By the way, I've finalized my new year resolution, thanks to HoustonSoReal.


(Pic by The Afflicted Yard)

From DJ Swindle, the brain behind 80 Cent, Bobb Deep, and Em-J, comes Almatic: Nas Meets Al Green. I've had "Made U Look(Rmx)" and "Streets of NY" on repeat all evening. Now I couldn't tell you what "Oochie Wally" sounds like because I skipped right through it. No amount of mash-upping can redeem the horrendous lyrics on that song.

Get it: DJ Swindle & Frank Lyon - Almatic | Tracklist

Not his most sophisticated work but sometimes less is more.

"Freedom Writers Movie" Trailer: Windows | Real | Quicktime

(Via 33 Jones)

-Hip-Hop Man of the Year Award goes to...

-How James Brown influenced hip-hop.

-And the Hipster Album of the Year award goes to...

-The 2006 Wrap-Up by Junichi.

-Video: DJ Shadow - "This Time (I'm Gonna Try It My Way) (Via Spinemagazine.com)

-Video: Remy Ma, formerly of Terror Squad, now has a new group with Shawnna and Jacki-O.

-Nannies don't care about black people.

-A double dose of Jill Scott in 2007.

Ten rap songs you forgot about (or didn't realize existed) in 2006. Some good, some weak, some, um, forgettable. You be the judge:


Lupe Fiasco - Pop, Pop
Lupe "I Used to Hate Hip-Hop" Fiasco threatens to send "pop, pop to your car" on this 2003 single recorded on Arista. And he has the nerve to condemn Nas' Hip-Hop Is Dead for bearing too much animosity?

Jay-Z ft. Sauce Money - Dead or Alive (Pac Diss?)
This old school joint surfaced shortly after Jay-Z disclosed that he had responded to 2Pac's disses on wax.

Talib Kweli ft. J Sands - In the Mood (prod. by Kanye West)
Kweli reunites with Kanye on this soulful leakage from Ear Drum.

Clipse - On My Sh*t
This outtake from Hell Hath No Fury is more potent than some of the album cuts.

Lupe Fiasco ft. Sway - We Love You
Lupe connects with UK's finest Sway Dasafo on this leftover from the F&L sessions. Jay-Z makes a cameo at the beginning.

UGK ft. Kool G Rap & Big Daddy Kane (prod. by Marley Marl) - Up Next
Despite the legendary line-up, "Up Next" failed to build up enough buzz for UGK's forthcoming album. The album is now set for late February.

Cassidy + Mos Def - Monster Music
An unlikely collabo between Mos and Cass, produced by none other than Swizzy.

Freddie Foxxx - The King is Down (Rakim Diss)
Bumpy Knuckles tries to revitalize his career by taking thin-veiled shots at Rakim. The diss stemmed from Rakim's statements in his interview with Halftimeonline.com.

MC Lyte - Hot Damn
To remind us that she's still the GFOAT Lyte dropped this mixtape gem in the first quarter of '06.

The Game ft. Yukmouth, Erick Sermon, Stat Quo & Fatal Hussein - Across the Coast
This out-of-nowhere posse cut dropped a couple months prior to the release of Doctor's Advocate.

- Hip-hop ain't dead: Nas outsells Young Jeezy by a thousand units.

-Police nabsSean Price concertgoer via YouTube

-Lupe Fiasco chops it up with Format Mag.

-Fans pay tribute to James Brown.

-27 Rap Albums to watch in 2007

-New Gerald Levert album arrives this February.

-Top Reality Whores of 2006

-Iverson gets comfortable with his new team, leads the Nuggets to victory against Celtics.

Note to SOHH: STOP stealing my blog entries.

Happy Holidays from one King Koopa.

