This week’s Footage Fa Dayz features Cash Money Records’ CEO’s Ronald “Slim” Williams and his brother, Bryan “Baby” Williams.   The year was 1999 and this was one of the first major tours of the Detroit area for the Cash Money crew, who are featured backstage at the State Theater.   The host, Champtown, talked to the young rap CEO’s just before they took to the stage. Baby’s words make one realize just how long they have been releasing their brand of New Orleans Hip-Hop.   “We got eight years in the game already,” Baby said in 1999. “Independent we was the biggest to ever come out. We are already living legends.”   Baby also confirms in the interview that fellow New Orleans rapper/CEO Master P blocked a deal the brother’s almost signed with Priority.   “That was a situation that happened. Priority wanted to bring us over there. It wasn’ t that we was trying to sign with Priority, but when P found that out, he was like if they come we gonna kite. We wasn’t trippin I know the old n***a and we still aint trippin. I aint sweatin what the next n***a do, period.”   Baby is currently on the America’s Most Wanted Tour with Cash Money/Young Money artists Lil Wayne, Drake, Nicki Minaj, Jae Millz and others.   Young Jeezy and Soulja Boy are also on the tour. video platformvideo managementvideo solutionsfree video player

There have been rumors and gossip, and one-sided interviews but finally, Princess, one of the female members of Crime Mob is ready to speak. With her new mix tape Dirty Pop Princess released and giving her the independence she deserves, she can finally spread her colorful wings. It seemed as though drama simply followed the members of Crime Mob through the years. However, Princess is hoping to move past that, and is growing up from the past experiences. Although she’s got a new movement, she’s still has a foot in the past too. In this interview, he engages the here and now, the past and the future. That’s her music. [Editor’s Note: to read Diamond’s recent interview, click here.] AllHipHop.com: How did you first become involved with rap? Princess: My brother started rapping and he would write it down on paper. I was always good with memorization. So he would rap around the house without writing it down and then be like “ damn what did I say?” I could remember the rap for him. He started helping me with raps and telling me how to say certain things and it became a passion for me. AllHipHop.com: So you started off with your brother writing your raps for you? Princess: To prove myself my brother wrote a couple of raps for me. I caught on so easily. I started rapping at about 15. I started writing my own stuff the next year. AllHipHop.com: How did you meet the members of Crime Mob? Princess: The group was already together. Some of the members ended up recording at our house. I told my brother I wanted to rap and I had to audition. My brother started out helping me with my raps and I got in and was the first and only female in the group. I started writing my own rhymes. AllHipHop.com: At that point who was in the group? Princess: Honestly, everybody was in Crime Mob. My Brother, Psycho Black, ….. We had a lot of homeboys who were affiliated with us but I was the first girl. AllHipHop.com: How old are you? Princess: I’m 22. AllHipHop.com: You’re so young. Princess: I’m grown! (laughs) Being in the industry makes your older mentally. AllHipHop.com: Ok, you’re grown. (laughs) You come together, and everything is cool. You have the smash hit with “Rock Your Hips“. You are at the pinnacle of your career. Why did you guys break up? Princess: (sighs) Oh Lord. AllHipHop.com: (laughs) She sighs. Princess: Honestly and I’m going to stress honestly because there has not been a lot of honesty. We were young and we always had our problems but the music is what brought us together. When we started out everybody wasn’t making the same amount and that started affecting our music. Everybody gets paid off what you do. The first album was recorded in two weeks. It was basically recorded at my parents house. After the album comes out we started getting checks. We see so and so gets this amount for a hook. This person gets this amount for a beat. People were trying to make sure they were on every song. But there is no way that everybody can be on every song. It wasn’t about quality it started being about quantity and that’s never good. We grew apart. People started having their own agendas. The group shows started slowing down. We started doing shows individually. That was a big thing if one person got a show and another didn’t then that became a big thing. If you don’t want to do a show then that is one you! If you only want to do group shows then that’s you. If the group isn’t working I’m still going to be working. AllHipHop.com: Sounds like it was jealousy towards other people having more individual success. Princess: I wouldn’t say jealousy cause it’s a strong word but it really was. It hurts me to think that it was like that because we all came up together. If I was doing something I let everybody know I was doing it. If you did not want to do it then that is fine but I’m still doing it. When you go behind the groups back to do something totally different then something isn’t right with that. AllHipHop.com: Who went behind who’s back? Princess: It was bigger than doing shows. The biggest thing was the whole thing with Diamond. People don’t understand how deep it goes. It wasn’t just a beef. It was disrespect. We were supposed to have a group album with just the boys, then me and her do an album , and then everybody do whatever they want to do, after that we come back and do a group album and be finished with our contract in 2 years. She switched managers which I knew about because she asked me did I want to change managers and I said she can do her own thing as far as management. She took that and ran with it. We did not know about it till right before the Dirty Awards. She was nominated for Southern Chick Of The Year. Crime Mob was nominated for Best Group. Either way it was a win for the group. We are at the Dirty Awards not the Grammy’s. AllHipHop.com: Is it true that you guys kicked her out the group for her not allowing you to go on stage with her? Princess: The truth is that she told somebody who was close to the group that it was going to be a big surprise at the Dirty Awards. She had already planned all this. She set her chips up the day before. We was like she wants to walk the red carpet by herself then let her do it. She had already separated herself. Scrappy announced that she had a solo project at the awards. So that doesn’t make sense if we had just kicked her out five hours earlier. Why would […]

Former Snoop Dogg affiliate Tray Deee currently resides in the California Men’s Colony State Prison in San Luis Obispo, CA.  In 2005, the West Coast artist was hit with an “up to” 12-year sentence for attemped murder. Presently, his earliest possible release his in 2013, although he could be freed sooner due to jail overcrowding and budget problems. His career didn’t start in Colony State Prison and, if he has his way, it won’t end there either. The Long Beach rapper, better known to his family as Tracy Davis, brought his unique sound, style and flow of hard-core gangster rap to the Hip-Hop world in the middle of the 90’s. Introduced by Snoop Dogg on the song “21 Jump Street” off of the Murder Was The Case soundtrack, Tray parlayed that in to further guest features on the Death Row albums label such as Dogg Food, The Dogg Father, Glidlock’d Soundtrack, and Gang Related Soundtrack. Tray Deee was also previously a member of The LBC Crew which had a successful single off of the Thin Line Between Love And Hate soundtrack called “Beware of my Crew.” In 2000, Tray teamed up with Snoop Dogg and Goldie Loc to form Tha Eastsidaz which was in honor of the area they hailed from, the Eastside of Long Beach. Through Snoop Dogg’s label Doggystyle Records and with the distribution help from TVT Records, Tha Eastsidaz released their platinum selling debut, Snoop Dogg Presents Tha Eastsidaz, propelled by the DJ Battlecat produced single “G’d Up.”  Tha Eastsidaz appeared on Snoop Dogg’s The Last Meal LP and then went on to release their sophomore album, Duces N Trayz: The Old Fashioned Way.  Not long after that release trouble ensued for the group as money disputes arose between the members.  Tray Deee claimed that he and Goldie Loc were not receiving their legal share of the group’s money and the group was then disbanded despite an unofficial street release of a project the group recorded called Khaki’s N Chucks. Before the troubles between the group members could be resolved, Tray Deee was convicted of the aforementioned  attempted murder charge.AllHipHop.com reached out to the West Coast veteran to update the Hip-Hop world on his well being, thoughts and current status.  Much has changed with the O.G.   AllHipHop.com: First off, can you please let us and your fans know how you are currently doing? Tray Deee:  All praise be to Allah, I’m solid. My health is firm, my stamina is formidable, my focus is sharp, and my spirit is serene. AllHipHop.com:  What are you doing to maintain yourself during your incarceration? Tray Deee: My program is laid back but disciplined. I keep my circle small and circumnavigate all stagnative, non-productive issues. I go to work at the canteen warehouse at 7:45 a.m. and miss the yard until I get off 3:45 p.m. – which is yard recall for count time. I squeeze in some physical fitness, shower, and play chess or write a letter until it’s time to call it a night. I collaborate with various individuals on diverse projects to maintain an influx of capital, and a small number of homies and friends chunk me a bone every now and again to make sure I ain’t scufflin’ and wanting for nothing. Good lookin’ out y’all! AllHipHop.com: Word has it that you no longer associate yourself with your former Eastsidaz group-mates Snoop Dogg and Goldie Loc. Is that true? Tray Deee: Essentially, although about 5 or 6 weeks ago, I finally enjoyed a warm conversation with Snoop Dogg after over 5 years of no communication whatsoever. We agreed to let the past go like water under the proverbial bridge and we even shared a few genuine laughs. We still have some existing financial discrepancies left to resolve and from our roughly 10 minute conversation, I could not gauge whether or not he is yet prepared to face that reality. Honestly, I once cared for the dude like the little brother that I never had. So, while I detest the circumstances which led to our dissolution and resulting enmity, I can’t proclaim any lingering hatred for Snoop because my love for him was authentic. Insha-Allah which means “God-willing”, everything will work out for the best in due time.   Now Goldie Loc, he has never exhibited any degree of loyalty toward me. When our contractual abuse was uncovered by our then manager, I instructed Goldie that the only chance we had at rectifying the situation is if we stood unified, but he continued to run behind Snoop which caused me to appear as the trouble-maker/bad guy. The few times I’ve managed to speak with him since my incarceration, he’s been evasive or outright lied to me. AllHipHop.com: Is it possible to ever reunite with Snoop Dogg or Goldie Loc once you are released from Prison? Tray Deee: I would hope that Snoop Dogg and I could recapture that vibe that we once shared, and salvage the wonderful history that we created. It’s his call at this point. Barring some extraordinary events transpiring between now and my release, I have no interest of f***in’ with Goldie Loc ever again – except to be compensated by him for prominently featured on his C.D. “My personal pedigree and the environment that I come from is the foundation of gangsterism.  Pushin’ a G-Line for me was as natural as a Norwegian becoming a fisherman, or someone born and raised in Salt Lake City, Utah being a Mormon.”-Tray Deee AllHipHop.com: Are there any other artists that you still associate yourself with? Tray Deee: Coniyac, formerly of Doggy’s Angels, is my fiancée’ and she has been my backbone through this whole ordeal. 40 Glocc has been loyal and dependable from day one as well. Fredwreck, West Coast producer and current host of MTV Arabia, stays in touch as does another bomb West Coast producer by the name of Scratch. The Lady of Rage used to write me and so did Ms. Toi. I’ve received one […]

