HIP HOP'S FINEST

Site Re-Launch

2005-12-01T20:48:00.000+01:00

This site will be relaunched tomorrow Dec. 2nd, the day Curtain Call drops in Europe. Please check back at that time. AftermathEnt is going to bring you that raw uncensored street shit.

Curtain Call to be in Stores December 6th!

2005-11-09T13:34:00.000+01:00

Just in time for the holidays, Eminem will be releasing his first collection of hits entitled Curtain Call on December 6th. Eminem is still putting the final touches on the song selection, but you can already secure your copy by pre-ordering now. In addition to the hits that are sure to be included on this CD, there will also be brand new unreleased songs. Pre-order purchasers will also be entered into a contest to win one of five autographed CDs or an autographed track jacket! Go to Eminem.com now to hear the new song "When I'm Gone" In other Eminem news: Apple has been slammed with a cease and desist regarding its Eminem iPod ad, by footwear maker Lugz. At issue is the way the Eminem ad looks. Many observers have remarked a some similarity between the ad and a 2002 campaign mounted by Lugz. Lugz last week issued a cease and desist letter to Apple and its ad agency TBWA/Chiat/Day, calling Apple's hard-won spot a "rip-off". The Eminem ad also featured a man (Eminem) in silhouette in an urban environment with rap music and a similar colour scheme. Lugz called the similarity between the two ads an "unfair use of creative and intellectual property", the New York Daily News reports. However, while the Apple ad features the iPod and paint splashes, the Lugz ad used a ribbon as its theme.

Radio Music Awards - 50 Cent Nominated

2005-11-09T13:31:00.000+01:00

50 Cent, Ciara, Usher, Kelly Clarkson and Mariah Carey are among the top contenders for this year's Radio Music Awards, which will be broadcast live from Las Vegas on December 19 at 9 p.m. on NBC. Green Day's "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" is up for the most Song of the Year nominations, hitting across adult hit, mainstream, rock, and active/alternative rock formats. ... Mariah is doing an in-store at the Los Angeles Virgin Megastore on November 15, the day her Emancipation of Mimi album will be re-released. She'll start signing copies beginning at 7 p.m. that night, but you'll have to get a wristband to be in the line, so get there early.

50 Cent, DVD, OST, Video Game and More

2005-11-09T13:30:00.000+01:00

Next week, an unauthorized documentary about 50 Cent hits stores. The "50 Cent: Refuse To Die" DVD comes out on Tuesday, November 8th. The documentary includes interviews with the rapper's grandfather, Treach from Naughty By Nature and DMC from Run-DMC, reports RollingStone.com. Can't wait to hear "Get Rich or Die Tryin'" the original soundtrack to 50 Cent's new movie? Now through November 7th, fans can hear the entire "Get Rich or Die Tryin'" soundtrack before it hits stores, courtesy of MTV.com's The Leak. To listen to the "Get Rich or Die Tryin'" soundtrack, visit MTV.com. The soundtrack will be released this Tuesday, November 8th. 50 Cent's Get Rich Or Die Tryin' movie was recently screened for a small group of journalists in New York City. In related news, promotional posters for Get Rich Or Die Tryin' created controversy for its graphic use of guns. Paramount Pictures, the studio behind the film, has since pulled the posters from the market. Get Rich Or Die Tryin' hits theaters November 9th. 50 Cent will also star in his own video game. "50 Cent: Bulletproof" for PlayStation 2 and Xbox will let players blast bullets through the streets of New York, with G-Unit at their side. Written by Terry Winter, whose credits include "The Sopranos," "Bulletproof" depicts what the game's creators say is a scenario that could have played out if 50 hadn't gotten into music. The action is full of enough brutal kills that the game easily racked up an M rating. But aside from letting players indulge 50 in his less gentle side, the game will serve as the closest thing 50 has released to a box set. Topped with three tracks recorded exclusively for the game, "Bulletproof" will also include 10 exclusive remixes to songs that have only appeared on 50's mixtapes. Also in the game are songs from 50's official albums and more than a dozen 50 and G-Unit videos. The official track count is 53 songs from 50, 20 from G-Unit, 10 from Lloyd Banks, 10 from Young Buck and four from Tony Yayo, plus 47 tracks from DJ Sha Money XL and 15 videos from 50 and G-Unit. The entire collection is available to players at any point in the game; all gamers have to do is have 50 access his G-Pod. "50 Cent: Bulletproof" will be available for PS2 and Xbox on November 22. Major retailers are offering a never-before-released DVD of 50's 2003 European tour called "No Fear, No Mercy" to consumers who pre-order the game. 50 Cent and G-Unit will be performing in Vancouver on December 3. There has been no mention of any other dates so Vancouver might be the one lucky city in Canada deserving of Fiddy and G-Unit's presence.