1. Guess Who's Back Intro
2. Hip Hop Warning
3. Hip Hop Dead Skit
4. She Gonna Already Know
5. Let Em Know
6. Tryin To Change Me
7. Picture Me Rollin
8. Chamillionaire Speaks
9. Game Gonna Cost A Free
10. Game Gonna Cost A Free Break
11. Riding Overseas Feat. Akon
12. Show me What Ya Got Feat. Famous
13. Answer Machine 2
14. Chamillitary Radio Skit
15. International Money
16. I Run It
17. Get Ya Umbrellas Out
18. Get Ya Umbrella Break
19. Man Hold Up
20. Roll Call Reloaded
21. Outro

Mixtape Messiah 2 - Link 1 | Link 2

Now, if you will excuse me I have some chicken and shrimp to devour.

Not exactly how I had hoped to start off my Christmas.

The dynamic, pompadoured "Godfather of Soul," whose rasping vocals and revolutionary rhythms made him a founder of rap, funk and disco as well, died early Monday, his agent said. He was 73.
Brown was hospitalized with pneumonia at Emory Crawford Long Hospital on Sunday and died around 1:45 a.m.(Yahoo News)

R.I.P. to the Godfather of Soul and one of the true pioneers of hip-hop.

Someone just sent me an email confirming what SOHH reported earlier: Nas will reunite with erstwhile members of The Firm AZ, Foxy, Cormega (and possibly Nature) at his Nokia Theater concert tonight.

If rappers keep kissing and making up like this, us bloggers would have to resort to talking about the new Clap Your Hand Say Yeah album.

Official cover art for Messy Marv's Music fo' tha Taliban, slated for release on January 30th, 2007. From what I gather, the title is a play on current events and a blind allusion to the war zones in the Bay Area.

It feels like Halloween all over again.

Devin the Dude - "Treatin' Me Cold" (mp3)

Last night, Matt Sonzala and the chain-hang-low peops at Rap-A-Lot Records treated a bunch of media folks to an assortment of wings and drinks. Oh, and did I mention the insanely enjoyable album from the incomparable Devin the Dude? Dude can go from jester to preacher at the drop of a dime.

Here's the tracklist for Devin's Waitin' To Inhale, due out on March 13th, 2007:
1) Intro
2) Waiting to Inhale
3) I Hope I Don't Get Sick of This
4) Use Ta Be
5) Almighty $ ft. Tony Mac
6) That Boom pt. 1
7) Broccoli & Cheese (Nasty)
8) Treatin' Me Cold
9) Cut Ya Up
10) That Boom pt 2
11) Sell Me Some ft Odd Squad
12) What a Job
13) No Longer Needed Here ft GT
14) Anything (Acoustic)
15) Somebody Else
16) That Boom pt 3
17) Alone
18) Just Because
19) Little Girl Gone ft. Lil Wayne, Bun B, Tami Latrell, and Tony Mac (best cut on the album)

Labels: Devin the Dude, Tracklists

(Click to enlarge)

When I posted the "Won't Do" video a couple days ago, I intended to follow it up with this mega-nice Jay Dee giveaway, but my lazy ass got hooked on 2K7 all day. Not to worry, we'll make it up to you with a grand prize package that includes:

1 limited edition J Dilla - The Shining T-shirt
1 limited edition J Dilla - The Shining Instrumental EP
1 CD of J Dilla - The Shining

Just answer these two super easy questions:
1) J Dilla produced all but ONE of the following songs;
a) Busta Rhymes' "So Hardcore"
b) Erykah Badu's "Didn't Cha Know"
c) Keith Murray's "The Rhyme"

2) ?uestlove once said in an interview that he used to play "blind olympics"--a game which involves picking unknown records with eyes closed and creating a beat from the records in no less than five minutes--with Jay Dee. Which one of the following Dilla-produced tracks is a product of blind olympics?
a) Pharcyde - "Runnin'"
b) Common - "Doin' It"
c) De Las Soul - "Stakes is High"


Send your answers to therapup at gmail dot com. Good luck.

Update: Thanks to all the contestants. Congrats to winner Matt Nash!

-Download: Santa's Mixtape - 50 minutes of Hip-Hop Xmas tunes.

-Eskay has the new Pharoahe Monch + Clinton Sparks mixtape The Awakening. Bananas!

-This is kinda old, so what: Nas says Jim Jones is his b*tch.