It is almost that time. Time for another Jay-Z album.Jay-Z was in the UK to begin the finally approach to deliver the final installment of the Blueprint trilogy. Not only did he record several tracks in the UK, but he was interviewed by DJ Semtex, one of the most popular spin doctors across the pond. Semtex got the goods from Jay. Shockingly, the Roc commander-in-chief didn’t rule out a response for “The Takeover 2.0,” as a response to The Game in the interview. He also mentions his favorite websites (hint, hint) as well as his reluctance to start a person site, like Kanye West’s. But, most importantly, Jay-Z granted Semtex a deep, introspective look into his mind, his ways and even the keys to his tremendous success. Listen to this one! Props to DJSemtex.com and Jay-Z video platformvideo managementvideo solutionsfree video player

Lyrical warfare alone rarely captures the public’s imagination. It’s a cold fact that many talented albeit one-dimensional lyricists have had to learn over the course of their careers. But destiny may have a different fate for Royce da 5’9. Instead of regressing, the Detroit native’s work has continuously improved since making his major label debut with 2002’s Rock City. Now with the buzz-heavy Slaughterhouse project dropping next month, and long-anticipated DJ Premier executive-produced LP (Street Hop) coming in September, Royce da 5’9 is primed to make his most concerted effort towards mainstream acceptance.  AllHipHop.com: Congratulations on getting the Street Hop album ready, I know you’ve been working on it for the last few years. It’s been about 4 years since your last full length LP, Independent’s Day. How has your mentality differed in approaching this album as opposed to the last 3?  Royce: I just stepped it up. I’m proud to say I’ve actually gotten better over the last 4 years. It’s scary the sh*t I’m coming up with, because I hope I’m not peaking out at this age. But I’m not that old, and I’m looking at what Jay-Z is doing [and] I’m thinking I have a lot of good years left. But I’m definitely at the top of my game right now; I can compete with the best of them.  AllHipHop.com: You’re working with DJ Premier again, and you guys have been collaborating heavily over the last couple years. When you work with someone regularly you pick up a lot of their quirks and routines which enables you to work together better. Talk about the chemistry you have with Premier in relation to the other producers you’ve been working with.  Royce: You know what? I have the same chemistry with a lot of producers that I have with Premier. It’s just something about when me and Preme finish something. Because of his legendary status, and what I’m doing to his beats, fans just want to hear more. We got chemistry as friends, so when we get in the studio it’s really simple and nothing extra that we have to do. It happens to just work out every time. It’s us being really comfortable around each other in the studio because we’re cool.  Sometimes you’ll meet a producer, y’all are working that day, and you may not really like him. You might think he’s the most talented mother**ker in the world, but also think he’s a jackass. It’s about vibing with the person for me. Unless it’s somebody just giving you some many ideas, but I don’t think I really need that. The last person I got in the studio with producer-wise that was like “yo, you should rhyme it like this, this is the hook,” was Pharrell. And I liked him as a person as well. It was a good chemistry with us and I trusted his judgment and we came up with a lot of good records. But I was a kid back then. If I got in with him now, we’d do some monumental sh*t.  AllHipHop.com: I remember you originally announcing Street Hop a little over 2 year ago, with the lead-off track of the same name with the Nas “Made You Look” sample. Is all the material for the album new or did you include some of the older tracks from previous years?  Royce: That’s another thing that prolonged it. The body of work that I had for those years was leaked out. So I was forced to go back in and start from scratch. I kept the same album title but did all new records. I don’t have anything old.  AllHipHop.com: All the Slaughterhouse members are expected to drop EPs this month, with yours being the first. This is extensive promotion for just one album, so would you say this is the biggest media campaign you’ve personally ever been a part of?  Royce: Yes it is, and that because it’s the one I’ve been most involved in. Normally in the past I would do a project and hand it over to the label and say “ok, y’all do your thing.” I’m very involved with the media campaign of it, and also getting together with the guys and trying to make this work for our solo careers as well as the group. The beauty of it is we all have our respective careers. We don’t want to get in a group and just be looked at as group members. We’re all sitting on monster sh*t as solo artists. We want to strategically put ‘em up out to where we’re controlling a part of the music business for a certain amount of time… It’s very possible. We’re all sitting on a lot of material, and have the outlets to put it out. It’s a powerful movement.  AllHipHop.com: From the outside a lot of people would assume Joe Budden is the de-facto leader of the group. But in the studio I’m sure it’s a lot different from the public perception. So when you guys are working and throwing ideas back and forth, is there anyone is particular that takes the lead as far as selecting rhyme order, or does everyone maintain equal input?  Royce: As far as the order, it’s never an issue. We never say “yo, you should go first.” Normally whoever finishes writing first goes in the booth. The guys trust my judgment creatively. Where we are in our careers, I probably have the most history in terms of experience in making albums. So I think they look to me since I’m a big brother to Joell and Joey, and me and Crooked are so much alike it doesn’t matter if it’s me or him that takes the lead. Rhyme for rhyme he’s going to do him, and no one can f**k with that. I think one of my strengths is making albums and songs, and we were really focused on making songs. Verse for verse we’re always going to have that. But in terms […]

In AllHipHop’s exclusive pair of interviews with Alfamega (click her for Part 1, Part 2), the rapper commented heavily on his relationship with T.I. As a member of Grand Hustle, Alfamega was instrumental in keeping the crew powerful on a street level. Now, on his own, Alfamega has decided to write a letter to his former friend and boss. See it below and offer your comments. Click on the images to read the letter.

Ok Beat-Making family. Thanks for all of your submissions. We received enough emails in the box to bang out about 10 classic albums. Let’s all be great sports and appreciate the participants in today’s Beat Melee. If you didn’t get your heat up, maybe next week you’ll torch up the reigning champion.   But in the spirit of competition, somebody has to be chosen, somebody has to win. Narrowing the overall field to only two producers was very difficult. There were many that fit the criteria set forth to be in the top two.   This week’s winner will move on to face another challenger next week. Good luck!   Contestant #1   Name: Underground Lab Productionz   Where you are from: Gainesville, GA   Who is your favorite producer: RZA, Mannie, Curtis Mayfield, and Larry Smith(to name a few)   A description of your style of music: Hip Hop, R&B, Pop, Rock   The best way for someone to contact you:   Underground Lab Productionz   DJ Cube/CEO   ulabpro8@gmail.com   http://www.myspace.com/undergroundlabproductionz   King Philip/President   kingphilip2000@gmail.com   http://www.myspace.com/kingphilipulp   “ULB Track 1”:     “ULB Track 2”:     “ULB Track 3”:     Contestant #2   Name: Denada   Where you are from: Los Angeles/ Currently in Birmingham Alabama   Who is your favorite producer: DJ Premier, Rza, Madlib, Pete Rock, Large Professor, Dilla, Flying Lotus, The Beatnuts, Beatminerz….etc   A description of your style of music: Some head nod s**t   The best way for someone to contact you: email — suazeone@yahoo.com ……….   “SUNDAY MORNING” :     “ALONG THE NILE”:     “UNTITLED”:     Use the poll to vote for your favorite producer of the week, but also don’t forget to drop a comment to explain the thought process behind your vote.   Log onto BeatDynasty.com for the latest in production news, interviews, and tech articles.  VOTE!    