50 Throws $12.000 to Fans

2005-11-09T13:25:00.000+01:00

Generosity almost caused a riot as 50 flung Benjamins at his fans.FOR all of the action in "Get Rich or Die Tryin' " - blazing gunplay, tire-screeching getaways, prison-shower knife fights - there was one memorable face-off that was never committed to celluloid. The antagonists were the film's leading man, the rap superstar Curtis Jackson (known to fans as 50 Cent), and its Irish director, Jim Sheridan. It happened when a mob of teenagers showed up to catch a glimpse of Mr. Jackson while he was shooting a scene on a New York street, and he decided to let them know how much he appreciated their support."I got carried away," said Mr. Jackson, describing how he reached into his pocket, pulled out $12,000 and began flinging bills into the crowd. Where Mr. Jackson saw excited fans, however, all Mr. Sheridan could see was a dangerously escalating fervor."I was going to everybody and saying, 'You've got to stop this,' and nobody was saying no, so I just lost my head," said Mr. Sheridan."Jim screamed at me," said Mr. Jackson, a trace of regret in his voice. "But I deserved it. Right, Jim?""The kids were going insane, 50," replied Mr. Sheridan. "I thought someone was going to get injured."Of course, even back in the fall of 2004, when "Get Rich or Die Tryin' " was first announced in the film industry trade papers, there was a sense in Hollywood that Mr. Jackson and Mr. Sheridan made an odd pairing. They couldn't have come from more distant worlds. Over the past 16 years, Mr. Sheridan has made five critically acclaimed films - including emotionally raw independent gems like "My Left Foot" and "In the Name of the Father." "Get Rich or Die Tryin' " is the first that he did not at least have a hand in writing and that isn't told from the perspective of a character who speaks, as he does, with an urban Irish brogue. As for Mr. Jackson, many of the key details in "Get Rich or Die Tryin' " are taken straight from his well-known, thug-themed Horatio Alger life story.Written by Terence Winter (an Emmy-winning writer for "The Sopranos"), the movie follows a sensitive young boy who loses the only parent he has ever known - his drug-dealing mother - and soon ends up a pint-size narcotics salesman on the streets of Queens. Over the course of nearly two hours, Mr. Jackson's character spends time in prison, survives being shot nine times at close range with a 9-millimeter pistol and turns his life around by converting his gangster war stories into hard-bitten lyrics for catchy rap songs. "It's about a guy who," Mr. Sheridan said, "in the middle of the movie has to commit to creativity rather than anything else."Moments such as that have become something of a Jim Sheridan specialty, featuring in "My Left Foot," "In the Name of the Father" and "The Boxer." But all three of those movies were anchored by Daniel Day-Lewis, a stage-trained, Academy Award-winning actor who, if necessary, will take 72 hours to prepare for a scene. Mr. Jackson, on the other hand, learned about being in front of a camera from starring in rap music videos, a skill that relies heavily on stylish clothes, swagger, lip synching and the ability to flash menacing glances directly into the lens of the camera.Mr. Sheridan was watching the video for Mr. Jackson's 2003 hit song "P.I.M.P.," from his hugely successful "Get Rich or Die Tryin' " album, when he noticed Mr. Jackson was holding his own as he bobbed alongside Snoop Dogg, a rapper turned scene-stealing actor. "I just had an instinct about 50 - I just thought he had enough charisma to do the movie," said Mr. Sheridan. He was so confident about his ability to coax a performance out of Mr. Jackson that he promised him at their first meeting, "If you don't get it right in the acting, it'll be my fault, not yours."Throughout "Get Rich or Die Tryin'," though, there were moments when Mr. Jackson needed more than his trademarks - submerged intensity, a cold stare and a mush-mouthed delivery - to sell a scene. It was during these times that Mr. Jackson took comfort in the power of the 50 Cent lore. "There are things that are easier for the general public to believe based on their perception of me as an artist," said Mr. Jackson. But some of the lore is true - like the moment he had to hand over his diamond jewelry when being booked into a state penitentiary - and he tapped into those memories for the role. And the post-ambush hospital scenes, in which he spent eight hours lying motionless, his eyes closed the entire time, hooked up to fake ventilator tubes and splattered with fake blood? "My imagination was running all over the place," he said. "When it was over, I was in a mood. For me, that part was difficult, because I'd been in that position before, but I wasn't conscious."If moviemaking is the world Mr. Sheridan can school Mr. Jackson in, marketing is the arena in which Mr. Jackson has the confidence of a heavyweight champion. According to an estimate in The New York Times, 50 Cent is worth $50 million, and his rap name has been used to hawk everything from a line of Reebok sneakers to wristwatches to "50 Cent: Bulletproof," his new video game. In the United States alone, his albums have sold more than 19 million copies, and he is the first act since the Beatles to have four songs in the Top 10 at the same time on Billboard's Hot 100 chart.Back in 2003, Mr. Sheridan's quasi-autobiographical film "In America," starring actors little known outside the art house circuit, opened in 11 theaters. On Nov. 9, "Get Rich or Die Tryin' " will be shown nationwide, on 1,500 screens. At that point, Mr. Jackson will have already spent a weekend at Las Vegas's Monte Carlo Hotel, wooing disc jockeys from around the country at a special radio junket; he will have completed four MTV half-hour specials, as well as a raft of 30-to-45-second MTV promotional spots; and he will have kicked off a monthlong "Get Rich or Die Tryin' " promotional radio contest with a prize of $1 million. Hoping to grab the attention of moviegoers outside his youthful fan base, he will submit to the four-women-chattering-at-once antics of "The View" as well as show up on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show," where he will no doubt be expected to perform a hip-hop pas de deux with the dance-happy hostess."He works very, very hard - he's determined, very focused and has huge self-esteem," said Mr. Sheridan, recalling how his star dutifully performed scenes over and over again while Mr. Sheridan shouted "Stand still!" "Don't move!" "Stay focused!" "The hardest thing for him to do was to find deep anger. He'd do it as well as he could, and it works, but it's not something that he accessed very readily.""I think it's protective: I think it's about him always being in control, whereas I can lose my temper easily," he adds. "A drama queen."

