Archive for November, 2007

MTV ‘Cribs’ To Air Full Episode With 50 Cent

MTV ‘Cribs” will air a full episode featuring 50 Cent and his Connecticut mansion November 29th at 10:30 p.m.

50 gives the ultimate tour to his 19-bedroom mansion, the surrounding grounds and enlists G-Unit to help with the hosting duties. Viewers can simultaneously log onto MTV.com for in-depth, one-of-a-kind online footage of 50 as he takes site visitors into unseen rooms and gives info on some of his favorite items in the house.

Fans can tune-in to MTV2 for an encore airing of the special episode airing December 2nd at 3p.m.

Episode highlights include a movie theater with a database of over 3,000 movie titles; a custom Gucci billiards room with suede, Gucci-print wallpaper and a Gucci pool table; indoor and outdoor pools; an ATV track; an elevator between floors; a club with custom DJ booth and strip club.

Once owned by boxing legend Mike Tyson, 50’s estate sits on 17.6-acres of Connecticut land, has 19 bedrooms and 35 bathrooms.

Jadakiss Officially Signs To Roc-A-Fella Records

After endless talks, Jadakiss is now indeed, officially signed to Jay-Z’s Roc-A-Fella Records.

Though details of the deal have not been revealed yet, a rep for Def Jam - the parent label of the Roc - said that the Yonkers-born MC is “definitely signed” to the Roc-A-Fella fold. Even though there had been some talks that since leaving Interscope Kiss was mulling over the possibility of heading down South to link up with Cash Money Records, the signing is not a surprise.

Jay-Z publicly admitted to trying to lure the raspy-voiced lyricist over to the label. Fans started to anticipate the announcement even more so after Jada made appearances on spot dates of Jay-Z’s American Gangster tour as well as being seen throwing up the Roc hand sign in Jay’s “Roc Boys” video.

Jada has not released a full length LP since 2004’s Kiss Of Death.

Jay-Z Toasts American Gangster With Diddy, Nas, Beyonce At NYC Show

Rapper runs through all his hits for star-filled Apollo Theater crowd, including LeBron James, Chamillionaire.

NEW YORK — A few weeks ago, the film “American Gangster” had its premiere at Harlem’s Apollo Theater. On Tuesday night, Jay-Z closed out his American Gangster there.

His mini-tour made its last stop in front of a sold-out audience that included Chamillionaire, Beyoncé and LeBron James. While waiting for Jay, a house DJ spun tunes, and later DJ Clue came on to play some records.

You could see James in the balcony sitting by Jay-Z’s family, dancing in his chair to “Crank That.” “Soulja Boy up in this, ohhhh!/ Watch me crank it, watch me roll.” Number 23 bounced to the beat and even tried the famous “Superman” dance.

Just before the real music came on, you could see other various music-biz pals filing into their seats, such as Diddy, Ed Lover, L.A. Reid and Warner Music Group President Kevin Liles.

The Apollo’s crimson curtain opened, and out strolled Jay, background singers and band behind him, showering the theater with the rock-hard opening of his latest LP, “Pray.”

“This is the genesis of a nemesis/ Mother America’s not witnessed since/ The Harlem renaissance birthed black businesses/ This is the tale of lost innocence/ As the incense burns and the turntables turn, and that Al Green plays.”

Jay delivered his rhymes with his usual swagger-drenched poise, while his fans rhymed in their seats with vigorous approval.

Hov moved his play list to “No Hook” before chants of “Broooook-lynnnnn, Broooook-lynnnnn” started filling the Apollo when Jay asked where everybody was from. He also warned those who weren’t giving off enough energy to “cut that cool sh– out. … If you ain’t here to see Hov, you might wanna leave.”

Jigga then hand-delivered the crowd some never-before-heard lyrics: “N—a, this sh– right herrre/ Make you wanna go throw on your fly gearrr,” he rapped a cappella. “Put fly girls in the mirror/ Double-checking their rearrr/ N—a, this sh– right herrre/ Make you wear your sunnies at night, no glarrre/ Nowhere in site, you act like I don’t carrre/ I’m so fly, y’all have no idearrr.”

