Urban Mall is running a contest, and you are going to have to get your rhymes together ASAP, if you are seeing this for the first time (We got the press release all late and wrong, but better late than never!). The person with the tightest rhyme will have a their rhymes reviewed by the Dr. himself UrbanMall.com and Interscope/Aftermath Records guarantees Dr. Dre will read the grand prize winners rhyme, selected by judges from UrbanMall.com and Interscope/Aftermath Records. Entries must be received no later than December 31,1999. Winners will be chosen January 11,2000. Email your Dr. Dre lyrics now! dr.dre@urbanmall.com

Bad Boy records is running avertisements in hip hop publications have announced that P-Diddy’s Forever LP is already double platinum. Blaze magazine reports that the RIAA, the organization that awards sales certifications, says the album has only sold 1 million copies to date. Is Puff trying to boost his album sales? In an interview with MTV before Forever dropped, Puff bragged that Forever was going to be the biggest selling Rap record of all time. That is tough thing to accomplish…Hammer and Vanilla Ice sold well over 11 million copies their infamous albums. Puff just breaking platinum? Not exactly what Arista expects, seeing as though they gave Puff a 55 million dollar advance!

Three police dogs and several Marion County, Indianapolis police officers were called in to disperse a crow of roughly 100 people and one person was arrested after a Run-DMC show was canceled. According to reports filed by the police, 22 year old Chris Seidensticker fought with employees at the 8 Seconds Saloon, located on the cities Westside. The argument began after Seidensticker demanded a refund after Run-DMC refused to perform due to a financial dispute with the promoter of the show. Run-DMC was supposed to take to the stage around 10:00pm, yet it was not announced that the group would not appear until almost 1:00am. When people began requesting their money refunded, staff members offered the number to Van "Buttaman" Cox, who has no affiliations with the club. Ticketmaster is offering refunds and the ticket price which ranged from $22-$25. According to Buttaman, 118 tickets were sold for the event. "I apologize to the city of Indianapolis and the people who took time out on a Wednesday night to come to the show," he said. Cox also stated that he paid the $4,000 in advance to the group, but fell short of the $1,500 show date payment and he blamed that on the groups request to upgrade flight and hotel accommodations. Run-DMC Spokespeople could not be contacted for comment.

Puffy said: "I do not own a gun. I do not carry a gun. The charges and allegations against me are 100 percent false. I feel confident that in the next couple of days, I will be vindicated and everything will be all right." Well according to witnesss, Sean "Puffy" Combs pulled a gun inside Club New York before three people were shot early Monday morning during a dispute at the club, prosecutors said. Puff was arraigned Monday night on two felony counts of possession of a weapon. He posted $10,000 bail immediately afterward. He faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted. Mean while Shyne, the Biggie Smalls impersonator who is 19 years old, was charged with firing the shots that wounded the three people. He was charged with three counts of attempted murder, as well as a weapons charge, and is being held without bail. Combs was said to have shown the gun when an unidentified club-goer threw money in his face at Club New York.

A close friend of rap star Jay-Z who witnessed his alleged stabbing of Lance (Un) Rivera, head of Untertainment Records, at the Kit Kat Klub in New York last Wednesday describes what he saw in the current issue of Newsweek. “Jay-Z approached him, they had a few words, they became loud, and then this big commotion began. One guy I couldn’t see hit Un with a bottle and then Jay-Z pushed something in his back and in his stomach, and Un began to sort of bend over and people started yelling.” By the time the police showed up, Jay-Z was gone, reports Los Angeles Correspondent Allison Samuels and Senior Writer David Gates in the current issue of Newsweek.