50 Cent Shows Soft Side in Get Rich or Die Tryin'

2005-11-09T13:21:00.000+01:00

NEW YORK (Nov. 7) - Amid the point-blank shootings, nude scuffling and desperate partying, the most shocking image in the movie "Get Rich or Die Tryin"' is the tear that rolls down the cheek of the baddest man in gangsta rap, 50 Cent.The bullet-scarred, tattooed king of the hip-hop charts did not resort to tricks to achieve the moment. As in other aspects of his life, he was motivated by the fear of failure."I spent the majority of my life trying to figure out how not to cry in situations. I had anxiety about having to get that done," the 29-year-old New Yorker told Reuters about the scene in the movie based on his life, which opens on Wednesday."If I don't pull this off people will look at me and say, 'Told you.' What helped me cry in that scene was me thinking about people viewing me as a failure."The film, which Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson describes as "75 percent factual," tells the tale of an orphaned boy named Marcus who follows into his mother's violent world of drug dealing before devoting himself to rhymes and rap. The movie's title is the same as his debut CD, which sold more than 7 million copies.The first artist to have four songs in the top 10 of Billboard's Hot 100 since the Beatles in 1964, 50 Cent, who took the name of a fabled Brooklyn thief, hooked up with esteemed director Jim Sheridan, an unlikely kindred spirit, to try and extend his empire into the movies.Sheridan was keen to collaborate and used his connection to another superstar of the music world to seal the deal."I've liked rap music for 10, 15 years," said 56-year-old Irishman Sheridan, director of such esteemed films as his debut feature, "My Left Foot" (1989) and "In America" (2003) and recipient of six Academy Award nominations."Bono knew that and told (music executive and the film's producer) Jimmy Iovine, who got me the script. Then I met 50 and it was like I'd known him for a hundred years."I just knew his world. It was like the world I grew up in in Dublin. I knew gangsters and drugs and I was even in a band. It was like he was a long lost brother."Sheridan takes no credit for steering 50 Cent through his emotional scene. "I just said, 'Take one' and he was crying.""We the odd couple, me and Jim," says 50 Cent, who was once shot nine times on the street in front of his grandparents' house."Jim Sheridan came to me before we began the film and said, 'You know, a lot of people want to see this film not be good. You have to be 110 percent here every day on every shot.'"I put everything I could put into the project and I can't wait to see the general public's response to it," he said about his acting debut.'EXORCISM'The rapper, is surrounded by quality talent, from villainous Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, known for his role in HBO's "Oz," to love interest Joy Bryant, drug gang godfather Bill Duke and prison buddy Terrence Howard, star of the indie hit "Hustle & Flow," and featured in "Ray."The script was written by Terence Winter, a two-time Emmy winner for "The Sopranos," who interviewed the rapper about his life for 10 weeks during his Rock the Mic tour last year.Rated R, the film rises above the standard genre piece imbued with realism, intelligence and the raw charm of its star."For me, doing this film is a way of bringing my base closer and to actually broaden my base," 50 Cent said, his baseball cap twisted to the side over his cloth skull cap."There's people out there that don't view hip-hop as a genre of music for entertainment but can sit and watch a film based on my life because there's a curiosity about me."While his rap lyrics paint a crude picture of drug dealing and violence, the movie shows one can rise above."These are the mistakes I made in my life. These are the things I was subjected to," he said. "I had no choice. The things you go through determine who you are."Sheridan said rap is an outlet. "It's like an exorcism. Once you express violence, you kind of defuse it in a way.Fatherhood is a turning point in the film and in his life."My boy is the reason why I write music," he said. "Ahead of that, if I got in trouble and had to go into a program or to jail it was just something I had to do. When he came into the picture if I wasn't physically available to provide for him no one else would."He just turned 9. Marquise," he said, raising from the comfy hotel suite armchair and pulling off his thick hooded sweatshirt to show the name tattooed down his right arm.The rapper is enjoying the fruits of his success, including a $4 million Connecticut mansion he owns that used to belong to boxer Mike Tyson, but says he fights to conquer his fear of failure."When you grow up without finances, finances seem like the answer to all your problems," says 50, who has his own clothing line, a video game coming out and also produces other rap hits."I go to sleep in the home of a man who lived there before me and made $500 million, and he no longer has it. That's an example of no matter how successful you are, you have to be on point with your business."

Several Curtain Call Versions Will Be Available

2005-11-09T13:18:00.000+01:00

Eminem just announced that the album will be available in a special two-disc edition that beefs up his collection of greatest hits with a disc devoted to his memorable collaborations. A final track list has yet to be decided, but expect to find Em's landmark duet of "Stan" at the Grammy's with Elton John on the CD. The set will also feature three new tracks, including the single "When I'm Gone". December 6, 2005 is the release date.

Philadelphia Has No Love for 50 Cent

2005-11-09T13:14:00.000+01:00

Movie billboards advertising 50 Cent's new semiautobiographical film, Get Rich Or Die Tryin,' are quickly being removed in Philadelphia. According to the Associated Press, 21 billboards featuring 50 holding a gun in one hand and a microphone in the other have already been ordered down in response to protests from various community groups. "The message could be 'rob to get rich,'" said Bilal Qayyum, who heads up an anti-violence group Men United for a Better Philadelphia. "It's a very offensive message that is part of a mind-set that says you can solve problems with violence." According to Qayyum, Clear Channel Outdoor, the company responsible for putting up and taking down billboards, have been totally cooperative in honoring these requests. "They showed corporate responsibility," the activist said. In late October, Paramount Pictures agreed to remove some of these same movie billboards after fielding numerous complaints and protests from community activists in a South Los Angeles neighborhood. In this particular case, billboards had been placed in front of area schools where gang and gun violence are prevalent.

Sheridan Worried About 50's Safety After Shooting Incident

2005-11-09T13:09:00.000+01:00

Movie maker JIM SHERIDAN feared life would imitate art on the set of gritty new rap movie GET RICH OR DIE TRYIN' after one of his star 50 CENT's rivals was shot in a street fight.The Irish director feared there would be repercussions after 50's one time protege-turned-rival THE GAME's entourage was shot at during a scuffle earlier this year (05).Sheridan says, "Everybody was wearing bullet-proof vests."But the movie-maker insists he never felt threatened while working with one of the rap world's most controversial figures: "I've filmed in Belfast (Northern Ireland); you get used to it."

Celebrity Softball Challange

2005-11-03T18:05:00.000+01:00

Motorola, Inc. is sure to turn heads at the Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) Show this year as it showcases the Birdcage75 Concept Car featuring the latest in auto couture -- Motorola's blnc IHF1000 Bluetooth(R) Car Kit. The car kit wirelessly transfers calls from a compatible Bluetooth enabled mobile phone to the vehicle's audio system without interruption, and is one of the first steps in Motorola's vision for Seamless Mobility.

Motorola's new products will be put to the test by a host of celebrities, participating in the first-ever Motorola and Unique Autosports Celebrity Softball Challenge at 4:00 p.m. PST on Nov. 2 at the UNLV Softball Facility.

The IHF1000 car kit and Bluetooth enabled phones in Cano's car will keep celebrities like Will Castro, Busta Rhymes, Tony Stewart, Gary Sheffield, Jason Giambi and Vida Guerra connected hands-free and wire-free, as they cruise down the Las Vegas Strip and arrive in-style for game day.

During the 1st Annual Motorola and Unique Autosports Celebrity Softball Challenge, Castro and Busta Rhymes will lead the East Coast Team as they compete against Ryan and the West Coast Customs Team. A portion of the proceeds from the star-studded event will be donated to The Teddy Fund & Attention-Deficit Hyper Activity Disorder (ADHD).

VH1; All Eyes On 50 Cent

2005-11-03T18:03:00.000+01:00

The idea for the movie Get Rich or Die Tryin' was hatched the week 50 Cent's debut first topped the charts in 2003. Curtis Jackson III was certainly an MC with a story to tell -- the former crack-dealer's musical career nearly came to a premature end when he was shot nine times. So it seemed only natural to turn it into his first starring vehicle. With his scarred good looks and quiet mumble, it turns out that Fiddy is an on-screen natural. He spoke to VH1 about having to cry on cue and how he ended up doing his first nude scene. Click here to read the full story.

In related news, promotional posters for Get Rich Or Die Tryin' created controversy for its graphic use of guns. Paramount Pictures, the studio behind the film, has since pulled the posters from the market. Get Rich Or Die Tryin' hits theaters November 9th.