-50 Cent is the mastermind behind The Game's new album.

-The Arctic Monkeys turn to hip-hop.

-Melle Mel vs. 50 Cent?

-Details on RjD2's new album The Third Hand.

-The Cube in You: 33 Jones takes a trip down memory lane with Ice Cube.

-Something about the upcoming Ego Trip's White Rapper Show cracks me up.

-Randy Exclusive accidentally gets credit for an article titled "Who's Gettin' Some Ass and Who Ain't?"

-"It's not just Sean Bell": Ian speaks on the lack of media coverage on 5 other reckless shootings.

-Doug E Fresh set to launch hip-hop cartoon series.

-Can't make this stuff up.

-Mp3: Snoop, Dre, Black Ty - "Imagine" (Rmx)

-Ed: Shout out to HHNLive.com for awarding The Rap Up a runner-up position in their Best Hip-Hop.com/Blog Site category, right behind our friend Skaybn. The folks at Still Listen also get a nod.

See the rest of HHNLive's 2006 awards.

The Source picks Game's favorite color for their new issue.

Skillz - The Rap Up 2006

Like he does every year, Skillz raps up this year's noteworthy events, trends, etc.

Bonus Rap Ups:
Skillz - The Rap Up 2002
Skillz - The Rap Up 2003
Skillz - The Rap Up 2004
Skillz - The Rap Up 2005

- Ludacris: "Hip-Hop is not dead."

-10 Best Hip-Hop Albums of 2006, according to a dozen bloggers.

-Nas and Kelis make marriage seem sexy.

-Beyonce and Matthew Knowles target Houston's poor.

-DJ Shadow to release fan-made music video.

-MTV's Pimp My Ride on the move

-Trick Trick to take Hot Rod's place in G-Unit? (j/k)

With cameos by will.i.am, Common, Karriem Riggins, Talib Kweli, Black Thought, etc. The young lad who plays Dilla in the video is his younger brother, John Yancey.

R.I.P. to one of the best producers on the mike.

A T.R.U. reader named Eginnea was at this show, and said Nas treated fans to a 12-13 song performance, as opposed to the 5 or so he was originally scheduled for.

With all these fights in the NBA, basketball is gradually becoming the new soccer. Headbutts and all. Carmelo Anthony reportedly threw the first punch and is likely to face some serious punishment.

• A rundown of NBA brawls dating back to 1977

(Video via Onsmash.net)

Urban DVD Awards














Remy Ma -- Serious Jones & Stimuli












Home of the Brave Premiere

























Steve Harvey Morning Show







































Trace Magazine Party


























Rihanna performance @ Z100 Jingle Ball



























Scott Storch's Birthday Bash

Miss Jones interviews Nas on Hot 97
Nas talks about everything from the reason he says hip-hop is dead to Young Jeezy asking him to collaborate with his girlfriend. I assume the male-mouth kisser and perm-wearing rapper subliminals are aimed at Weezy and Jimmy respectively.

"50 shots, but where's 50 Cent? 50 needs to be there for Sean Bell."

Salute, MC Kool Nerd

-Lupe barely wins our Best New Artist poll.

-Industry gianiAhmet Ertegun dies of brain injury

-Video: Talib Kweli's NCAA Big Ten commercial.

-Good news: Wyclef Jean's weed carrier has been freed by the kidnappers. It's wild out there in Haiti.

-Snoop's British Airways ban has been lifted.

-Just in time for Snoop's European tour with Diddy .

-This shouldn't surprise anyone: Rick James biopic, bitch!

-Forget Obama and Clinton, here's a much better presidential candidate, says one writer.

-OMGGGG! Curtis used his real name in a movie!!!! Wowzers!!@#$!%!

Nas Freestyle


Lil' Homey (or Lyrical Lord as the DJ calls him) murders a freestyle (*cough cough*) session, before floundering midway. I have a feeling It Was Written though.

I guess this is their coming out party...(via Writer's Block)

-Video: Common & will.i.am - "A Dream" live. (Thanks, Omar)

-Evil Knievel says Kanye's "Touch the Sky" video is a worthless piece of crap. Looks like Mr. West has finally met his match.