“Blue Magic” and “99 Problems” preceded one of his time-tested concert show-stoppers, “You Don’t Know.” As always, the song ended with the audience putting up their Roc signs.

“Don’t f— around, that’s what I’m talking about,” Hov said to the theater when the enthusiasm went up a couple of levels.

Jay fluctuated between his various albums, performing American Gangster’s “I Know,” Vol. 2: Hard Knock Life’s “N—a What, N—a Who (Originator 99),” Kingdom Come’s title track, The Black Album’s “Public Service Announcement” and The Blueprint’s “Heart of the City (Ain’t No Love).”

Hov then circled back to his current LP. “Can I play something off there real quick?” he asked before the intro for the song “Success” started.

“I got watches I ain’t seen in months/ Apartment at the Trump I only slept in once,” he rapped. “N—as said Hova was over, such dummies/ Even if I fell, I’ll land on a bunch of money/ Y’all ain’t got nothing for me.”

Jay then signaled for Nas and started looking to his right for him to come out. But Nas came up behind him, holding a huge cigar and bottle of champagne. It was a huge moment, but the giddiness of seeing the two New York giants together lasted only momentarily, because Nas could not remember the lines to his verse.

Hov did his best to cover him with ad-libs, but it wasn’t quite the same impact as if Nas would have remembered his chilling rhymes. God’s Son did quickly recover on “Black Republican,” another show-stopper.

The old regime of Roc-A-Fella records — Memphis Bleek, Beanie Sigel (who wore a State Property T-shirt), Freeway and the Young Gunz — came out minutes later for a flurry of the teams’ classics, including “Change the Game,” “You, Me, Him, Her,” “What We Do,” and “Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop.”

Some guys in the front started chanting “Ignorant Sh–,” pleading for Jay and Sig to do their collaboration from American Gangster.

The lights went out, and you could see shadows of Jay and Beans conferring in front of the drummer. They were obviously throwing a hip-hop audible. The two then walked to the front of the stage, and the song started. The duo even did a unified two-step before the verses started.

“I got you,” Sigel said, letting Jay know he knew the lyrics, even though they may not have practiced. Hov knew his rhymes as well.

“Party Life,” “Give It to Me” and “Show Me What You Got” followed the collabo.

“I got a lot of records,” Jay smiled. “I got a lot of f—in’ records.”

Later, Diddy came out and acted as Jay’s hypeman for “Encore.”

“Now can I get an encore, do you want more?/ Cookin’ raw with the Brooklyn boy/ So for one last time I need y’all to roar,” Jay and the crowd chanted while Diddy spun in circles.

“They love you Jigga,” Puff said when the song ended.

Jay confirmed the crowd’s by telling everyone that American Gangster opened at #1, tying him with Elvis for the most solo #1 debuts of any artists.

“Without a #1 record, I’m the number-one man,” he began rapping. ” … I’m so cool, I’m my number-one fan/ … Now I’m standing on Elvis’ blue suede shoes, ’cause I’m #1 again.”

The celebration ended with a song Jay described as being the height of revelry: “Roc Boys (And The Winner Is …).”

Jay’s whole team, including LeBron, who was wearing a Roc-A-Fella chain, came onstage as the record played. Diddy even gave James the mic, and he began rapping some of the words along with Jay.

“Rich n—as, black Bar Mitzvahs/ Mazel tav, it’s a celebration, bitches/ La cheim/ I wish for you a hundred years of success, but it’s my time.”

Mistah FAB, Royce Da 5′9 Officially End Beef

Those who haven’t heard on the internet, Detroit’s Royce Da 5′9 and Oakland rapper Mistah FAB have been immersed in a war of words, trading diss freestyles back and forth as of late.

The beef began after Royce spit a line for Mistah FAB on a freestyle over Jay-Z’s “Blue Magic” track, following an Allhiphop sponsored battle in New York, in which Mistah FAB was declared the winner.