In this vintage clip, AllHipHop.com and Footage Fa Dayz brings you veteran rapper Ice Cube.   This 5:11 clip was taken in 1998, as Ice Cube was touring the country as part of the Family Values tour.   This was the first year for the Family Values Tour, which was created by members of the Rock group Korn. The Family Values Tour featured Limp Bizkit, Ice Cube Incubus, Orgy and Rammstein.   In October, Cube was replaced with Incubus, as the multi-talented rapper/director was just starting work on Next Friday, the sequel to his blockbuster flick Friday.   In this episode, Ice Cube was caught on the streets of Chicago at 3:00 am, shortly after wrapping up a successful concert.   “We weren’t really interested in making history, we were just putting it down,” Cube said of his involvement with NWA, one of rap’s most famous and enduring groups. “NWA is like the start of all of this.”   Interesting to watch Cube puff a cigar, as he explains the origins of NWA on the street.   Ice Cube also explained what happened after his split with NWA.   “I couldn’t work with Dre and he was the best producer on the West coast. I figured since I couldn’t work with the best producer on the West coast, I need to work with the best producers on the East coast. At the time Bomb Squad was the one. Me and Chuck D. are still cool to this day. Amerikkka’s Most Wanted is the product and I am real proud of that album. My first album, back against the wall and it came out tight.”   Ice Cube is still making moves, as his flick Are We There Yet? has been turned into a TV series that will debut on TBS in June of 2010.    video platformvideo managementvideo solutionsfree video player

You may or may not know who Riggs Morales is, but he’s one of the most influential people in the music game. The New York native got started in the music business at The Source magazine in the 90’s, where he went from an internship to a music editor. He was the first person to introduce Eminem to the world when he wrote about him for the mag’s coveted “Unsigned Hype” section in 1997. Since, Eminem has launched into the heavens as one of the greatest, most contentious artists ever.   His relationship to Eminem may get him accolades, but Riggs he’s just as significant for his extensive history with managing producers like Alchemist, Fred Wreck, Lord Finesse, Domingo, Dame Grease and many others though Shady. His ability to point out talent is wide-ranging so AllHipHop felt the need to get his Top 5 Dead or Alive Producers and make it official.   Here’s his Top 5 Dead or Alive Producers and it’s quite a potent list.   video platform video management video solutions free video player  

A crowd exciter, a visionary writer and one of the most influential rappers for over two decades, KRS-One, took the Hip-Hop scene by storm in 1987 with partner DJ Scott La Rock and hasn’t looked back since. He’s crafted 20 albums and dropped gems on nearly innumerable guest appearances. While he has battled fellow rappers, he has also identified problems and built solutions through song and deed. There isn’t an area of Hip-Hop that hasn’t been redefined by KRS-One (Knowledge Reigns Supreme Over Nearly Every One). The Blast Master continues to do what he does best. In this candid sit down, the legendary rapper discusses his career, books, Barack Obama, and his vow to the music of the 90’s. AllHipHop.com: What do you think about Barack Obama being President? KRS-One: I think he’s doing a great job. I think he’s doing an excellent job right now. Here’s why I say he’s doing an excellent job, because he inherited a huge problem from previous administrations with and just spending seven trillion dollars, they somewhere in the back room just printing money. Money is not backed by gold anymore. It ain’t even backed by credit anymore. They just in the back room printing that money. He ran on change. Barack said, “Yo. When I’m in office, thing’s gonna change.” Everybody said, “Yeahhhh.” Now it’s changing. Everybody is like, “Ughhhh. We don’t want it to change.” Especially the Conservatives and the Republicans are having a real hard time with the change. Now, me, I am Hip-Hop. Here’s a controversial piece right here. I’m not afraid of a New World Order because Hip-Hop is already global. When they have a new world order, we got ourselves a true new world order. Hip-Hop has been immune to all of that, we’re recession proof, we’re a new world order proof, FBI proof, CIA proof, counter intelligence proof, because we realize you limit yourself by calling yourself this or that. We will call ourselves Hip-Hop and we will limit ourselves to that but that is universal. I am consciousness. I’m not this, this is me? This brown skin, c’mon, that’s not me. I’m so far beyond this room right now. Right now when I speak to you, I’m practicing my rhymes. AllHipHop.com: Tell us about your origins and evolution as an emcee. What are your earliest memories with music and when did you begin rapping? KRS-One: My earliest recollection as an emcee was when I was born. AllHipHop.com: What drives you to make music? KRS-One: Two things. One, my sense of spirituality. My duty to Hip-Hop and then art. I’m an artist. I like art. Hip-Hop is wonderful right now. Rap music is what’s having a little trouble because so many artists base their careers on selling a CD, a record or a cassette, selling a DVD, they weren’t really an emcee, they were music merchants. -KRS-One AllHipHop.com: What do you think about the state of Hip-Hop now? KRS-One: Remember you’re talking to the orthodox so when you say Hip-Hop… Hip-Hop is wonderful right now. Rap music is what’s having a little trouble because so many artists base their careers on selling a CD, a record or a cassette, selling a DVD, they weren’t really an emcee, they were music merchants. They entered the game like my meaning of my success is how much I’ve sold and so much of rap became that. But us emcees, we don’t care how much we sell. Who cares? I gotta do this when I wake up in the morning, when I go to sleep at night. It’s part of the air that I breathe. Hip hop is doing fine, breaking, emceeing, DJing, graffiti writing, beatboxing, the fashion, language, knowledge, that’s all doing fine. That is expanding. AllHipHop.com: Is there anybody that you want to work with that you haven’t worked with yet? KRS-One: There’s a whole bunch of people. I like to work with Gil Scott Heron, I say that because I think I’m going to get a chance, I mean, I want to work with everybody. I’d like to work with Bill Clinton. He’s an artist, forget the political side, drag that sax out. Let’s get that sax played over a track and we get it in. AllHipHop.com: What are your favorite books that you’ve read and how much has those books played a part in your lyrical execution? KRS-One: Lyrical execution. Let’s start with the battles. Lyrical murder. First of all, you have to go with The Art of War, all philosophies of Buddhism, Zen philosophy, all of that is good for defense. Now the books on the other hand, I move over to the more metaphysical stance about lyrical execution, rap murder, I’ll break you down lyrically, move over to the philosopher. One thing I’ve always called myself was The Teacher, the teacher also comes from that Asian culture. The teacher is the elder, where you have to respect your elders or you get you’re a** kicked unlike even African American culture don’t practice this. We see our elders, “Oh, man get out of here,” and then, our older men and women just say, “You need to respect your elders,” but where’s the skill? Where’s the “I’ll kick your a** skill” (from the elders)? In Asian culture and Native American culture as well but I don’t see it in Native American culture, I don’t see it in African American culture, maybe, African culture, you may get that, maybe, but it’s not popular as the old Chinese master as he is sipping his tea and you come over, you want to talk that bulls**t, suddenly that cup is in your mouth. You cannot play with that. AllHipHop.com: What are some of the musical elements outside of what most would define as Hip-Hop that have helped you build your craft? KRS-One: Well, like I said, Bruce Lee, Bob Marley, Peter Tosh, U Roy, I Roy, Yellowman, the ancient culture coming into the west Indian culture, Nat Turner, Frederick Douglas, […]