-Good to see hip-hop well represented in Rolling Stone's 100 Best Songs of 2006.

-Video: Ghostface Killah chops it up with Pete Rosenberg.

-Ok, Russell really needs to quit with all that empowering Africa bullsh*t.

-Hip-hop caucus focusses on ending violence.

-Tragedy strikes Birdman's family.

-Mixtape: Mick Boogie & The Game - The Dope Game 2

Another CD contest, but I don't think anyone's complaining.

4 lucky fans will each walk away with a copy of Nas' latest mixtape with Statik Selektah, The Prophecy 2. Send an email to therapup at gmail dot com with the answers to this super-easy question for a chance to win:

• DJ Premier once explained that it took Nas awhile to kickstart his first verse on "New York State of Mind," from Nas' 1994 debut Illmatic. What was the reason Premier gave for that awkward delay at the beginning of the song?

By the way, Nas will perform on Jimmy Kimmel Live this Friday (Dec. 15th). He's looking for die-hard fans to be a part of his mini-concert there. Visit 1iota.com to find out how you can be a part of the audience on that day.

UPDATE: We now four winners. Thanks to everyone for playing.

(Stay tuned for more contests.)

Nas - That's That Sh*t (Remix) (Radio rip)
It's definitely not a bowl of cherries. Listen at your own risk.

Bonus:
Lloyd ft. Nas & Andre 3000 - You (Remix)

(Props: Team OnSmash for "That's That Sh*t")

Killa Cam wants his damn nomination or he'll send Jimmy to smack the kufi off your favorite blogger's head. Wait, Jimmy didn't get a nod either. Must be the mispelled album title.

Anyhow, we're doing it sorta kinda different this year...

12 Bloggers...
picked 10 albums each (released between Nov. 2005 and Nov. 2006) and ranked them in order of preference.

55 Albums...
were nominated on the whole.

10 Albums...
made the final cut, and the list will be published on About.com sometime this week.

"Numbers don't lie," says one of the rappers who somehow managed to crack the Top 10. So, to show you how we arrived at the Final 10, individual lists will also be available for your viewing pleasure when the list goes live. Major thanks to the wonderful contributors. (And you thought all hip-hop bloggers did was shittalk and sling subliminals at one another. Ha!)

The Coalition:
Straight Bangin'
Notes from a Different Kitchen
Nah'Right
Fly, Black Scholar
Cocaine Blunts
Sumish
Oh Word
Until the Train Stops
Speech Is My Hammer
Byron Crawford
Vibes 'n' Stuff
Yours Truly

Next year, 150 collaborators maybe?

By the way, I was only kidding. Cam was nominated.

God forbid that anyone still digs this kind of bs, but here's Snoop Dogg's "Candy" video.

-Foxy Brown's legal fallouts continue.

-Well-respected hip-hop historian/journalist Davey D echoes my sentiment on Russell Simmons' sellout move. (By the way, I'm taking 5 friends to go see 'Blood Diamond' this Sunday.)

-Andre 3000 signs up for a role in a 1970s basketball comedy.

-Hip-hop gathering turns bloody.

-An interesting interview with DMC.

-Eskay has posted "War," one of only two listenable tracks from DJ Clue's abortion of a mixtape. (I can't believe he still yells over tracks.)

After spending 45 minutes checking out several remixes of Nas' "Hope," I decided that these three are my favorites:

1. Hope (Remix by Nabs)
   
2. Hope (Remix by damn da man)
   
3. Hope (Remix btw "I'm Black")

(The rest are unbearable, mainly because Nas is always rhyming off beat. Chrisette Michele's vocals also get in the way towards the end.)

Video: Ali Rap: Loosely based on the premise that Muhammed Ali invented rap.


-Nas vs Jay-Z for deep cover.

-One of my favorite new school producers says Nas is an idiot for saying hip-hop is dead. (I keed, I keed!)