Noreaga will have a drug possession charge against him dismissed if he can stay out of trouble for the next 12 months, a New York criminal court judge said this past Monday (Dec. 27). The decision handed down by Judge Robert Racite comes on the heels of Noreaga’s arrest Sunday in Queens, N.Y., for allegedly smoking weed in a car with four companions. Noreaga pleaded not guilty and this is what his lawyer Robert Kalina said: "Noreaga was in the wrong place at the wrong time, in a public place, with at least one other person doing something the law prohibits." Police claim the men were passing a lit joint among themselves in a new Mercedes Benz at the corner of 111th Street and 55th Avenue, according to the formal complaint. Police said they found three baggies of marijuana in Noreaga’s sock. "It’s obvious that five people can’t hold a marijuana cigarette at the same time," Kalina also said. Nore’s case automatically will be dismissed in a year if he isn’t arrested again.

Eminem has responded to his grandmom’s objections to using a recordings of his late uncle on an upcoming release. The Detroit News reported that Betty Kresin (grandma), is upset that Eminem had planned to sample from a tape that he made 13 years ago with his uncle, Ronnie Polkingharn, who died in 1991. "My grandmother is going off on me. Now I don’t think anything is going to happen. We grew up like brothers. I loved Ronnie. I’ve got a Ronnie’ tattoo on my arm… I wanted to pay tribute to him I’ll let the public decide for themselves what idiots my family is. My family has never been there for me. They expect things because we’re blood." Talk about dysfunctional.  

Sirius Satellite Radio Inc., the digital satellite radio broadcaster, today announced exclusive associations with internationally renowned MC Lyte and Grandmaster Flash, each of whom will have an ongoing presence on Sirius’ music and talk channels. Grandmaster Flash currently serves as musical director for The Chris Rock Show, and soon begins production on a feature film based on his own life story. He also won The Source Pioneer Award for his contributions to Hip-Hop culture. “It’s ironic to be using technology once again as a conduit to spread Hip-Hop culture,” said Flash. “It was my love of technology, and specifically electronic equipment, that got me into DJing over 20 years ago. When I toured the Sirius studios and noticed the number of turntables waiting to spin, I realized what Sirius Radio has to offer to audiences nationwide. I knew then that I really wanted to be a part of this.” MC Lyte is currently working on her newest album on Will Smith’s Overbrook/Interscope label, and kicks off her European tour in early December in Frankfurt, Germany. She will be featured in an upcoming, recurring role in the WB Network’s “For Your Love.” “Sirius Satellite Radio is, no doubt, the wave of the future. I’m very excited to play a part in the making of radio history and look forward to creating new and fresh ideas for the Sirius listening audience,” said Lyte. “Hip-Hop and rap music are the fastest growing musical genres in the US, and Grandmaster Flash and MC Lyte are two of the categories’ most respected, best known performers,” said Joe Capobianco, Sirius’ senior vice president for content. “These two talents further our strategy of offering subscribers expert knowledge and unique high-quality content that they cannot get anywhere else.” Sirius recently announced the completion of its National Broadcast Studio in New York City, one of the world’s most sophisticated digital production and broadcasting facilities.

A former city police officer already behind bars for bank robbery is one of the suspects in the 1997 shooting death of rap star Notorious B.I.G, the Los Angeles Times reported today. Investigators are reportedly examining whether former Officer David Mack conspired with Death Row Records founder Suge Knight to arrange the contract killing of the 24-year-old rapper whose real name was Christopher Wallace. Wallace was gunned down on March 9, 1997, after leaving a music industry party at the Peterson Automotive Museum. No one has been charged in the shooting, which some blamed on a turf battle between Death Row and a rival rap label in New York City. Another theory behind the 360-pound rapper’s death is that he was killed over a feud with gang members who claimed he owed them money for providing security. Mack is under suspicion for allegedly hiring longtime friend Amir Muhammad to attack Wallace, the Times reported, citing confidential police documents and sources that include a former detective assigned to the case. A witness placed Mack at the scene of the slaying, and another man who was in the same vehicle as Wallace picked Mack out of a photo lineup of six men, according to police documents. Mack is serving a 14-year prison term for the 1997 bank robbery. Police have been unable to locate Muhammad. Mack’s attorney, Donald M. Re, said any link between his client and Wallace’s killing “sounds absolutely ridiculous.” Knight attorney Robin Yanes called the theory old and said: “Suge doesn’t know (Mack.)” Detectives have previously identified Knight as a suspect, alleging that he may have ordered Wallace’s killing while he was in jail on a parole violation. He currently is serving a nine-year prison sentence stemming from a 1992 attack on two rappers in a recording studio. Mack is also a former partner of Officer Rafael Perez, who has been at the center of a growing corruption probe of the Los Angeles Police Department. He is cooperating with prosecutors by giving them details of setups and falsified police reports in exchange for a lighter sentence on his conviction for stealing cocaine. Perez’s information has resulted in 11 convictions being overturned and more than a dozen officers have been suspended.