This last week Michael Jackson’s memorial service was held prompting every fan he ever had to hit the stores and buy his albums. He continues to dominate the charts with five albums in the top ten this week. Number Ones holds the number one spot followed by Thriller at number three, The Essential Michael Jackson at number five, Off The Wall at number seven and Bad at number eight. The King of Pop holds five spots on the top ten plus other albums charting in the top 200. He may not be with us anymore but it looks like his presence in the music industry will be felt for a long time.. Well, wow….that’s half of my job for this week done in one paragraph. Let’s see…Anybody see John Mayer play “Human Nature”? I thought that was pretty good. Ron Artest released a Michael Jackson tribute song. I thought that was pretty bad. I hear The Game released diss song at Jay-Z. Jay probably won’t respond but I guess that’s pretty interesting. There’s an opinion piece about record labels you may want to take a look at in the editorials section. Good Stuff…good stuff. Lil Wayne still has two women pregnant proving that he really does want to “F*&# every girl in the world.” Ummmm…..Oh yeah, for some reason BET is not playing Willy Northpole’s new video, “#1 Side Chick”. Don’t know why they won’t play it but we featured him a couple of weeks ago in the “Dropping This Week” section. Oh, oh!…Mase is back…again…with Cam’ron! I feel like I should be more excited but I’m not. I guess that took up enough space – back to the charts. Maxwell returns after eight years and enters the charts at number two. His new album BLACKsummers’ night sold 311k copies this week so it’s obvious the public was waiting on this album. This is a good start for Maxwell who says the album is the beginning of a trilogy with blackSUMMERS’night coming out in 2010 and the third album blacksummers’NIGHT in 2011. The next few years should be good for Maxwell fans. The Hannah Montana 3 soundtrack comes in at number four proving that children around the world love some pretty horrible music. This statement will probably get me punched in my sleep by one of my little cousins but I’m standing by it. If you’ve been in a coma for the last year you may want to pick up the number six album, Now 31, and catch up with the radio. The multivolume collection of popular music always charts well. Indie rock band All Time Low holds the number nine spot with their third album Nothing Personal. That is followed by The Black Eyed Peas who continue to hang onto the number ten spot with their fifth studio album The E.N.D. You guys must really like “Boom Boom Pow.” DROPPING THIS WEEK Not as many albums dropping this week as usual but we have some nostalgic throwbacks and regional mainstays from the East coast and Midwest. First up dropping this week is a two-time Grammy award winning group. Record label Charly is releasing a live Arrested Development disc with accompanying DVD tilted Tokyo,1994 [Live]. You guys remember “Mr. Wendal”, “People Everyday”, and “Tennessee.” All I remember about them was that it looked like they had more members than Wu-Tang. Plus they had an old dude and everyone dressed in African garb. If you miss them then pick up the album. Since we are already in the past let’s look at some Hip Hop legends. The Beastie Boys reissue their 1994 album Ill Communication. (Right now the intro to “Sabotage” should be playing in your head). The New York based band is often said to be one of Hip Hop’s most influential groups and now those who missed their historic rise can take part. If you’re a fan or just want to find out what all the hype is about this is the album to pick up. Next up Twista continues his attempts to gain the success of his 1994 jam with Jamie Fox and Kanye West. His new album Category F5 has everyone on it including Lil Boosie, R. Kelly, Gucci Man, OJ Da Juiceman, Busta Rhymes, Do or Die, Johnny P, and Akon. This man wants (needs?) a hit and is working hard to get it. His single “Wetter (Calling You Daddy)” is already getting some spins. But I can hear rumbling out there already…”What happen to old Twista and the Speedknot Mobsters?” I’ll tell you what happened — you didn’t buy their record. But he sold a bunch of copies of “Slow Jam” so that’s how it’s going to be. You’re lucky he didn’t do another song with Kanye…wait…nevermind. He’s on the album too. (Itunes bonus track). Now we have Kno, Deacon The Villian, and Natti who make up the Kentucky Hip Hop trio CunninLynguists. The group releases a new live album, Strange Journey Vol 1 with volume two planned for a September release. The fifth album from the group features Killer Mike, Kujo, Slug of Atmosphere, and Fish Scale of Nappy Roots to name a few. Longtime Tech N9ne collaborator Krizz Kaliko returns with his sophomore album Genius. Tech N9ne’s record label, Strange Music, released Krizz’s first album, Vitiligo, and it made some noise on the independent charts last year. Besides Tech N9ne and Krizz making my top ten list of people I would care not to run into in a dark alley (based on album covers alone) they have done a good job of representing Midwest Hip Hop. New York MC Ill Bill had some affiliation with record label Strange Music but went on to release an album on Uncle Howie. Now he is working with Everlast, Danny Boy, and DJ Lethal from House of Pain (Jump around!!!…anyone?…ok back to the column) and Boston MC Slaine. They call themselves La Coka Nostra and are releasing their debut album A Brand You Can Trust In. The […]

What’s up hustlers, beatsmiths, keybangers, tech nerds, and production enthusiasts.  The Beat Melee is back!! It’s time to step into the arena, get judged by a collection of your audio loving peers, to determine who is the best unsigned, untapped producer in the World.  Don’t be shy or afraid to take your creative talents to the next level.  The rules for the competition are as follows.. Each participant must submit 3 tracks to qualify for the battle.  Tracks must be in Mp3 format, playable through Gmail. No zip folders or external links will be opened.  Submit tracks to BeatDynasty@gmail.com with subject line “Beat Melee” Copy and Paste the form below with the appropriate information.   Name: Where you are from: Who is your favorite producer: A description of your style of music: The best way for someone to contact you:   Each producer by participating is certifying that he/she is not signed or does not have any standard industry credits to their resume. Submissions must be made by 12am Sunday night to be judged for the Wednesday battles. Submissions will be judged by the following criteria   Variety of beats Arrangement Clarity of the mix Variety of Sounds   Battles take place every Wednesday exclusively on AllHipHop.com The first week two contestants will be selected to duel. Weekly winners will continue to advance until they reach “Immortal Trackster” status. The online community will judge the battle and the winner is the one who receives the most votes by 12am on Friday night. If you’re tracks are not selected initially, keep submitting.   Status Levels are below After One win = Casio Keybanger  After Two wins= 16 Track Boarder  After Three wins=  Pro Tooler  After Four wins= Retired “Immortal Trackster” Each producer to reach this status will receive a feature interview on the popular production website BeatDynasty.com. Good luck to you, and happy submission.    

Florida-based music artist Ace Hood recently dropped Ruthless, his second album within a year’s time. The flagship artist on DJ Khaled’s We The Best Music imprint and one of the highly buzzed talents in rap, he’s obviously doing something right. AllHipHop caught up with Ace on the heels of his latest release, Ruthless, and got the word about how he feels about his first week numbers, his position on the 50 versus Ross beef and what’s next for the 21-year-old rapper. AllHipHop.com: A lot of people don’t know too much about your past. All people see is suddenly this rapper is with Khaled and he has 2 albums out in under a year. What’s the story behind Ace Hood? Ace Hood: I’m a flat out grinder. One thing I try to tell people more than anything is my grind was no different than any other person’s grind. Of course to make it in this whole game, in this whole situation, you always need somebody to back you. You know what I mean? But honestly I’ve truly just been grinding for some time. At first I was with a label, Dollaz N Deals Entertainment…that was my first label before I actually got put on. I basically was just in the streets grinding man, doing what I was doing. I was playing ball ended up in the hospital due to an injury…ended up having to give up balling. After that I just turned to the music full time. It was always a part of my life, though. Music was a part of my stepfather’s life; music was a part of my original father’s life. At the end of the day, I was always incorporated with music. So I just started doing my thing. I built a buzz in my city first…I had dropped a single called M.O.E., we dropped compilation albums for the streets with Dollaz N Deals. Then just by me going hard and being at the right place at the right time lead me to meet with Khaled, you know what I’m saying? AllHipHop.com: I’ve heard people sometimes say they think you had it easy because you have a major DJ behind you and so they feel you don’t have to try as hard as others. What do you say to that? Ace Hood: I mean people gonna say what they gonna say. At the end of the day, every artist got to be backed by somebody. Whether it’s a major record label or whatever it may be, everybody has backing. And like I said, my grind was truly no different than any one else’s. I still had to come from no backing, had to build my own buzz, I got my own self hot in my city. Because of my talent and a chance meeting, that linked me with Khaled and I got the extra push to be known outside of my city now, all over. It’s a blessing; I don’t take any of it for granted. But to say I don’t work as hard, never that. AllHipHop.com: What made you put out a second album so quickly? Ace Hood: Relevance…just staying relevant you know what I’m saying? Out of sight, out of mind. If you not heard about and nobody doesn’t know about you, you got to pursue it all because people will forget your name. Me being a new artist I got to stay in the people’s eye as much as possible, just because artists come and go. We just here for the longevity and we desperate to hit the stage so at the end of the day, an album is always needed. Something fresh, something new…people are always open to get new music. AllHipHop.com: You were one of ten up and coming rappers featured on XXL’s Freshmen cover last year. If the cover is going to be done again this year, who do you feel should be on it? Ace Hood: I would say Drake…Jeremih. I don’t really know who else jumping into it like that. AllHipHop.com: Now every region has it’s time and they’re known for their unique sound. New York has that gritty feel, ATL with the crunk scene, Texas and chopped and screwed music. With Florida on the map now from artists like yourself, T-Pain, Rick Ross….what sound do you think, if any, is unique to Florida? Ace Hood: We all got talent, obviously. But I think typically Florida has that more laid back, chill vibe to the music, you feel me? With me though, I don’t I fit in to the typical Florida sound. I feel like I’m more of a grittier rapper, more of a hardcore rapper, you know what I mean? That’s just what I feel my sound is because when you hear me on records I’m aggressive. I definitely feel like my sound is just that hardcore rap, you know? I’m very passionate with my music and very passionate with my lyrics and whatnot so I feel like that’s what I am more than anything you feel me? I am a little more gritty, more grimey than the typical laidback Florida sound. AllHipHop.com: What was your take on the beef between 50 Cent and Ross? Did you feel inclined to jump in at any point because of your relationship with Ross, and even Khaled who was brought into the situation as well? Ace Hood: Not at all. Just because I know at the end of the day Ross could hold his own, you know what I mean? And my brother Khaled, he’s more positive than negative. I got my own situation going on and I got things I need to do as far as establish myself as an artist and working on albums and mixtapes and stuff like that so at the end of the day man, it’s too much money out here to be worrying about what another dude like him doing. I knew my brother Ross could make it do what it do. At the end of […]

