to play the role of “B.A. Baracus,” which is played by Jackson.Jackson had to adjust his schedule and wait until he finished shooting The A-Team, in order to square-off against longtime MMA rival  Rashad “Sugar” Evans. According to Game, Jackson lost his appeal as “B.A. Baracus” after he lost a decision to Evans during UFC 114 on May 29th, further proof that the role was meant for the Compton rapper. “He couldn’t  f**k with me. No disrespect to Rampage, but my dude Rashad Evans whupped that a**,” Game told AllHipHop.com. “When he had that UFC fight against Rashad Evans and he lost, I felt like that was me [winning]. ‘Don’t you know n***a? I play Mr. T (A-Team character ‘B.A. Baracus’) better than you! I pity the fool!’ I went in there [the audition] and I killed the Mr. T role on my screen test.”The A-Team was directed by Joe Carnahan (Narc, Smokin’ Aces) and stars Liam Neeson as “Hannibal,” Bradley Cooper as “Face,” Sharlto Copely as “Murdock” and Quinton Jackson as “B.A. Baracus.”The movie is a prequel to the television show, and updated to reveal how the group of Rangers crossed paths in Mexico and Iraq, before they became a special crime fighting unit known as The A-Team. According to Game, he had the role in the bag until he went on a tour of Europe, which meant a trainer associated with the production of the movie would have had to follow the rapper during his jaunt overseas. The scheduling conflict led the producers to go with Jackson over Game and several other candidates that also included rapper/singer Tyrese Gibson and 50 Cent’s European bodyguard Tiny Iron, who holds the record for the biggest biceps in Britain. “They were going to have to fly a trainer overseas to get me right,” Game told AllHipHop.com. “They didn’t want to do that and Rampage was available so they went with him. I ain’t looking forward to seeing Rampage as Mr. T. Maybe now they can redo it and put Rashad in there, because – I don’t know. After you get your a** kicked, I don’t know if you can play Mr. T. He got his a** kicked.”The A-Team opens in theaters nationwide today (June 11th). video platformvideo managementvideo solutionsvideo player

(AllHipHop News) Rapper LL Cool J continues to make strides in the digital arena, through a new deal between iTunes and his artist-friendly website, BoomDizzle.com. BoomDizzle Networks has launched the “Want2BFamous?” package that allows the artists in the BoomDizzle.com community to upload their music directly to iTunes under LL’s BoomDizzle’s label. Each week the artist with the highest number of tracks sold will receive premium placement throughout BoomDizzle.com, the company’s affiliates and over 50,000 tastemakers worldwide. “This is an amazing opportunity for new and independent artists to have their music instantly heard and purchased by fans worldwide,” BoomDizzle.com’s founder LL Cool J told AllHipHop.com. “I want to give every aspiring artist the chance to achieve their dreams.  Everyone deserves a shot at greatness, and the Want2BFamous package gives them that shot.” BoomDizzle.com is LL Cool’s social networking platform that connects new artists and allows them to collaborate, produce and sell their own music, from the site. LL Cool J also announced the signing of Luther “Squeak” Jackson, a community member who is the first artist on the imprint. Within months of signing his deal, his single “My Dreams” was covered by popular Korean boy band Super Junior, who sold 44,000 copies on the day their album hit stores. The album is now approaching double platinum status. “As the first BoomDizzle artist, I am amazed at the success of my song. I know all aspiring artists and fans can appreciate a platform like BoomDizzle giving them an outlet to get their music heard,” said Jackson.  “BoomDizzle is changing the way music is created, promoted, and distributed,” LL continued. “Our mission is to continue to provide worldwide exposure to the next generation of talented artists. I want my creative torch to light theirs.”For more information log on to http://www.boomdizzle.com/want2bfamous

(AllHipHop News) The feud between rappers Lil Kim and Nicki Minaj intensified last night (June 10th), when Lil Kim made a surprise appearance at a local Detroit club to address the matter. Lil Kim performed a variety of her hits during a show at a club named Blondie’s when she addressed Nicki Minaj, whom she claims has ripped off her style. With the help of a back up dancer, Lil Kim put on a blonde bob-weave.“Yall know where this came from. I love when people copy me, that’s a compliment. But when you bust shots at me and throw pebbles at me like as if I don’t even exist and you don’t see me standing here, I’ma bite you. I’ma bite you,” Lil Kim promised, before launching into her hit single “Crush on You.”In published interviews, Lil Kim has denied being the aggressor in the escalating war of words between herself and Nicki Minaj, who is now being managed by Kim’s former mentor, Sean “Diddy” Combs. Lil Kim claims that Nicki Minaj has been taking subliminal shots at her over the last year, during interviews and on various records. She also took issue with Nicki Minaj remaking her famous posters promoting her album Hard Core in addition to rhyming over Lil Kim’s songs, early in her career.Additionally, in an interview with Thisis50.com, Lil Kim pointed to a tweet where Nicki Minaj said “f**k all the Lil Kim fans.” Nicki Minaj’s label mate Drake recently took up for her during an interview with MTV earlier this week. “Lil’ Kim is a G in the game. She’s part of an era that’s classic, that we’ll never forget as young kids, me and Nicki,” Drake said, adding that he didn’t respect Lil Kim’s “beef” approach to her issue with Nicki Minaj.Lil Kim shot down Drake’s explanation, pointing to Nicki Minaj’s unprovoked insults, in addition to a backstage incident in which she slighted the rapper, similar to an incident involving Hip-Hop legend Eric B..“I don’t go off for no f**king reason, aight,” Lil Kim told the crowd. “If I go off, it’s a reason behind it. I spread love and I love my ladies. And I love for us to get along in the game. But you not gonna come in this game and s**t on me and take my s**t and run with the s**t. And I’m gonna tell these motherf**kers. I’m ready cause I hope they ready.In related news, Lil Kim was recently named the spokes model for the Purple label 3 Olive Vodka and is part of the “Purple” advertising campaign. Lil Kim is currently on a promotional tour across the United States this month, followed by dates in Canada, as well as Australia in July.

The Black Eyed Peas, K’Naan, Alicia Keys and Shakira were among the international artists who performed in front of 34,000 people in Soweto, South Africa, to kick-off the World Cup. This year is the first time The World Cup is being held on the African continent. To celebrate the event, fans from across the world packed the Orlando Stadium. “On behalf of the government and people of South Africa, it is my great honour to welcome the teams, soccer fans, tourists and the entire football fraternity to our beautiful country South Africa,” President Jacob Zuma said in a statement. “We are truly pleased and humbled to host the world in our country for this historical and extra-ordinary event.”K’Naan performed the official “Wavin’ Flag (The Celebration Mix),” which is the anthem for the entire advertising campaign between FIFA and Coca-Cola.The Black Eyed Peas electrified the crowd with “I Gotta Feeling (Tonight’s Gonna Be a Good Night).” “We came here in the name of love for South Africa, for the World Cup and South Africa,” said will.I.am as the group launched into their song “I Gotta Feeling.”Alicia Keys performed an acoustic version of “Empire State of Mind,” while other artists like Lira, Hugh Masekela, BLK JKS, John Legend, Shakira an others performed. “As South Africans we are proud to be hosting the first ever World Cup on African soil,” said legendary trumpeter Hugh Masekela.Millions of people watched the concert, which was broadcast live on SABC 1Proceeds from the concert will be donated to the World Cup’s 20 Centres for 2010. The social organization is dedicated to positive change throughout Africa and is raising funds to build 20 facilities across the African continent to provide training, healthcare options and soccer instruction.