On the freestyle, Royce raps “$100,000 chain like my face up, tell Mistah FAB, get his cash when he wakes up.” Although Royce has stated in a recent interview that the line wasn’t meant as disrespect, Mistah FAB took it that way, and went directly at Royce, dropping a full diss track called “Bodied”, in which Royce responded with “Who Got Bodied?”

Well, after the most recent track by FAB, “C.I.A.”, a 12-minute freestyle over Tupac’s “Hitem Up,” Nas’ “Ether,” and Jay-Z’s “The Takeover,” it looks as the heated battle is now over.

According to Mistah FAB, the two rappers have spoken recently, and decided to end the beef. One reason being that they didn’t wanna start any tension between their two cities, of which local MCs had begun to take offense to some of the lyrics thrown back and forth.

“This sh– is not really the rappers, but their entourage that keep beef going, they blow it out of proportion,” Mistah FAB told BallerStatus.com in a statement. “Me and [Royce Da 5′9] know it’s rap. But it started becoming Detroit verse the Bay. When it started going in that direction, we felt we needed to dead it and focus on getting money. We talked for close to an hour and things are cool now.”

The short lived battle was getting very intense, so it’s good to see that it has officially ended.

At press time, Royce Da 5′9’s camp had yet to release a statement.

Cheerleader Assaulted By Da Brat Hires Power Attorney Willie Gary

Shayla Stevens, the Atlanta Falcons Cheerleader who was allegedly assaulted by Da Brat earlier this month, has hired prominent attorneys Willie Gary and CK Hoffler and their firm, Gary, Williams, Finney, Lewis, Watson and Sperando P.L., AllHipHop.com has learned.

Gary and Hoffler’s high powered, Florida-based law firm will represent Stevens against not only Da Brat, but Jermaine Dupri’s new nightclub, Studio 72.

“Our client was physically attacked by Da Brat and has suffered significant head injuries, permanent disfigurement as well as mental distress,” Gary said.

Da Brat, born Shawntae Harris, allegedly struck Stevens with a 1.7 liter bottle of rum during a shoving match in the club in the early hours of November 1.

According to Gary, Stevens has suffered permanent injuries to her face, as well as possible neurological damage.

Additionally, she will miss upcoming games as cheerleader for the Falcons, as well as a scheduled role on Tyler Perry’s House of Payne sitcom.

“Ms. Stevens is a cheerleader, choreographer, dancer, actress and entrepreneur, whose career has been greatly affected by this incident,” Gary said.

Gary, who is nicknamed “The Giant Killer” for his judgments against corporations, is noted for winning a $240 million jury verdict against Walt Disney, for stealing his clients idea for a theme park.

He also claims that the owners of Club 72, hesitated to contact police due to the negative publicity the assault would cause.

A manager who witnessed the assault allegedly fail to help Stevens seek proper medical attention and she was eventually taken to the hospital by a family member.

Gary also said that prior to the assault, club owners and security had the opportunity to remove Da Brat from Club 72, but failed to do so.

Da Brat is charged with was charged with aggravated assault. She was released on $50,000 bond as a result of the incident.

T.I. Recording New CD While Under House Arrest..

Rapper Clifford “T.I.” Harris is working on a new studio album while under house arrest on pending gun charges, EW has exclusively learned.

A representative for the Grammy-winning artist, 27, says he has already completed six new tracks in a studio inside his Georgia home. T.I. hopes to release the disc, which he’s calling Paper Trail, in September 2008. The album’s title refers to the fact that T.I. is writing his new lyrics down — a practice he abandoned after his 2001 debut, I’m Serious. Each of his four subsequent albums, including this year’s T.I. vs. T.I.P., was composed without the aid of pen or paper. “He wanted to take more time to really put something down [this time],” explains his rep.