New Bacharach Album Charged With Politics

2005-11-03T18:02:00.000+01:00

The new album titled "At This Time" arrives in stores today with some intriguing attributes. Beats crafted by AFtermath CEO Dr. Dre on three tracks. Politically charged lyrics, among them a bruising attack on the Bush administration. And the record label that's releasing the CD stepped in to ask the artist to tone down the raw language.

Most intriguing is that that artist is none other than 77-year-old Burt Bacharach, a songwriter best known for his polished love songs and elegant orchestrations. Some of his tennis partners are going to be a bit rattled by all of this.

Bacharach is one of the most famous composers in the world and in his sixth decade in the business. He has won six Grammys and three Oscars. He's collaborated on 48 Top 10 hits but along the way wrote the lyrics to exactly zero of them. Old partner Hal David was the word man on "Walk on By," "The Look of Love," "(They Long to Be) Close to You" and most of the other signature works in the Bacharach songbook.

'Touch It' Busta'a Official 1st Single

2005-11-03T18:00:00.000+01:00

Listen to Busta Rhymes First Official Single off "The Big Bang", which is produced by Swizz Beatz. Busta's album is scheduled to release early 2006.

"Touch it" WM RM

Aftermath Updates

2005-11-03T17:56:00.000+01:00

There's a new The Game interview. He talks about Waist Deep, his new movie and how it is coming along and that he's also making the soundrack for the movie. He is four songs into his newest album The Doctor's Advocate and right now he is only working with Dr. DRE and wanted to keep the other producers secret. Click here for more information. The Game was in attendance at Nas and Damian Marley's video shoot for Road To Zion, from Damian Marley's album Welcome To Jamrock.

In other Tha Game news: He was arrested Friday on charges of disorderly conduct and resisting arrest in North Carolina. He's accused of rowdy behavior and refusing to remove a Halloween mask in the Four Seasons Town Centre shopping mall in Greensboro, NC. Police said they will conduct an internal investigation, as they do in all cases where officers use force.

Busta was on tour and wore a big, white T-shirt that read "The Big Bang," due for release early next year. "Flipmode Aftermath is official," Spliff Star hyped. Beats off the upcoming album sounded digital and crispy, a synthesis of dancehall and the "Virginia Bounce" popularized by Missy Elliott and the Neptunes. The 75-minute set also included plenty of classic grooves, such as "Woo-Hah!! (Got You All in Check)," off 1996's "The Coming." Be on the look out for more information on "The Big Bang" soon.

Lil' Jon released a statement, which will clarify months of speculation about the status of his protege, Lil' Scrappy. Jon announced that his BME Recordings is currently negotiating a deal with 50 Cent's G-Unit Records. "We entered a mutually beneficial agreement based on each company's creative strengths," Lil' Jon told AtlantaUrbanMix.com. "On a artist by artist basis, BME will help solidify G-Units artist in the South, where BME has a stronghold. I'll also do production for them, and G-Unit is gonna help market some artists signed to BME; the first being Lil Scrappy." Though full details about the deal were not available at press time, both labels did confirm that the arrangements are in final negotiation stages.

Dr. Dre is about to release his album "Detox" in 2006 and The D.O.C. currently is writing rhymes for "Detox." "The whole family is gonna be on there," Scott Storch said. "If not the last Dre album, this is gonna be one of the last Dre albums we're gonna get. So he's putting a lot into it. It's just a matter of making a classic experience" . (Aftermath Music Forum)

50 Loads Up 'Bulletproof' Video Game With New Songs

2005-11-03T17:50:00.000+01:00

He may have been shot nine times, but now he's getting a chance to fire back — virtually.

Capping off a November of expanded horizons that has him making his big-screen acting debut.

"50 Says He's No 'Super Actor' — And Tells Em He's Not A Sucker"), 50 Cent will also star in his own video game. "50 Cent: Bulletproof" for PlayStation 2 and Xbox will let players blast bullets through the streets of New York, with G-Unit at their side. Written by Terry Winter, whose credits include "The Sopranos," "Bulletproof" depicts what the game's creators say is a scenario that could have played out if 50 hadn't gotten into music. The action is full of enough brutal kills that the game easily racked up an M rating.

But aside from letting players indulge 50 in his less gentle side, the game will serve as the closest thing 50 has released to a box set. Topped with three tracks recorded exclusively for the game, "Bulletproof" will also include 10 exclusive remixes to songs that have only appeared on 50's mixtapes. Also in the game are songs from 50's official albums and more than a dozen 50 and G-Unit videos.

The official track count is 53 songs from 50, 20 from G-Unit, 10 from Lloyd Banks, 10 from Young Buck and four from Tony Yayo, plus 47 tracks from DJ Sha Money XL and 15 videos from 50 and G-Unit. The entire collection is available to players at any point in the game; all gamers have to do is have 50 access his G-Pod.

MTV News was given an advance copy of one of 50's three exclusive tracks: "I'm a Rider." In between promising to shatter glass jaws and offering his prison number to verify his past, 50 holds forth on his high self-esteem: "I'm a rider/ Whether I'm in or out I'm me/ Whether I'm locked or I'm free/ Wherever I'm at I'm who I be/ You know you want to be a rider like me."

50 also made sure the game's action is as in-your-face as possible. Producer Andre Emerson said 50 tested the game backstage numerous times and signed off on its signature killing moves. During one demonstration, 50 showed he's a man of the people, asking Emerson to demo the game for him not on a high-end TV but on the type of average set most of his fans would use to play the game.

Emerson said 50 approved the game from top to bottom, though the producer said 50 acknowledged that his son and Yayo are the bigger gamers in G-Unit's extended family. "50's more of a 'Space Invaders' and 'Tetris' guy," Emerson said.

"50 Cent: Bulletproof" will be available for PS2 and Xbox on November 22. Major retailers are offering a never-before-released DVD of 50's 2003 European tour called "No Fear, No Mercy" to consumers who pre-order the game.

Here are the game's 13 exclusive 50 Cent songs and remixes, according to the game's publisher, Vivendi Universal:

"Pimp Pt2"
"I'm a Rider"
"Maybe We Crazy"
"Don't Make Me"
"Grew Up"
"Hit Your Ass Up"
"Hole in Yo Back"
"I Run NY"
"I Warned You"
"Simply the Best"
"Southside G Unit"
"When You Hear That"
"Why Ask Why"

Game Has Legalties Problems and will Release DVD

2005-11-03T17:48:00.000+01:00

Aftermath artist The Game was arrested in North Carolina last Friday. The West Coast Emcee was accused of disturbing the peace at the Four Seasons Town Center mall.