Famed hip-hop photographer Ernie Paniccioli is expanding the audience for his award-winning documentary, The Other Side of Hip-Hop: The Sixth Element, by putting it online.   The feature, which captured honors for Best Documentary at the 2007 Tribeca Big Apple Film Festival in New York City, chronicles the picture taker/author’s life in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn, his service in Vietnam and conversations with students at area schools as well as his ability to capture the beginnings, essence and evolution of Hip-Hop culture behind the lens over the years. Among those appearing in the film are hip-hop co-founder Africa Bambaataa, Public Enemy front man Chuck D, pioneering female rappers Salt n Pepa and MC Lyte and hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons.   According to Paniccioli, the Internet is the perfect tool in bringing message of The Other Side to those familiar and unfamiliar with hip-hop.   “I believe that it was an opportunity to reach a wider audience. You have to understand with the internet, you can have a universal audience. You can have an audience that goes around the planet 24 hours day, seven days a week. And we felt that that was the move we wanted to make,” the photographer told AllHipHop.com. “You can only reach so many people through live appearances and so on and so forth. But when you put something on the internet, you can reach the whole universe. You can reach other planets, for God’s sake. That was our mindset. We wanted to reach the maximum possible audience because anything else would be disrespectful to the art.”   The online availability of The Other Side of Hip-Hop is one of many accomplishments for Paniccioli. The photographer, who self-published eight books last year, is noted for his page-turner, Who Shot Ya? Three Decades of Hip Hop Photography.  The motivation for creating The Other Side of Hip-Hop stemmed from a desire for what Paniccioli called the “decriminalization of hip-hop.”   “And that is meant so when people mention the movie or mention Hip-Hop they think of it as a tool, an antidote to the criminality that’s often erroneously associated with hip-hop,” he explained. “Too many people and too many newspaper people and too many teachers and scholars look at Hip-Hop and automatically think of criminals. I look at it and see poetry. I see dance. I see rhythm. I see a lot of things and that’s what we need to convey to the general audience. And that’s why we call it The Other Side of Hip-Hop, the artistic, creative, powerful, inspirational part of hip-hop.   “I wanted to show people that at the end of the day you could still be a positive, powerful person on your own terms and that you can find magic inside each of us,” continued Paniccioli. “Each of us has some God in us. And each of us has some spark in us. And that’s what I wanted the movie to be. It wasn’t about me. It was about my experiences, my travels and the birth of Hip-Hop.”   Since the release of The Other Side of Hip Hop, Paniccioli has showcased the feature in 60-,70- and 90- minute versions at various film festivals and fundraisers as well as colleges and universities such as Harvard. Last year, the feature, was made an official selection in the San Diego Black Film Festival. Reaction among filmgoers has been met with emotion, as Paniccioli recalled seeing tears in the eyes of viewers who were among those giving the film a standing ovation.   “It’s a powerful movie, but it’s also a hip movie,” admitted Paniccioli, who strives to educate people on how Hip-Hop is a collective art form.  “…Every drop of reaction has been positive because it sheds a light not only on where hip hop has been but where it has the potential to go.”   With the culture’s potential to be used as “a tool to educate, to uplift and more important, to liberate,” Paniccioli is adamant about his film’s efforts to show the span of Hip-Hop and all its elements while emphasizing how the film stresses how rap music is only “a fifth” of the culture as a whole.   “You gotta understand, in inner cities, in the hood, there’s not a lot of ways out. There’s not a lot of things that can draw you to diggin’ into history and books and so on and so forth because that’s considered not cool,” he said. “Hip-hop is that thing that can make you get into the books and make you get try to get an education. Whether it’s in music or art or literature, whatever. Hip-hop is a powerful  thing and we cannot underestimate it…what we’re trying to show is the transformative power that it has.”   Despite the exposure and honors The Other Side of Hip-Hop has received, Paniccioli’s involvement with the film go beyond taking home a trophy.    “We didn’t do that to win awards. We made the movie to change people’s minds and hearts about Hip-Hop ,” the photographer said as he took full advantage of the chance to personally participate in the creation of The Other Side of Hip-Hop. “And we made the movie to decriminalize hip-hop. We made the movie to share my views of art as a transformative thing and to give some insight in to what it takes to be a creative person.”   “Hip-Hop is an art form. We should use it as an art form. We should use it as fun, “Paniccioli added.  “We should use it as a way to globally unite people past language, past religion and past race and culture. That’s the positive side of Hip-Hop. And it has the potential.”   Ernie Paniccioli’s The Other Side of Hip-Hop: The Sixth Element can currently be seen and or digitally downloaded at www.ourgangitvnet.com and www.hiphopotherside.com.   