T.I. was arrested last month in Atlanta after allegedly trying to purchase several unregistered machine guns and silencers. (A federal search of his home also allegedly turned up other firearms, which the law prohibits him from owning as a previously convicted felon.) The terms of his bail currently require him to remain inside his house at all times while awaiting trial, and strictly limit the number of guests who can visit him; this week, his attorneys withdrew their request to allow additional guests for a family meal on Thanksgiving. (Additional reporting by Margeaux Watson)

Young Buck Admits To Messing Around With Lil Wayne’s Woman..

Young Buck is definitely all in with the G-Unit. He’s been working on their December release, Shoot to Kill, but Mr. Ten-A-Key is also working on his own compilation — Young Buck Presents: Product of the South.

“I’m establishing me right now,” he said of his Cashville Records. “I signed C-Bo from the West Coast, as well as my own group, 615 — that’s me, a cat by the name Lil’ Murder and High-C. I said, ‘I’ll drop a [compilation] album.’ … That’ll be the bridge to their project. Everybody is going to get a single and a video.”

Buck’s label is independent. “I’m sure you know these labels ain’t really giving a lot of money out to start a situation,” he explained. “What I did was create my own buzz pretty much promoting G-Unit South. I wanted to name my label G-Unit South, but I knew [Interscope Records Chairman] Jimmy [Iovine] wasn’t going to let any other label have the luxury of having the name G-Unit. … [So] I wanted to start something fresh, brand new, create a whole new brand.”

Buck released “Driving Down the Freeway” with the Outlawz and says he’s actually picking up jewels from them.

“It’s an even thing,” he said. “It’s more me being quiet and learning off of them sometimes. It’s things in the game they been through and I haven’t learned yet. It’s a learning process. They bring a lot to the table on their own. I’m just pretty much bringing their career more to the forefront. I feel that the Outlawz as well as C-Bo never got their just due.”

The unabashed Southerner feels the same way about himself. “I ain’t get what I deserved at Interscope,” he said. “I feel my album [Buck the World] is better than Kanye’s album * NO nigga*and 50’s album, but it’s one of the most slept-on albums due to whatever reason. I’m still trying to get what I deserve off of Interscope, so it’s still a hustle to me.”

Buck noted that he and 50 are on great terms, and when and if 50 leaves the ‘Scope for free agency, Buck and the rest of G-Unit will be with him.

“All of us are signed to G-Unit,” Buck said. “If 50 goes, we all go. I stand behind Interscope with all the power I can. I’m sure there’s a lot of people that put in as much work as they could for Young Buck and the G-Unit crew, but it’s a lot of people that won’t too. At the end of the day, I can only speak specifically on mine. As far as the marketing, I don’t think they knew how to market a project such as mine. When you have a song like ‘Get Buck’ and ‘You Ain’t Going Nowhere,’ there’s no lane. You can’t just market me to the South. I’m worldwide. I come with the Southern background but worldwide flow. They have to understand how big I aim outside of 50 Cent to get the push from them. I’m still in the shadow of 50 to them, but to the streets, I’m Young Buck. I’m my own person. I just gotta get my label to understand that part.”

Now to the scandalous: Everyone is quiet familiar with 50’s line in “Fully Loaded Clip,” in which he raps, “When Trina was telling [Lil] Wayne, ‘I love you, boo’/ She was running games, she told Buck that too.” Buck insists it’s all gospel.

“It’s the truth, it’s the f—ing truth! 50 is not f—ing lying,” Buck proclaimed. “You want me to tell you the truth? I’mma tell you the truth. I was messing with her while she was messing with [Wayne]. I would hear him on the phone [in the background] every now and then while she’s laying right there. She knows it. 50 ain’t doing nothing but speaking the truth.”

So what about Lil’ Kim? There is Internet footage of the Queen Bee grinding all over Young Buck onstage, then she has miraculously mended all beef with 50.

“She’s cool,” he downplayed, all of a sudden getting shy. “She came out onstage, hollered a couple of times. At the end of day, she’s doing her, and I’m doing me. … Ask Lil’ Kim what she thinks of Young Buck. What do I think of Lil’ Kim? She’s cool.”

He says the same about Byrd Gang leader Jim Jones. The two of them are cool in a way different way from him and Kim, of course, but cool nonetheless.