Atomic Pop has signed worldwide digital distribution deals with U.K. indie label Fire Records and hip-hop imprints GoodVibe and Rufflife, the latter the new venture by RuffHouse co-founder Chris Schwartz. The new Bahamadia record will be released under this agreement. The first Rufflife release under the agreement will be an EP entitled "Night Life" from hip-hop group the Outsidaz. The first GoodVibe set will be Spontaneous’ debut album "Spur Of The Moment Musik." Atomic Pop has already released joints from Public Enemy and Ice T.

Eve has her own radio station on Radio SonicNet located at SonicNet.com. “Hip-hop, more than any other genre, is driven by a producer’s record collection, and sense of how different tracks can be mixed,” says Justin Herz, GM and SVP of SonicNet.com. “And for SonicNet.com to have a rapper as hot as Eve drop by and spin the cuts that inspire her, was truly electrifying.” Eminem takes over the cyber-turntables at Radio SonicNet on 12/21. Check it out. If you didn’t know, Swizz Beatz is getting sued by Casio Keyboards for jacking the music that comes pre-programmed in their keyboards!  

If you are a fan of The Ruff Ryders and The Cash Money Click, you will be glad to hear they are probably going to be somewhere in your vacinty. In February, Ruff Ryders crew DMX, Eve, Swizz Beats, Drag-On will go out with Cash Money Millionaires, Juvenile, Hot Boys, Lil’ Wayne, Turk, B.G. and the Big Tymers. Forty dates have been confirmed, with more on the way. here are the dates, catch them in your home town. Feb. 9; Providence, R.I.; Civic Center Feb. 10; Rochester, N.Y.; Blue Cross America Feb. 11; Boston, Mass.; Fleet Center Feb. 12; TBA Feb. 17; Hartford, Conn.; Civic Center Feb. 18; Worcester, Mass.; Centrum Feb. 19; Amherst, Mass.; Mullins Arena Feb. 20; Albany, N.Y.; Pepsi Arena Feb. 23; Baltimore, Md.; Baltimore Arena Feb. 24; Pittsburgh, Pa.; TBA Feb. 25; Uniondale, N.Y.; Nassau Coliseum Feb. 26; Philadelphia, Pa.; TBA Feb. 27; Washington, D.C.; MCI Center March 1; Buffalo, N.Y.; Marine Midland Arena March 2; Cleveland, Ohio; Schottenstein Center March 3; TBA March 4; Dayton, Ohio; N##### Center March 8; Columbus, Ohio; Schottenstein Center March 9; Chicago, Ill.; Allstate Arena March 10; Indianapolis, Ind.; Market Square Arena March 11; Louisville, Ky.; Freedom Hall March 15; Montreal, Quebec; Molson Center March 16; Toronto, Ontario; Air Canada Center March 17; Detroit, Mich.; Joe Louis Arena March 22; Knoxville, Tenn.; Thompson Bowling Arena March 23; Atlanta, Ga.; Phillips Arena March 24; Nashville, Tenn.; Municipal Auditorium March 25; Birmingham, Ala.; Jefferson Coliseum March 29; Charlotte, N.C.; Charlotte Coliseum March 30; Jacksonville, Fla.; TBA March 31; Miami, Fla.; Miami Arena April 1; Tampa, Fla.; Ice Palace April 5; Houston, Texas; Compaq Center April 6; Austin, Texas; Frank Erwin Center April 7; Dallas, Texas; Reunion Arena April 8; Oklahoma City, Okla.; Myriad April 12; San Jose, Calif.; San Jose Arena April 13; Las Vegas, Nev.; Thomas & Mack Arena April 14; Inglewood, Calif.; Forum April 15; Sacramento, Calif.; Arco Arena  