The police say The Game and his entourage wore masks and yelled out profanities in the middle of the mall. They also say the rapper and his crew acted erratically and resisted arrest.

The Game disagrees.

“I got arrested for signing autographs,” Game says about his arrest

“Signing little girls autographs got me arrested in North Carolina,” he adds.

One of the members in The Game’s posse was able to videotape the encounter with the police.
On the tape, Game is seen with an officer. The police officer sprays mace on Game and his entourage. The tape also shows The Game falling to the ground after the police subdue him with the spray.

“It’s just unfair, man. The behavior is unfair,” Game said.

The Game was hesitant in claiming it was a racially motivated arrest.

“I would play the [race] card but I think we use that too much, man. But, I don’t know, man.”

So, what will The Game do now?

“I got to bring up a case,” he said. “As soon as I wake up in the morning, I’ll be on the phone with my lawyers,” he claimed.

The police department will look into the matter.

“Whenever there’s a use [of] force, regardless of where it occurs or when it occurs, we always initiate an internal investigation and that’s exactly what will happen in this case,” a representative of the police station said.

The use of pepper spray in the incident is causing the police to take a closer look at this situation.

“There was a use of force and we made an arrest for two individuals who are part of the rap group The Game. When we applied pepper spray to those folks, that automatically means we will initiate an investigation to determine whether that was justified,” the rep said.

In other Game news, he will release “Stop Snitching, Stop Lying” about his on-going beef with 50 Cent and G-Unit. The DVD will contain several altercations between the two camps

50 cent talks new movie to comingsoon.net

2005-11-03T17:41:00.000+01:00

50 Cent: For A Few (Half) Dollars More

Sometimes, it's hard to believe that it's only been three years since 50 Cents' platinum selling debut album "Get Rich or Die Tryin'" hit the street. To many, he's still considered an overnight sensation, but then, you see Get Rich or Die Tryin', the movie based on 50's life, and you realize that the rapper has been working his whole life to get to this point. Much of that was time spent doing some less than legal activities before finally turning legit thanks to his music.

The movie is already being compared favorably to 8 Mile starring one of 50's benefactors, Eminem, but as ComingSoon.net found out recently when we interviewed 50 Cents AKA Curtis Jackson, he's not quite as angry and a lot friendlier than his "partner in crime."

CS: Can you talk a bit about how this project came about, as far as who came up with the idea to turn your life story into a movie?
50 Cent: Actually [Interscope Records president] Jimmy Iovine approached me with that after the first week of sales on "Get Rich or Die Tryin'" and he probably had the projections for the next week that made him know that I was going to be big. And it was just an idea at that point, and up until I actually read the screenplay. He said "Let's just see what we come up with."

CS: Why did you want to do this film at this point in your life?
50 Cent: I feel like it gives everyone a really good description of what my life has been like. If they know the things that I've been through in my past, it'll help them make judgment on the things they see me do in the future.

CS: Did you personally pick Jim Sheridan and screenwriter Terence Winter to make this movie?
50 Cent: Actually, me and Jimmy Iovine picked Terry to do the script. After we got the screenplay, we was able to get Jim [Sheridan] involved.

CS: How closely did you work with Terence on the screenplay?
50 Cent: He actually traveled with me for two months, compiling information to create it.

CS: How close is the movie to your actual life?
50 Cent: It's about 75% factual.

CS: Since it's based on your life, why did you change the name of your character?
50 Cent: 75% of the facts that you see in the film are based on something that I told Terry Winters about my life, but it's not actually my life. We didn't go shoot in the areas where it actually took place. We didn't say things exactly the way I would have said them. I still had to learn the dialogue and come in and deliver it on point.
CS: When you were 12, did you really say you were going to be a gangster?
50 Cent: Not a gangster, but "I'm going to get me some money."

CS: How accurate was the portrait of your mother? Did she really die that way?
50 Cent: Yeah, pretty accurate. They just put something in her drink and turned on the gas to cut off her oxygen. [In the movie], they used gasoline to make it more visual, 'cause you can't see the gas. I don't know exactly what they used.

CS: Did you ever figure out who your father was?
50 Cent: That's the inaccurate part. I really have no interest in meeting my father. My mother, when I was younger, she used to tell me things to make me feel special about not having my father be around, cause I'd ask questions, and she told me that I was born through the immaculate conception.

CS: What do you think your mother would think of this film if she were alive?
50 Cent: If she was here, it would be a different film, but I think she would appreciate it. She'd like it 'cause it immortalizes her.

CS: Someone mentioned that the movie had a lot of Shakespearean overtones. Is that something you were aware of?
50 Cent: That's the things that Jim brought to the film, the changes that he authored. He would make references to those things while he was actually doing it. Because he has such a strong history of it, he can modify things in a way where it's today, but it actually has those points to it and those qualities.

CS: How daunting is it to play yourself?
50 Cent: I think it's a great opportunity for me to draw my base closer to me and even broaden it, 'cause it's people who don't choose hip hop as a form of entertainment, they can watch a film loosely based on my life story.

CS: Is this movie a way for you to reinvent yourself?
50 Cent: Well, you know, it's an opportunity for me to let a lot of people judge me. I'd rather them judge me on this film than the information they've received prior to this.

CS: As a first time actor, what things were you nervous about going into this?
50 Cent: I was nervous about having to cry on queue. That's difficult.

CS: Was it painful to relive scenes from your life when making this movie?
50 Cent: I mean, it's therapeutic, not just the shooting part, more just dealing with feelings that you actually felt before, sitting there getting yourself back into that mood, into that zone. Some people may feel like it's easier to act in a film that's based on your life story, but it's more difficult to get away from those emotions once you've actually felt and actually been in that scenario. Cause the scenes are shot out of sequence, one scene you're doing something that's got you crying in the couch in the Poconos, and the next moment, it's comedy.

CS: And you haven't cried since then?
50 Cent: It's been a long time. I've had reasons to… I just haven't done it 'cause I've kind of conditioned myself to deal with those feelings in another way.

CS: Did Jim Sheridan push you a lot?
50 Cent: Well, Jim, he worked with me. We only worked five days a week, two days we was off. I spent some of that time actually with Jim preparing for the next five days.