“I never had a problem with Jim Jones,” Buck said. “Jim Jones visited my city a long time ago and saw what type of individual I was. That was the bridge for 50 Cent to even say, ‘OK, I’mma see what’s up with Jim.’ Me and Jim was on the same page. Jim is about getting his paper, that’s what it really is about. It’s all about keeping it real too. That was my issue with Lil Wayne and all them: Keep it real with the real n—as. You come around stealing our swagger. What y’all see, the bling-bling and all that, they stole all that from Cashville. It’s hard for me to explain all this sh– because they know what the truth is. It’ll get more interesting as it goes.” …

Kanye West’s Mother Dies Suddenly (Donya West)

Dr. Donya West, Kanye West’s mother, suddenly died last night, individuals close to the rapper confirmed. The cause of death was not released immediately, but she was reportedly in the Los Angeles area when she died. Kanye West chronicled his love for his mother in “Hey Mama,” a song from his album Late Registration. In the song, Kanye raps, “(Hey Mama), I wanna scream so loud for you, cuz I’m so proud of you / Let me tell you what I’m about to do, (Hey Mama) / I know I act a fool but, I promise you I’m goin back to school /I appreciate what you allowed for me I just want you to be proud of me (Hey Mama).” West eventually performed the song in front of his mother and Oprah Winfrey on the TV host’s highly rated show. “’The city of Chicago is hurting for Kanye West. We know how much he loved and valued his mother and we just ask other cities to join us in pray for Kanye,” said Kendra G, a Morning Show co-host at Power 92 in Chicago”

Jay-Z Talks Supergroup, Kanye, Beyonce & More

Jay-Z’s name has been all over the news recently. Why not? The rapper has a new album out based on one of the most publicized movies of the year. Now, Jigga is speaking out on a lot of issues.

Recently Jay visited Los Angeles radio station KPWR Power 106’s Big Boy’s Neighborhood. The morning show asked Jay many intriguing questions and Jay did his best to answer.

When asked who he would retire, he paused for a long time. Without naming names, he simply said “It’s a lot of them.”

Later, he was asked if Beyonce and Jay were on tour, who would headline?

“She would, of course,” he said. “She absolutely headlines that tour. [I’d be] the supporting act.”

In response to Kanye West’s Big Brother, he clarified some stuff. He was asked if they really told Kanye to buy two tickets. He said that they did, but it wasn’t entirely as Kanye presented it.

“He had 4 tickets. He wanted 6,” he noted.

In a surprising twist, Jay also mentioned who he would have in a super-group.

“Eminem for some cross over money. Then, we’d have Andre 3000 for that alternative money,” he added.

Jay’s new album American Gangster is in stores now.

Beanie Sigel On Returning To Roc-A-Fella..

While sales figures for their marquee artists Jay-Z and Kanye West speak for themselves, Def Jam is looking for different ways to make sure other acts on Roc-A-Fella also enjoy success. Beanie Sigel spoke to Billboard about the past, present and future of “The Roc,” as well as finding a new direction for his upcoming album.

“I told the producers, ‘Don’t make a track for me,’” says Beans when referring to his upcoming album The Solution. “[I told them] to make something I wouldn’t do–something you’d want to hear me on.” When Sigel’s album is released on Dec. 11 fans will find collaborations with R. Kelly and the production team Dre & Vidal, who have previously done tracks with Jill Scott and Ludacris, among others.

“Roc-A-Fella dropped the ball with my last album,” says Beans. “I shot seven videos. Did you see any of them?” At press time, 2005’s The B. Coming has sold 419,000 copies. After spending almost a year in jail on weapons charges for parts of 2004 and 2005, Beans says he thought about joining Damon Dash Music Group. “Money was promised to me that didn’t pan out,” he says. “So I had to back away.”

Sigel will continue to release “webisodes” from his mini-series via YouTube up until the album’s release. Beanie’s manager, Mark Byers, also reports that Beans may join Kanye West and R. Kelly for spot dates on their current tours.