Diggin In The Crates member Big L was shot and killed in Harlem NYC. He was only 24 years old. Police are still investigating a motive and suspects connected to the killing. According to Officer Theresa Farello of the New York City Police Department’s Office of Public Information, police responded to shots fired on the corner of 45 West 139th St. Sunday at 8:30 p.m. When officers arrived at the scene they found Big L, born Lamont Coleman, "shot numerous times in the head and chest." He was pronounced dead on the scene. Big L established himself in the early 90s as a Diggin’ In The Crates member, which included Diamond D, Lord Finesse, Showbiz & AG and Fat Joe. His on rhyme clique, Children Of The Corn, boasted such members as rap superstar Mase and Cam’Ron. L had just released Ebonics, which was a guide to the meanings of the latest words for those who don’t know, and its b-side Size Em Up on Flamboyant Records, an independent label. He had just finished recording an all-star album with Diggin’ In The Crates to be released by Tommy Boy Records in May. A spokesman for Tommy Boy calls Big L’s death "tragic." "It’s always sad when someone young, especially in the prime of their career is killed," said a publicist. "It looked like ’99 was going to be a great year for Big L." I hope that this isn’t going to be a trend for Hip-Hop in the coming years yall. Let’s keep it all peace. Look for a tribute to Big L here in Real Audio in the next couple of days.

CDnow will began selling downloads Friday, with content supplied by amplified.com, Liquid Audio, and CDuctive.com.Prices will range from $1.49 to $3.49 per track and will be available in the Liquid Audio format. Another 50,000 songs will be offered by mid-December. The online retailer also expects to open a download boutique section by mid January. Until the opening of the boutique, the tracks can be found on a central page on the site and individual artist pages. Digital downloads are the future of the internet. TVT Records announced a few weeks ago that they will be giving away 1,500 songs from their database. Emusic.com bought CDuctive, Tunes.com and Rollingstone.com in a bid to consolidate the digital download market and be the number one player in the industry.  

Ice T spoke out at the WebNoize 99 internet music convention in LA last week, talking about major labels. Ice was keynote speaker on the "Voice of the Creator" panel. He said: "They (Major labels) sign you up, turn you out, and keep most of your money." Artists who choose to sell their albums on the Internet might still be "hos," he said, but added "they’re acting as their own pimps." Ice followed Public Enemy’s footsteps and released 7th Deadly Sin, on the Internet-based Atomic Pop label. "They’re building a rocket ship and I want to be on it. they’re basically giving up the secrets. People come up to me and tell me everything about their business. I’m learning everything I need to know to do it myself. In five years, everything will be in place and they’ll be zipping their mouths. By that time, I’ll be able to fly the ship myself, and it won’t matter who the f–k’s driving. Make all the connections you can, link onto as many pages as you can. You can hand out cards on the street that have the address where people can hear your song. You have to be willing to do it yourself." We hear that Ice.  

Here is a press release from LaFace Records, in regards to the Rosa Parks lawsuit that was thrown out of court: "We are pleased that our freedom of speech was not compromised, but are still saddened that Ms. Parks’ lawyers felt the need to take this to court. Our intentions were never to defame her name, as we respect Ms. Parks and all that she has done for our people and this country. We plan on putting this behind us and to continue making hit music for people of all races and ages to listen to."

Lord Finesse, Fat Joes, Nas, Method Man, Slick Rick and Aerosmith are going to be on the new Run DMC album that is to be released this fall on the new Profile/Arista imprint. They are also scheduled to do a cut with the hot rock group, Sugar Ray. The album is titled Crown Royal. Looks like Profile is going to be aiight, now that they are hooked up with Arista, who also has the hit machines Laface, and Bad Boy under them.