-HHNLive interviews one of the Left Coast's finest wordsmiths Crooked I

-There shall be no wardrobe malfunctions when the Purple One plays next year's Superbowl.

-True to fashion, Talib Kweli, Mos Def, and Pharoahe Monch will all drop their albums around the same time. Pharoahe's Desire is now due out in 1st quarter of 2007. Tru3 Magic is slated for release on January 9.

-Mariah Carey goes after porn star and former gubernatorial candidate Mary Carey. Because, you know, fans have a real hard time telling the two apart.

-An open letter to hip-hop: Digital music is the future.

-Despite Rush and co's attempt to discourage folks from seeing "Blood Diamonds," the movie still made an impressive showing at the box office.

-The Smoking Section interviews DJ Clue.

Nas @ the L.A. listening party for Hip-Hop Is Dead.

Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5

This guy, who's typically a journalist's nightmare, somehow managed to give a decent interview at the listening amidst all the weed talk.

As I reported last week, The Coup and Mr. Lif were involved in a life-threatening bus crash that put a harsh stop to their touring. The bus and every merchandise in it was engulfed in the fire. Worse still, everyone involved in the ride was battered up badly.

According to Boots Riley, "Silk E has two broken ribs and a punctured lung. Wiz has a broken nose, two deep lacerations to the head, and a shattered knee. Zhara has injuries to her hand and had to undergo surgery. Carter had to get stitches to his head and lip. The driver, Glenn, has a broken jaw. All the first three will be in need of follow-up treatments. We all have aching backs, legs, heads etc. Many of us are on pain killers." (Full story)

Kindly donate whatever amount God lays on your heart to these brothers. I wouldn't wish something this terrible on my enemy at a time like this. I know you're probably thinking "These guys don't need my money. They're paid." You'd be surprised, they have rent, kids, bills, and surging needs, just like the rest of us. And as Boots puts it, the insurance money could take up to a year to finally drizzle in.

If nothing else motivates you to help them get through this, just remember that they gave us one of the best hip-hop albums of the year. Thank God they're still alive.

Help The Coup

(Thanks to Oh Word for bringing this to my attention.)

A double dose of Trae, who rivals Lupe and Koopa for best new artist of 06. (I know he's been around for 10 years, sue me.)

Trae - In the Hood




Trae feat. Z-Ro - No Help

Free, legal mixtape download. Way to start your weekend. I've been bumping this mix (with "3V' on repeat) all morning, and while I can't stand some of the nursery rhymes, 90% of it bangs. "Thank You," "Best Rapper Alive," and "Country Cousins" on the same tape? Sounds like something I would do with the Rizoh's Radio series.

• Get it: DJ Illipse Presents Beats & Rappers | Link 2 | Link 3
  
• TrackList
  
• DJ Illipse @ MySpace
  

(Note to Illipse: Next time, could you ensure that the cover art specification doesn't say 666 x 666? That sh*t was scarier than a muh')

"It's Goin' Down" for Best Rap Song? Then, they turn around and nominate Game Theory and Lupe Fiasco's Food & Liquor for Best Rap Album. You gotta love it.

A look at the 2007 Grammy nominees, the ones you care about anyway:

Best Rap Solo Performance:
Busta Rhymes - Touch It
Missy Elliot - We Run This
Lupe Fiasco - Kick, Push
Mos Def - Undeniable
T.I. - What You Know

Best Rap Performance By A Duo Or Group:
Chamillionaire ft Krayzie Bone - Ridin
Ludacris + Field Mob - Georgia
Nelly, Ali G & Paul Wall - Grillz
OutKast - Mighty O
The Roots - Don't Feel Right

Best Rap/Sung Collaboration:
Akon feat. Eminem - Smack That
Beyoncé feat. Jay-Z - Deja Vu
Eminem feat. Nate Dogg - Shake That
Jamie Foxx feat. Ludacris - Unpredictable
Justin Timberlake feat. T.I. - My Love

Best Rap Song:
Yung Joc - It's Goin' Down
Lupe Fiasco - Kick, Push
Ludacris - Money Maker
Chamillionaire - Ridin'
T.I. - What You Know

Best Rap Album:
Lupe Fiasco's Food & Liquor, Lupe Fiasco
Release Therapy, Ludacris
In My Mind, Pharrell
Game Theory, The Roots (what a pleasant surprise)
King, T.I.