CS: Were you nervous about doing the shower scene?
50 Cent: Actually, they gave us these biker shorts, and we were supposed to do the scene from the waist up and then we came in and Jim shot it and was like "This is not going to work." He called me to the side and said "50, do you think you can take it off?" and I was like "What?" Then he said "50, just take it off. If you do it, then everybody else will do it" I did it, Terence was with it and we just did it.

CS: Do you work out a lot?
50 Cent: No, I didn't work out much while I was actually on the movie set cause of the hours. It was getting up so early, sometimes 6:30 and we were sitting there for a long period.

CS: What do you think about your status as a sex symbol?
50 Cent: I dunno. I think my love scenes and the nudity in the film will only enhance that.

CS: Are you at all worried about having your movie compared to Eminem's movie "8 Mile"?
50 Cent: I think it's always good to be compared to successful projects so being compared to Eminem's "8 Mile," I don't mind it at all.

CS: What do you think is the biggest misconception about you?
50 Cent: The biggest misconception is that I have bad intentions. By me not sugar coating it and giving a politically correct answer all the time, people pass judgment on me over and over. 'Cause different media outlets and publications publicize things about me, and people take those things for pure fact, and they read it and they assume who I am without actually experiencing being around me at any point.

CS: Jamie Foxx recently said that he enjoyed the music business more than movie business because his love life improved, and it's more fun. Do you think that's true?
50 Cent: I think that music touches people a little closer than film does, and I mean, I only say that because people will jump out of cars and other things and run behind the car when they see you when you're really generating a lot of interest through being a musician, but they don't do that after their favorite actors arrive. Because by the time you've become a great actor, you've been six or seven different people in front of them, so they don't quite know who you are. They just know they liked your performance in that actual film. In music, they interpret the things you say as if it's exactly you, so they like you when they see you.

CS: Are you thinking of doing any other movies after this?
50 Cent: There's a possibility if I come across a screenplay as exciting to me as my life story, I'll do it.

CS: So many rappers have made the transition to acting this year, and rappers like Ice Cube and LL Cool J have actually made careers for themselves as actors. Have you thought about making a career out of acting or do you want to continue rapping and just do it once a while?
50 Cent: This is a great film. If I find something else, I'll commit to it if it was a screenplay exciting enough, but I got the best selling album this year, and I'm comfortable with the success on the music level. This project is just an opportunity to show them something to make reference to of who I am.

CS: What's the first movie that you can remember seeing that made a big impression growing up?
50 Cent: It would have to be "Krush Groove" maybe, because back then I was really into Run-DMC. "Tougher than Leather," too.

CS: Was seeing rappers on the big screen convince you that it was something that maybe you'd want to do?
50 Cent: Not then. Back then it was just because I enjoyed it. I would do it, play with it. It wasn't until my son actually came into the picture that I decided to start writing music full-time.

CS: Do you think you'll see the day when you won't rap anymore?
50 Cent: It's a possibility, but not in my near future. Of course, in the future, there'll be a point where I'm not running around rapping. I'll be executive producing. That's why I set up all the companies I set up. I established G-Unit records after selling 11 Million Records with "Get Rich or Die Tryin'", then move forward to release "Beg For Mercy," scanned 3.5 Million Records, and I'm currently at 6.7 Million records sold on "The Massacre."

CS: Where do you get this confidence for your work that everyone always talks about?
50 Cent: At one point, I was the only one that believed I was good. For a LONG period of time. My grandparents, I love them to death, but they thought I was a little off. After losing the opportunity to write music through Columbia Records and just being by the radio mumbling, because sometimes I don't write the lyrics down so I say the phrases over and over to myself until I know them in my head. And they just see me over there just…"What is he doing?"

CS: What did it feel like when you were shot?
50 Cent: Your adrenaline is pumping. You know your life is in danger 'cause you just heard a gunshot.

CS: But is it really like your whole life flashes in front of you?
50 Cent: Well, not in mine. That's in the movies.

CS: Did you ever see the person who shot you afterwards?
50 Cent: Nah, karma caught up with him before I could meet him and he got shot himself.

CS: Do you think violence is going to continue being a part of your life where you're worried someone else might take a shot at you?
50 Cent: I know that I'm more relevant in the environment that I come from, because they know that I'm from that. Two things happen when you become successful and you're from the bottom. People either are inspired by it or they envy it. Those are the facts, you know, so knowing the possibilities, I take precautions that probably a person who hasn't come from there probably wouldn't bother to take.

CS: So do you think it's a joke that they took those billboards down near schools in L.A?
50 Cent: You know what? They'll pick those billboards. I like to think, for a moment, that they're just being prejudice towards music because music is an artform that has standards placed on it that no other form of entertainment has. You haven't seen a gun on the cover of a CD since 1997, KRS-One's "Criminal Minded," but if we go into our local Blockbuster or any place else where we rent DVD's and movies from, we'll see a firearm and other weapons used as marketing tools on the cover of these projects consistently all over the place. So when they pick me and say "Oh, this is violent because he has a gun" but they had nothing to say about "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" or anything else they've seen, I'll say that I'd like to give everyone the benefit of the doubt and sayin' that it's just being prejudice towards me comin' from music, and not prejudice to my skin complexion.

CS: After growing up in this poor area, how important is money to you nowadays?
50 Cent: Just as important as it is for you. When I wake up in the morning, when I'm at home, I wake up in a house that the man who owned it before me, earned $500 million in his career and he doesn't have that money anymore, so it reminds that I have to be conscious of everything that I'm doing, regardless of how successful you become.

CS: What's your next goal?
50 Cent: I just made new investments with a company called GamerGraffix.com. They actually come up with the new cool things for games. Just to brief you on what's going on with me at the end of this year: November 8th, the soundtrack to the film is released on G-Unit Records, my record company; November 9th, the film hits box office; November 10th, my new sneaker the G63 through RVK comes out; and November 15th, my video game "Bulletproof" hits stores.

50 Cent And Jim Sheridan Defends 'Get Rich' Posters

2005-11-03T17:37:00.000+01:00

50 Cent turns a blind eye to all the controversy surrounding his 'Get Rich or Die Tryin' movie posters, citing that the poster is merely a marketing tool. "When you go to a Blockbuster or a local video store where you can rent DVDs or cassettes, you'll be able to find hundreds and hundreds of references to weapons used on the covers to market the actual film, and nobody had a problem with any of them until they see 50 Cent with a gun because there are different standards based on music. If you went into a music store, you wouldn't find many CDs distributed through a major record company that had those images, so I understand why they're saying those things but it's absolutely nonsense," he explained to Reuters.