On his previous album, The Alchemist successfully put together a cohesive album filled with grimy bangers. Five years later, the producer/rapper is still on the same tip, but this time with more diversity from production to guest appearances. Chemical Warfare (out July 7th) is a must buy, a well thought-out coordination of sinister melodies and hooks with the kind of verses that call for numerous “rewind that” moments. Now most hip-hop fans are familiar with The Alchemist. They know his catalogue of highly sought-after beats, and they know his role as Eminem’s trustworthy DJ. But do they know how he became Em’s DJ? Or what took so long for a producer of his caliber to even get a chance to work with Slim Shady on a full track? We were as curious as the fans, so we caught up with the multi-tasking producer to check out what he’s been cooking up. Trust us—from working with Kid Cudi, to exclusive new Relapse 2 material from Eminem, to the Jewish reign in hip-hop, The Alchemist is always happy to drop knowledge on his beat science. AllHipHop.com: Have you spoken to Prodigy lately? Alchemist: Yea, I go visit him. I spoke to him on the phone. He’s actually good. Getting his health right, mind right, staying away from the bulls***. He reads and watches the news. He’s up on more current events than I do. I knew he had some s*** to say about the swine flu thing. He says, “Son, you know that was just so the health industry could get money off the vaccine. They’re just putting out a flu so everybody gets scared so they could go make money.” I’m like, “Damn, son. You got the theories over there even.” But I’ve been playing a lot of music over the phone. We’re working, man. AllHipHop.com: To kick things off about the album, why did Eminem only spit one verse on the track “Chemical Warfare?” Alchemist: It’s leakage. That version leaked out before we could finish the track, man. But now the full track is ready. AllHipHop.com: What about those short joints with Fabolous and Lil Fame? Alchemist: Those were actually all short records. I wanted to have those songs that are used as a mediator between songs like those old Premier s****. Plus, I feel like attention spans for people are shorter these days. AllHipHop.com: In regards to the album, I really liked the joint “That’ll Work.” Alchemist: That was like an experimental beat. I had a sample on the MPC and I held on to all 32 buttons with my hands and the chopped sound goes, “Doo-loo-loo.” I was like, “That s*** sounds ill!” So I just pressed record and I put my whole hand on the MPC pads. I could have never programmed it like that. It was some mistake s***. AllHipHop.com: Why’d you decided to put Juvenile and Three-6-Mafia on it? Alchemist: At first I sent it to Ludacris. But he wanted to use it for his next album. So I was like, “Nah, I’m good. I want this s*** to come out now.” So I ended up sending it to Juvie and he got on it first. AllHipHop.com: And it came out ill. Alchemist: I loved how the record came out. When Three-6-Mafia got on, it had the bounce of a South record but it still sounds… AllHipHop.com: …real gritty. Alchemist: Yea! I felt like this is them coming to my world and me meeting them halfway. I didn’t want to do 1st Infantry part two. I wanted to do something to follow where I left off. So I had to change the casts. Some of the characters are still there. AllHipHop.com: Yea, you still have similar characters, but compare to your first album, which had a heavy Queens presence, I felt like this one had a large West Coast presence instead. Beginning with “Lose Your Life” with Snoop singing the hook… Alchemist: That record went through stages. What really made it ill to me was the video. Once the record came out, it got some love and I was like, “I need to add some visuals to this.” I didn’t want to do one of those Khaled videos where I’m in the background going [imitating Khaled’s dance moves], “Yea! Yea! This is my s***!” So I thought, “If I make it into a cartoon, I can control this s***.” It’s a gangster record and I’m going to do a gangster video? Lame, man! At the time I thought of rap zombies. One time when we did a show in France with Mobb Deep there were about 4,000 people in the crowd that were like, “Oh!” [Flailing his hands imitating zombies.] I remember looking at P like, “Yo, they look like zombies!” So I was thinking I’m the Pied Piper and I have my squad of rap zombies to f**k up s***. The dude who did the video is this guy name Devin Flynn who used to have a show on Cartoon Network called Ya’ll So Stupid. You don’t do acid? Watch this s*** because you’ll feel like this is what acid feels like. AllHipHop.com: I have another question about the track “Therapy,” which features Blu and Kid Cudi. When you recorded that joint with Cudi, did you think he was going to be big as he is now? Alchemist: My manager, my brother’s my manager, he and Paul Rosenberg have told me about Cudi years ago. He actually worked at the Bape store. Paul told me about this dude and gave me two songs and “Day ’N’ Nite” was one of them. And I was like, “Yo, this s*** is hot.” He came over and recorded couple things. The way he recorded his vocals I was like, “This dude is sick.” AllHipHop.com: Was he high? Alchemist: We were high, yes. He’s kind of like Snoop. Anything I ever did with Snoop the minute the beat came on, in about 20 seconds the hook was already […]

Despite earning 57% less between June 2008 and June 2009 than he did in the same period the previous year, Jay-Z has topped this year’s Forbes list of Hip-Hop Cash Kings.   The Roc-A-Fella co-founder raked in an estimated $35 million in the 12 month qualifying period.     While his income was almost $50 million less than what he made to qualify for last year’s list, Hova still managed to reclaim the top of the list from fellow entrepreneurial rapper 50 Cent, who fell to the number four position this year with estimated earnings of $20 million.   According to Forbes, one of the biggest reasons for the drastic change in income for both rappers was that they each had huge one-time deals to include in their 2008 earnings.   Rapper 50 Cent received $100 million from Coca-Cola for his stake in Glaceau, the company behind VitaminWater; while Jay-Z signed a one-of-a-kind “360” deal with concert promoter Live Nation, receiving the lion’s share of $150 million last year.   But like most other business men, Hip-Hop’s top earners have definitely been affected by the current economic climate. Last year, the top five artists on the list earned a combined $500 million.   This year’s top 5 earners – Jay-Z, Diddy, Kanye West, Akon, and 50 Cent – made a total $300 million.   According to Forbes.com, the Forbes Hip-Hop Cash Kings list includes male recording artists whose work is primarily classified as Hip-Hop or Rap.   The earnings estimates used to compile the list are calculated from record sales, digital downloads, touring, films, TV shows, endorsements, books and other entertainment ventures.   Management, agent and attorney fees are not subtracted from the gross totals. Forbes’ analysts assessed that what has kept Hip-Hop artists afloat is licensing.   Jay-Z earned approximately $1 million from Budweiser’s use of “Show Me What You Got” in a recent ad campaign.   In addition to earnings from Bad Boy Records, Sean John and his reality TV ventures, which include Making the Band and Run’s House, a portion of Diddy’s earnings came from his relationship with Ciroc Vodka.   Kanye West added to his income last year with the release of the limited-edition Nike Air Yeezy, and is expected to add to his 2010 income with his new shoe partnership with Louis Vuitton.   Common also earned some licensing money through his Lincoln Navigator ad campaign.   “Despite the economy, Hip-Hop is just as powerful as it’s ever been in the endorsement and licensing world,” explainrf Ryan Schinman, who’s company Platinum Rye is the world’s largest buyer of music and talent for corporations.   “Tween stars and rock legends are very reliable, but the impact of Hip-Hop on pop-culture and fashion continues to lead the charge,” Schinman told Forbes.   Two of the few rappers to actually see their income increase this year, Akon and Lil Wayne, did so simply by outworking most other artists.   The bulk of their earnings came from hectic tour schedules and financially rewarding collaborations.   FORBES’ HIP-HOP CASH KINGS 2009 1. Jay-Z :: $35 Million 2. Sean “Diddy” Combs :: $30 Million 3. Kanye West :: $25 Million 4. 50 Cent & Akon :: $20 Million each 6. Lil Wayne :: $18 Million 7. Timbaland :: $17 Million 8. Pharell Williams :: $16 Million 9. T-Pain :: $15 Million 10. Eminem :: $14 Million 11. Dr. Dre :: $13 Million 12. Snoop Dogg :: $11 Million 13. Ludacris :: $10 Million 14. Common, will.i.am, T.I., & Swizz Beatz :: $8 Million each 18. Andre 3000 & Big Boi :: $7 Million each 20. Flo Rida, Rick Ross, The Game, & Young Jeezy :: $6 Million

In the second verse of video for 50 Cent’s “In Da Club,” the Queens rapper displays a particularly intense stare that seems to be a gateway to everything that he’s experienced in his life, including his struggles. In Part 2 of AllHiphop’s interview, 50 delivers that glare several times as he peruses through several topics from Eminem’s Bruno fiasco to the untruths of Rick Ross. Through it all, 50 Cent remains poised, yet seemingly prepared to handle all that is before before he self destructs…. Click here for Part 1 of 50 Cent: Heavy Weight AllHipHop.com: How close are you working with Dr. Dre on your new album? 50 Cent: I worked with him three times on this album. I worked with him on Detroit on some records and I made four records in Detroit and I went back again. We went in Las Vegas for a little while and back in Detoit again. AllHipHop.com: What did you think about when Eminem had Bruno’s a** in his face? 50 Cent: I thought it was interesting. I don’t know if he agreed to some s**t like that or why he would agree to that if he did. When I watched the tape is kind of felt like it was planned. AllHipHop.com: It was scripted they say… 50 Cent: …Because I heard him leaving the venue… I ain’t talking about that though. If it works. Em can do what he wants. You know what Em can do? No wrong. If you saw him wearing a dress in a video, would you say anything? People would totally go, “Oh, Em just had a dress on in the video.” It wouldn’t mean anything, because he’s done so many humorous things in the videos…and been so elaborate with his presentation. Like, he’ll write a song where he gets raped in it. AllHipHop.com: Uh, yeah… 50 Cent: You’ll hear it and be like, “Yo, play that again.” I’m saying play it again and you’re not supposed to want to hear that. He’ll just get away with that. That just creates the significance for me with him. If I said these things [to fans], they would be like, “What’s going on here?” [Looks around] Tell me what situation that 50’s in a dress? Are you kidding me? Its not gonna go, its not gonna fly. AllHipHop.com: That doesn’t affect your reputation? They say, you are who you hang with. 50 Cent: Nah, well then I hang with the biggest rapper in the world. So, I guess I’m great. If you think about it, Em, what he’s done for the culture is something that people are not identifying with when they look at him. A lot of people I see when we go out internationally and throughout America, they look like Eminem. And you know what they say when you ask, “Do you like Hip-Hop music?” They say, “Yeah, we love Em.” So, if he is the bridge for these people to become part of the Hip-Hop culture and allow it to open up to the point that it becomes what it is – worldwide. [Crosstalk about Hip-Hop beef] 50 Cent: I don’t start beefs, because I don’t know how to resolve them. When you stop, you allow people the opportunity to attack you. You’re putting your guards down at that point. I won’t put my guard down with people that have the ability to go back and forth with their emotions. AllHipHop.com: What about Rick Ross? Do you feel you have done all you needed to do with him? He seems to have survived… 50 Cent: Do you believe that? AllHipHop.com: I think he survived. 50 Cent: [To nearby person] Did he sell 500,000 copies? [Looks back at interviewer] AllHipHop.com: No. 50 Cent: From an artistic standpoint, you don’t think… AllHipHop.com: What you mean? 50 Cent: What he got a good verse? AllHipHop.com: Hmmm? 50 Cent: You mean he had a good verse? AllHipHop.com: I thought [Deeper Than Rap] was a good album. 50 Cent: You know what I think? AllHipHop.com: What? 50 Cent: I think if you could withstand a guy that raps about selling drugs 24/7 when you know that he’s been apart of law enforcement, you absolutely can’t have a record at all. And that person lies in your face and tells you, “No, its not me. No, its not me.” Then say, “Yeah, its me.” You know what you are doing? You are encouraging me to be a liar. Now you are telling me, I don’t have to tell you the truth. I’m gonna tell you what the f**k I want to tell you and everybody else can feel that way at that point. AllHipHop.com: The game is so different now, I mean, seriously. The game is so different. 50 Cent: That means anything is acceptable. AllHipHop.com: It kind of does. When you look at your average rapper, they aren’t cut from the same cloth you are cut from or have the same experience yet; some of them have similar stories. And Rick Ross, for what its worth, we thought he was one thing and obviously, it was something different. He’s mysterious about… 50 Cent: I think if you don’t move into a new space with the project, it’s a failure. Marketing dollars vs the results, it would be a failure. This is just from a business perspective. Look at who we are talking about. You see how quiet it is right now? You see why its quiet? AllHipHop.com: No. 50 Cent: Its no promo. They stopped spending money on him. Then they shut up, because they have no money. There nobody to runaround to support that campaign. You know why you hear me? AllHipHop.com: Why? 50 Cent: The finances for campaigning don’t end. AllHipHop.com: Is that from you or Interscope? 50 Cent: Whether that’s from Interscope or existing ventures that I’ve created, I’m in a space where people are listening and I’m talking. AllHipHop.com: Are you good with Interscope right now? 50 […]