1. War
2. Clear Da Scene ft. Lil' Wayne, Rick Ross & Ransom (produced by DoughBoyz)
3. F*ck Off ft. Young Jeezy & Juelz Santana (produced by Develop)
4. The Gold ft. Mobb Deep (produced by DJ Clue)
5. I Really Wanna Know You ft. Jagged Edge & Fabolous (produced by DJ Clue)
6. A Week Ago, Part 1 ft. Mario Winans (produced by DJ Clue)
7. Like This ft. Kanye West & Fabolous
8. Almost F*cked ft. Snoop Dogg (produced by Lt. Hutton)
9. Grill & Woman ft. Mike Jones & Paul Wall (produced by Chops)
10. Liberty Bell ft. Beanie Sigel & Cassidy (producedby DJ Clue)
11. Da Boss
12. The Animal ft. Styles P (produced by DJ Clue)
13. Middle Finger U ft. Cam'ron & Juelz Santana (produced by DJ Clue)
14. Giantz of NYC ft. M.O.P. (produced by Heatmakerz)
15. You Don't Really Wanna ft. Fat Joe & Remy Ma (produced by Baby Paul)
16. Ugly (Thug It Out) ft. Jadakiss (produced by Swizz Beatz)
17. A Week Ago, Part 2 ft. The Game & Mario (produced by DJ Clue)
18. Uptown

Bonus:





















1.)"G-Joint"
2.)"Testify" ft. Talib Kweli
3.)"How We Live"
4.)"Real Shit" ft Gerald Levert
5.)"Who Want a Problem" ft. Swizz Beatz & The LOX
6.)"Favorite Drug" ft. Rashad
7.)"Can You Believe It" ft. Akon
8.)"Kick It Like That" ft. Jagged Edge
9.)"I'm Black" ft. Marsha
10.)"Fire & Pain" ft. Sizzla
11.)"Burn One Down" ft Flipsyde
12.)"Leave a Message"

-Video: T.I.'s "Top Back" Remix (spotted via: Writer's Block)

-Bow Wow responds to fake interview.

-Soundgenerator just now heard about the Snoop/Suge beef.

-Billboard has the scoop on Grammy nominations announced yesterday.

-Kanye West and three GOATs, as Eskay puts it have signed up to pay tribute to AF1s on a Rick Rubin track. I'm speechless.

-I keep telling folks: when a dog bites a man, that's not news. When a man bites a dog, now we're talkiing.

-Beef, Jay-Z, working with Timbaland are among AOL's 89 redundant, repetitive, cliché in music.

Earlier in the day, I received an email which begins thus:
Behold Hov's latest sellout move. It's a video called "Lost One." The song supposedly deals with emotional setback, romantic dysfunction, and loss. So imagine my chargrin as I watched another product placement clip masqueraded as a music video, which finds Jay cruising around in a 700 horsepower V-12 biturbo Maybach Exelero. It's a concept car, I hear.

Like he did with Armand de Brignac in the "Show Me What You Got" video, Jay rents out a good portion of his 5-minute clip to Maybach Exelero, showing off different angles and attributes of the eccentric whip. And you thought his new album was for you. Ha!

Just the other day, I was bigging up Jay-Z and Russell for coming together to combat anti-Semitism. Little did I know that Russ would turn around and sell his own people for a few bucks. You've probably heard of his out-of-nowhere trip to the motherland to learn about diamond trade. Rather than address Africa's greed-inspired blood diamond debacle, Russell, while standing next to De Beers associates, insists that the diamond trade is beneficial to our people. According to him, movies like Leonardo DiCaprio's "Blood Diamonds" and the forthcoming Vh1 documentary starring Kanye, Paul Wall, Raekwon and others, are all lies.