50 Cent Open To Doing Business With Jadakiss

2005-11-03T17:35:00.000+01:00

If Jay-Z and Nas can put aside their differences, why can't Jadakiss and 50 Cent? In hip-hop, anything can happen.

On Monday in New York, 50 told MTV Radio that there's really no bad blood between Jada and him. "Jadakiss, I don't resent him to the point where I'd absolutely like to see him suffer," 50 said.

Last week on New York radio station Hot 97, 50 said that he'd even like to help Jada make his next record.

"I didn't say I would sign him," he said to MTV Radio about the once seemingly far-fetched rumors of Kiss coming to G-Unit Records. "I said I didn't dislike him."

While 50 didn't clarify exactly what his intentions for Jada were, he did allude to the fact that he was open to doing business with the man he's dissed on records, in a music video and on the cover of his current mixtape.

"There are other options and opportunities that may open up for [Jada] in the future," 50 said. "If he's smart enough to explore them, there is a possibility. I'm trying to build my company as fast as possible. There's unlimited possibilities.

"I only wrote two lines about Jadakiss [on 'Piggy Bank']," 50 continued (see "50 Mocks Fat Joe, Jadakiss, Game, Nas In 'Piggy Bank' Video"). "I said, 'I'll do your little ass like Jay-Z did Mobb Deep,' and that was put you on the Summer Jam screen. That wasn't a disrespectful-enough insult to stop Mobb Deep from doing business with me, and they made the best-performing record of their career with 'Outta Control.' It went to the top 10 in all formats."

Although Jada could not be reached for comment, his LOX partner Sheek Louch said, "50 will never put out a Kiss record. Ever."

One person 50 is definitely going to be working with is Mase. In fact, the two have already knocked out some songs. While Mase has confused and angered some fans with his return to his Murda Mase M.O. of harder raps — Mase has dissed Diddy, Brandy, Fabolous, Loon, the New York Knicks' Quentin Richardson and even dropped lines like "I'll have hoes back of the church humming your name" — 50 says when he started putting out new material by the pastor on the mixtapes he expected some backlash. But 50 also says everyone can calm down — it's all for the greater good.

"That's actually my idea," 50 said about Mase going back to "Murda." "I'm actually not supposed to say this, but I'mma say it anyway. Me and Mase sat down and had conversations. I told him, 'When you were writing Murda Mase material you sold 4 million records. If you can sacrifice for a moment ... having people being confused with what your intentions are and have them think that maybe 50 is so evil you went from God to the G-Unit, that he got you thinking like that, it'll all be for a greater win when you generate that interest of [millions] of people to deliver a record that has a positive message.' "

50 stressed that Mase's new album won't just be all Murda.

"What you gonna hear when you hear Mase's new record is the production caliber of a Get Rich or Die Tryin' and The Massacre with a more positive message. The concept of it is the phases he's gone through in his life. Right now he's trying to create the Murda Mase portion of it. While he's doing it, I'm taking the pieces of it and putting them on the [mixtape] circuit so they can hear it. These things have been surfacing on radio. It's such a dramatic change, like 'Wow, you got a minister talking aggressive.' If you can get the kid that's listening to that aggressive music to hear and understand your positive message, he actually did something."

50 says that despite his master plan, he still expects some people to shun Mase when his album drops. Nonetheless, he anticipates big album sales.

50, Mase, the G-Unit, Mobb Deep and M.O.P. are all featured on the soundtrack to "Get Rich or Die Tryin'," due November 8 (see "New 50 Music Hits Airwaves; MC Admits That He Too Was Once A Window Shopper"). The film hits theaters the following day.

50 Cent Wants to Buy Interscope

2005-10-29T12:51:00.000+02:00

50 CENT wants to buy Interscope Records - because he claims he generates most of the labels income.

He has branched out into a range of business interests since achieving musical success, and he now dreams of owning the company which distributes his work.

He tells Maxim magazine, "I'd really like to be able to afford Interscope Records. I'm making 70 per cent of the black music at Interscope, and I'm growing.

"If I keep the pace I'm at now for the next three years, eventually I'll own it...

"Once you make the right offer, everything is for sale."

50 Cent Admits he was Once a Window Shopper

2005-10-29T12:46:00.000+02:00

As the release dates of 50 Cent's new film, "Get Rich or Die Tryin'," and its accompanying soundtrack draw closer, the rapper is in full hype mode, with a host of appearances and new music.

Last weekend, a record called "I Don't Know" which Fif's "Get Rich" character, Marcus, actually raps part of in the movie — aired and hit the Internet. The song features 50, Lloyd Banks, Prodigy, Spider Loc and Mase, the latter of whom takes a jab at Loon and Fabolous — "I don't know why Loon and Fabby won't just call me their daddy" — as well as "CB4 gangstas in Harlem" who keep coming at him. They all rap from the perspective of men who are being interrogated by the police but are unwilling to cooperate.

50's current single from the soundtrack, of course, is "Hustler's Ambition" (see "50 Says He's No 'Super Actor' — And Tells Em He's Not A Sucker"). If it weren't for another MTV film starring his "Get Rich or Die Tryin' " co-star Terrence Howard, Fif said the single's title would have been the name of the movie as well.

" 'Hustle & Flow' was coming [out]," he said about the title change. "My initial title for ['Get Rich'] early on was 'Hustler's Ambition.' I wrote the song during a break [in filming]. We cut, and I went back to the trailer and wrote the record."

Naturally, filming the movie motivated 50 to write other songs for his soundtrack.

"A lot of songs," he insisted. " 'Window Shopper' is inspired by a scene where a young version of my character is looking through a [store] window at shoes, right before he decides to start hustling. I kind of took it and made it relevant to 50 Cent because I know that the general public isn't going to expect less than the best material from 50 Cent. They're not going to understand that I wrote that in character if I'm saying things away from what they've already assumed I am and what they already used to."

Keeping in step with his m.o., in the chorus of one version of "Window Shopper" that's playing on the radio, 50 calls out his rivals Ja Rule, Nas, Fat Joe and Jadakiss as window shoppers. (Another version doesn't mention their names at all.)

"Yeah, yeah, it makes [the song] more relevant to 50 Cent when I start mentioning Ja, Jadakiss, Joe and Nas," he explained.

"It's weird because at [one] point in my life, I was a window shopper," he added. "But I was a kid then. It's time for me to grow up and move on. You too old to be a window shopper these days, man."

Check out the video for "Window Shopper" here.