Part 2: Looking Forward Part 1: Looking Back Most in the Hip-Hop community believed Alfamega’s career had come to an abrupt end in the first week of May 2009. T.I. had kicked him out of Grand Hustle without even notifying him. The whole ordeal was based on a report by thesmokinggun.com, which pegged Alfamega as a government informant. At the time of the report, few realized that he was going through one of the most traumatic personal experiences of his own life. But beyond the facts often lie emotions, and sometimes even the truth. Here in part two of our exclusive interview with Alfamega, who remains focused on healing and getting back to the music. The former “Grand Hustle Muscle” and his manager Reek shed more insight on what the last couple of months really mean. AllHipHop.com: With everything that’s happened, were does your music career stand right now? Alfamega: Me, I’m moving forward, I’m still on my own two feet. Like I said, I have no ill will towards anyone. I’ma just take everything on my own shoulders and run with it. I’m Muslim, I pray five times a day. I don’t hate that dude [T.I.]. I’m disappointed in his actions. AllHipHop.com: Did you get a chance to speak to T.I. before he started his sentence last month? Alfamega: I haven’t spoken to dude. But I checked on him. I talked to people who’s around him. The people around him keep saying ‘Why don’t you just call him?’ For what? I ain’t got nothing to talk to him about. He took his stance where he’s at, Imma stand over here where I’m at. [Editorial Note: Since this interview, Alfamega tells AllHipHop.com he has since reached out to the Grand Hustle camp and sent a message to T.I. that he’d like for the two of them to speak.] AllHipHop.com: What do you think was T.I.’s motivation in making the announcement he made? Alfamega: He had his legal issues. People tried to spread rumors, “Alfa had something to do with his case.” Come on man! He know that [isn’t true]. If y’all go talk to him, Tip know for a fact, Alfa ain’t have nothing to do with his case. Alfa ain’t even know his case was going down. Alfa ain’t even know he was doing what he was doing with dude. I’m not part of your security team. My name got brought up in it in the indictment. They mentioned my name and they mentioned C Rod’s name. AllHipHop.com: Were you with T.I. on the night he got arrested? Alfamega: No, I wasn’t there. I found out he was arrested [because] I got a call from Busta Rhymes. I was on my way home. I was with my people. The people that was with him when he got arrested was C Rod and them. I wasn’t with him. AllHipHop.com: So how did your name get involved? Alfamega: The dude Biggs, the informant, he involved my name in that s**t. He put C Rod’s name in it. Basically it was a blatant lie. He threw our name in there. But all of a sudden, everybody wanna scream “Alfa, Alfa. His name was in Tip’s indictment, how come nothing ain’t happen to him?” If you go back and read the indictment, what was there for you to lock us up for? Ain’t nobody knew what Tip was doing. Reek: If you look at the video from the BET Awards, immediately, you see the emotions that’s pouring out of Alfa. Alfamega: I was the first one screaming “Free T.I.P.” I wasn’t even gonna perform. They made me perform. Reek: “Hurt” was performed that year. And you can tell from the look on the crowd, they had no idea why he was screaming free TI. Some people are gonna say that still can be acted out. But anyone that knows Alfa knows he wears his emotions on his sleeve. That’s authentic. AllHipHop.com: With all that being said, do you betrayed? Alfamega: I feel disappointed. If you look up the word “disappointment” and “betrayal” comes up under that, I guess you could say that. I’m not a scholar. I’m a regular Joe. Like my manager said: I wear my emotions on my sleeve. If I don’t like you, I don’t like you. I’m not gonna walk around and shake hands with you and kick it with you like I like you. AllHipHop.com: Now, back to that document that says you were originally sentenced to 110 months and your sentence was reduced. You’re saying that information isn’t factual. So where did the document come from? Alfamega: I don’t know. I’m telling you if a document existed like that it would have my signature on it. Every time you go to court and you sign a plea agreement, you gotta sign it. There ain’t no if, ands or buts about it. Anybody that been arrested for anything [knows] you gotta sign the paperwork. AllHipHop.com: Do you have any ideas where it would’ve come from? [Here is the original report.] Alfamega: [Laughs] Believe me: if I knew, you would know. CNN would know. AllHipHop.com: Who’s the guy you supposedly provided this evidence against? Alfamega: This guy named Ali. I didn’t even know Ali from the streets. We don’t know each other. That man ain’t came out and said nothing against me. And this what people not looking at. They say this man got locked up in ’97; this man got out in 2002. He got out a couple of months after I did. This man been on the street this whole time. If this many had any beef with me, he know my name and he know my face. This man coulda been stepped up and said something. So why everybody saying this and that, and this man ain’t never came to me. I don’t have nothing against Ali. I’ma apologize to him for his name getting caught up in all of this. I’ma do that right now. […]