Turns out Russell, a diamond seller himself, was tapped by a mighty diamond cartel to champion their cause. You see, the cartel is rattled by DiCaprio's movie, which they fear will put a dent to their business this shopping season. So, they allegedly doled out upwards of $15 million to entertainers and merchants to say that diamonds ain't hurt nobody. Which explains why Russell Simmons had this to say on YouTube when commenters called him out on the sellout move:

Our weekly contest has been sporadic lately, but that's about to change. This week, one Ghostface fan will walk away with a dope More Fish tee (Foreman Grill not included). Just answer these two easy questions for a chance to win:

1.) List Ghostface Killah's discography in the order the albums were released.
(Hint: Only Built 4 Cuban Linx doesn't count.)

2.) What 1968 Delfonics song did Pete Rock sample on Ghost & Raekwon's "R.A.G.U." collabo?


Send your answers to TheRapUp@gmail.com. The first correct entry wins.

UPDATE: Well, that was quick. 11 correct entries in less than 30 minutes. Y'all are some GFK freaks.

-Beef is not what Dwayne Carter said to Shawn Carter. Beef is not what Rae said to Jay.
Beef is free speech under quarantine at the University of Central Florida.

-Beef is not Michael Richards' racist rant. It's not Paul Mooney's newfound epiphany over the word "nigga".
Beef is NYPD killing a young black male on his wedding day.

-Beef is not Laugh Factory's ban on the N-word.
-Beef is hip-hop not being involved in politics this year.

-Beef is not Young Buck vs. DJs. It's not Nas vs. the South.
-Beef is minstrelsy rap still being ordered by label execs.

-Beef is not what Snoop said to Suge. Or what Suge said to Snoop.
-Beef is LAPD receiving a pat on the back after unloading 250 bullets on a 19-month old baby and her father.

Previously: What's Beef...Pt. 2

-It sure felt good seeing Mary J Blige take nine gongs at last night's Billboard Music Awards.

-Still on the BMAs, for every 12 asinine moves, Paris Hilton makes one smart move.

-The Coup, Mr. Lif, and their friends almost died yesterday.

-The ever on-point Sacha Orenstein of Oh Word reviews Ghost Dinis More Fish LP.

-Format Mag interviews Styles P. (Time Is Money is starting to sound like a sub-par album after 2 weeks.)

-Now, how the hell am I supposed to believe this about Snoop?

-Gossip experts say Jay and Beyonce are getting married next weekend. *Yawn*

-Two men rap their way out of ticket.

Jay-Z - Lost One Video
(Via SmashTube)

Today also happens to be 5th anniversary of Ether Day. Jay lost one one on Ether Day.

Capo could do a remix with Rakim and G Rap if he wants, I probably still wouldn't like this song. Crappy edits and all, but the humor's intact: "Hip-hop is dead, the killer gave me the will."

----------------------------------------------------------

Must-Watch Video: Nas - Shine On 'Em (Blood Diamonds)

-Video: The Game teams up with Travis Barker. Travis apparently broke his right arm while shooting a video for his side project +44, but still ripped the drums like a pro. (Update: Full Video)

-Oh word.com has a lengthy synopsis of the NYC leg of Rock The Bells tour. They also offer you the sweet escape option of a photo gallery.

-Cam, look what you've done to hip-hop: Pink is the new blue.

-Let me find out this is how one of my favorite emcees is spending his retirement.

-Unbeknownst to many, Chris Rock predicted O.J. Simpson's book title nine years ago. Who woulda thunk it?

-Rising producer J.R. Rotem signs with Epic, launches own label.

-New Clipse video interview. These brothers are very articulate.

-Exploring crack rap in hip-hop.

Rant: From what I gather, 4 major rap releases have leaked in the last 2 days. Is the music industry self-destructing or what? Note to IDJ: Whatever you do, do not leak Nas' Hip-Hop is Dead. I mean, it's already bad enough that Jay got to shoot his video in Europe while Nasir only gets $200 for his.

According to the Chef, "this ain't no publicity stunt." I don't like Kingdom Come either, but they're really going ga-ga with the Jay-Z hate. Chill, Rae.