R.I.P. MICHAEL JACKSON What is going on with Hip-Hop this week? Jay-Z is still mad at everyone who uses autotune (except for Lil Wayne, T-Pain, and Kanye West…the major users of autotune. They also where a lot of tight pants and colorful clothing which is also what Jay-Z hates but once again I digress.) Speaking of Jay-Z, he and The Game are about to have another lukewarm feud. (I wonder if Memphis Bleek will get involved). Speaking of The Game, he apologized to 50 Cent for their old beef (We will see how long it lasts). Speaking of 50 Cent, he is releasing mixtapes again (Did he stop?) and dropped a new one called Forever King. All of that brings us to the artists that are still releasing music oddly linked to the recently passed King of Pop. (Rick Ross? Neverland? Really?). This, of course, brings us to the pop icon that influenced generations of music and was laid to rest yesterday. Michael Jackson’s death shook up the whole makeup of last week’s charts and his influence can still be felt in this week’s Chartwatch – three of the top five slots are MJ’s. Anyone whose funeral can sell out the Staples Center has a weight in this industry that can not be denied. Jackson’s album, Number Ones, sells 337,000 copies this week and holds the number one spot. The latest Now disc, Now 31, takes the number two spot. Jackson’s Thriller takes the number three spot selling 165,000 units. (I’m a big fan of MJ but if I see the “Thriller” or “Billie Jean” video one more time…I mean ONE MORE TIME…I’m probably going to watch it. But I’ll complain about it later.) Brad Paisley’s new album, American Saturday Night, grabs the number four spot. I don’t listen to country so I have no idea if it’s good or not. Well somebody is buying the album if he’s at number four. That brings us once again to Michael Jackson who holds the number five spot with The Essential Michael Jackson. That’s the last you’ll see of MJ in the top ten but it should be noted that he has three other albums in the top 50. Rob Thomas claims the number six spot with his new album Cradlesong followed by Wilco’s self titled album. The Black Eyed Peas fall to number seven with their astonishingly chart topping album The E.N.D. I like to think with the overabundance of MJ music out there right now people have come to realize what good pop music is and have reduced the buying of Perez Hilton’s nemesis. Either way it’s nice to see all parties involved in that little feud have very little exposure nowadays. Ladies! Do you like sex? Do you like birthdays? Do you like birthday sex? Really…oh? Well, Def Jam artist Jeremih is still dropping his debut album and grabbing the number nine spot. The self titled album enters the top ten charts on the wave of his successful single “Birthday Sex”. That is followed by heavy metal’s Killswitch Engage’s self titled album at number ten. Later down the charts are last weeks debut’s Ace Hood and Maino. They came in at #26 and #32, respectively. DROPPING THIS WEEK So you still say Hip-Hop is dead? You’re madder at the autotune than Jay-Z. You’re still wondering why everyone is wearing tight pants and where all the good Hip Hop music went. Well guess what…it’s still here. It never actually left. You just kept listening to whatever the radio fed you (Boom Boom Pow, anyone?) until it became popular. Every week artists from all different facets of Hip Hop are releasing albums. So quit complaining about Soulja Boy making too much money and go pick up and album by some of these artists. But you say, “I’m not shelling out $16 for an album with one song.” When was the last time you saw an album for $16? You can get a lot of full length cd’s for 10 bucks. Plus go back and listen to some of your old records. A lot of them had one song and you don’t even listen to that one anymore. (I’m looking at you Skee-Lo). Then you say, “I’m lazy as *#&$ and I don’t want to leave my house.” Ummm…..Amazon, Itunes, etc. (I would just say internet but we all know you guys love to bootleg). So give some of these new albums a try. If Alchemist isn’t Hip Hop enough for you then I don’t know what to say. Since we’re already talking about him let’s start of this week with Alchemist. Now if you haven’t had a chance to pick up one of his albums you are truly missing out. Check out some of the videos he has online and you can see dude creates some amazing music in what looks like a run-down halfway house. All jokes aside, he drops his second studio album Chemical Warfare this week featuring Eminem, Kool G Rap, Twista, Maxwell, and a whole bunch of other people. Next we have an artist from the label founded by El-P. Definitive Jux releases the third studio album by Cage titled Depart From Me. The album has production by El-P and Aesop Rock with the bulk of it being done by Sean “F.Sean” Martin. Interesting fact: The first video from of the album was directed by Shia LaBeouf. That’s right…Transformer’s Shia LaBeouf. I’m always on the fence with Definitive Jux. You either love it or hate it. Fans of Cage or the label may want to give this one a listen. Chicago MC by way of Los Angeles, Chali 2na, returns with his third studio album Fish Outta Water. Now I know last week we had an artist releasing an album with the same title but I sure that’s purely coincidental. The former frontman for Jurassic 5 drops a new album with features from brothers, Damien and Stephen Marley, and Beanie Man. Fans of Chali 2na, Jurassic 5, […]

AllHipHop.com has teamed with UStream.com to bring live coverage of the Michael Jackson memorial service. Michael Jackson died on June 25, 2009. Today (July 7), a huge memorial service is taking place for the world’s biggest entertainer. According to reports, Jackson’s memorial service is expected to be the most watched event ever, in broadcast history. Check out this live stream and coverage. AllHipHop.com 12:36: The Jackson family takes to the stage and memorializes their family member, Michael Jackson. The ceremonies are coming to a close. Michael’s casket has been wheeled out. 12:24 PM: “We are the World” is being performed in honor of Michael Jackson. 12:19 PM: Shaheen Jafargholi takes to the stage and performs the classic track “Who’s Lovin’ You.” 12:13 PM: Smokey Robinson returns to the stage. “He will never really be gone. He is going to live forever and ever and ever,” Robinson said. “He has made an enormous impact on all of our lives, all over the world. I am a firm believer in blessings. And I’ve had so many in my life. And one of greatest was to know The Jacksons and Michael Jackson. I believe so much in God. I believe so much that this is not it. We have life after this is done.” 12:07 PM: Usher takes to the stage and performs Michael Jackson’s haunting classic “Gone too Soon.” 11:59 AM: Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee speaks to the crowd, on behalf of the Congressional Black Caucus and the United States Congress. “To Mr. and Mrs. Jackson and to this wonder family of brothers and cousins, we understand the Constitution and we know the laws. And we know people are innocent until proven otherwise,” Congresswoman Lee told the crowd to a thunderous applause. This was in response to comments made by NY Congressman, Peter King. Jackson lee introduces house resolution 600 to officially honor Michael Jackson as a national treasure of the United States. 11:52 AM: Rev. Martin Luther King III and his wife Bernice speak on Michael Jackson’s passing. 11:47 AM: Jermaine Jackson takes to the stage singing “Smile” from Charlie Chaplin’s 1936 movie “Modern Times.” This was Michael Jackson’s favorite song. 11:45 AM: Rev. Al Sharpton hugging The Jackson family: 11:39 AM: Brooke Shields, one of Michael’s closes friends tearfully spoke. “Michael was one of a kind. I was thinking back to when we met and the many times we spent together. Whenever we were out together there would be a picture taken and a caption of some kind, like an “odd couple or unlikely pair.” But to us it was the most natural and easiest of friendships. I was 13 when we met. From that day on, our friendship grew. We had a bond. Maybe it was because we both understood what it was like to be in the spotlight from a very young age. Both of us needed to be adults very early. But when were together, we were two little kids having fun.” 11:34 AM: John Mayer takes to the stage and performs “Human Nature” 11:25 AM: Reverend Al Sharpton gives a fiery sermon for Michael Jackson. “He created a comfort level, where people who felt they were separated, became interconnected with his music. Michael made us love each other. Michael taught us to stand with each other. There are those that like to dig around mess. But millions around the world, we are going to uphold his message. Michael rose to top. Michael never stopped.” 11:19 AM: Jennifer Hudson delivered a powerful version of Michael Jackson’s “Hold Me Like the River Jordan.” 11:15 AM: Earvin “Magic” Johnson and Kobe Bryant speak. “He was so incredible. He always had command of his band, his brothers and the audience. I truly believe Michael made me a better basketball player as I watched him be so great,” Magic Johnson said. 11:13 AM: Here’s a picture of Michael Jackson’s golden casket. 11:09AM: This is a moment I wished I didn’t have to see come,” Stevie Wonder said. “As much as I can say that and mean it, I do know that God is good. As much as we may feel, and we do, that we need Michael here with us, God must have needed him far more.” Performed “I Never Dreamed You’d Leave In Summer.” 11:03 AM: Michael Jackson montage begins. 10:54 AM: “He was the consummate student. He studied the greats and became greater. He raised the bar, then broke the bar. His talent and creativity thrust him and entertainment into another stratosphere. The Motown family mourns the death of Michael Jackson, who was like a son to me.” Berry Gordy.” 10:49 AM: Lionel Richie comes out and sings “Jesus Is Love.” 10:45 AM: Queen Latifah: “One of the first records my brother and I ever bought was “Dancing Machine. Thank you. Michael was the biggest star on earth. He let me know that as an African-American, you could travel the world. There was a world outside of America.” Queen Latifah read a poem by Dr. Maya Angelou. 10:40 AM: Mariah Carey starts, her beginning is a little rough. Trey Lorenz. 10:36 Pastor Lucious Smith begins opening comments. “As long as we remember our time with him, the truth is he is never really one at all. As long as we remember him, he will be there forever to comfort us.” 10:30 AM: Choir takes to the stage and service begins for Michael Jackson. R.I.P. 10:24 AM: Michael Jackson’s hearse: 10:11 AM: Service starts with Smokey Robinson leading the service with letters from Diana Ross and Nelson Mandela. 10:07AM : Fans have been ordered to take their seats. 9:57AM: Casket is being offloaded and prepared for stage. 9:49 AM: Michael Jackson’s body has arrived in a golden casket, at The Staples Center. 9:45AM: Mariah Carey will sing, Stevie Wonder is going to sing “I Never Dreamed You’d Leave In Summer” and all artists will sing “We Are the World” with Lionel Richie 9:44 AM: Jesse Jackson and his family arrives […]