But while prepping his new music and his film debut, 50 still took time to offer some words to Dr. Dre. During an interview with BBC Radio, he urged Doc not to work on Game's follow-up to The Documentary, which is currently under way with producers like Just Blaze and Cool and Dre. 50 said to the best of his knowledge, Dr. Dre is not working on the LP.

The soundtrack to "Get Rich or Die Tryin' " comes out November 8, and the film drops the next day.

Get Rich or Die Tryin' Promotion & Videos

2005-10-29T12:41:00.000+02:00

the Game Got Arrested

2005-10-29T12:36:00.000+02:00

Members of "The Game's" entourage shot video of the arrest, which shows many of the members getting peppered sprayed.

Greensboro, NC -- An argument over a Halloween mask turned into a big scene at Four Seasons Towne Center tonight. And the rapper "The Game", also known as Jayceon Taylor ended up behind bars.

In a videotape shot by a member of "Taylor's' entourage, we don't see the argument or what led up to Taylor's group being confronted. But you can see police start to arrest Taylor.

Then it appears the officer moves toward the crowd, pepper spraying several people. He even sprays the camera taking this footage.

As the video continues, Taylor is put in handcuffs and escorted out of the mall.

WFMY News 2 caught up with Taylor right after he bonded out of jail on resisting arrest and disorderly conduct charges.

To see a statement from "The Game" as well as from the Greensboro Police Department, just click on the video link.

Video

Game Signs Shyne to BlackWallStreet

2005-10-28T12:37:00.000+02:00

The Game isn't letting 50 Cent's recent signings of Mase, Mobb Deep and MOP (nor the rumors that he's signing Kool G Rap, Beanie Siegel, Lil Scrappy) upstage his CEO hustle.

The Black Wall Street CEO has signed New York rapper Shyne to his Black Wall Street East label, along with Charlie Baltimore.

Eastwood and Techniec are also signed to the Black Wall Street and form The Black Gang with Game, the group that was formally called M.O.B. The Black Gang stands for “The Black Lives American Couldn't Kill Gang.”

Shyne is still incarcerated and is scheduled for release in 2009, however the Free Shyne campaign is in full swing.

Meanwhile, The Game has begun work on the follow up to his multi platinum debut The Documentary titled The Doctors Advocate, which will be released under Black Wall Street and Aftermath.

"It's the same format at The Documentary. If it aint broke don't fix it," Game stated. "I am still with Dre and I'm working with some of the best producers."

50 Cent says he stopped Dr. Dre from working with The Game

2005-10-28T12:18:00.000+02:00

50 Cent appeared on WQHT today and challenged the station, The Source Magazine and other artist. In perhaps his most surprising interview of this year 50 called into Hot97 to set the record straight on his thoughts on a few things like the signing of former Pastor and Harlem bred rapper Murder Mase and more. 50 cent was challenged by morning show host Miss Jones on a recent mixtape he produced for a Mase track that has lyrics that she feels advocate the killing of Children. 50 cent said he did not advocate it but it was something that was really happening in the streets, the host said the end of the song had a chorus that lyrically called for it as a tactic. 50 Cent said, “don’t challenge me but the station needs to challenge itself and not play his music”. 50 clarified that he was not saying don’t play any of his music but that his Mixtape music was geared for thugs and other street urchins not radio. So while the song may be dangerous the station is irresponsible by playing it. The host agreed.

50 main purpose was to address rumors involving other artist. 50 Cent said that Mase will be making violent music again to show his other side before his ministers duties and that is what G-Unit will focus on for the artist.50 feels that offers a more complete Mase image and it will be true to him, he said he hope to just reach a portion of the Mase fans that once brought 4 million copes of the music. 50 Cent also addressed the rumor that he has stopped Styles P album from coming out and in fact he wants to make Jadakiss next album.

50 said that he wears his nickname Curtis Interscope Jackson as a badge of honor and that he does have a lot of influence in Interscope, so much influence that he has stopped Dr.Dre from working on The Games new album. Game new album entitled The Doctors Advocate would not feature any appearance of 50 Cent and his former G-Unit group members or any production from Dre.”The Game already knows this and decided to keep the name of the album the same as not to cause a stir” but there will be no Dre production on it because of the feud with he and Game.

50 said he has no compassion because nobody had compassion for him growing up but he was looking for any feuds and said that he had no plans to challenge Jay z and hopes that he and Nas work together. Morning Show Host Miss Jones than asked to work with 50 Cent in the future and if it was possible that she could get signed. 50 Did not agree but Hot97 and 50 announced their 10,000 dollar giveaway promotion and that the two were united in distrust against the Source Magazine who did a unflattering feature on both hot97 Payola and the G-Unit camp in the latest magazine on stands now.

BME and G-Unit to Form Alliance

2005-10-28T12:16:00.000+02:00

Rapper/Producer Lil' Jon released a statement today, which will clarify months of speculation about the status of his protege, Lil' Scrappy. Jon announced that his BME Recordings is currently negotiating a deal with 50 Cent's G-Unit Records.

"We entered a mutually beneficial agreement based on each company's creative strengths," Lil' Jon told AtlantaUrbanMix.com. "On a artist by artist basis, BME will help solidify G-Units artist in the South, where BME has a stronghold. I'll also do production for them, and G-Unit is gonna help market some artists signed to BME; the first being Lil Scrappy." Though full details about the deal were not available at press time, both labels did confirm that the arrangements are in final negotiation stages.

The statement officially ends months of speculation about whether or not Scrappy will be leaving BME to become a G-Unit Soldier. While the "Prince of Crunk" denied such rumors in an interview with Ozone Magazine last month, 50 Cent reportedly made it official during a recent interview on BBC's Radio 1 Rap Show in London. During the October 15 interview, 50 told host Tim Westwood that Lil' Scrappy was "coming over to G-Unit." Reps for G-Unit Records declined requests for a comment.

Founded in 2002 by Lil' Jon and childhood friends Vince Phillips, Emperor Searcy, and Rob Mac, BME is preparing new releases from Trillville, Lil' Scrappy, Bohagon and E-40.

Dr. Dre Consultant for 50 Cent Movie

2005-10-28T12:15:00.000+02:00

Jim Sheridan was so determined to make sure he understood rap culture when teaming up with 50 Cent for new movie Get Rich Or Die Tryin' he hired Dr. Dre as a consultant. He shocked many movie experts when he signed up to direct the urban drama, loosely based on 50 Cent's life.

But Sheridan insisted from the start he was the perfect choice to take charge of the gritty project. He says, "I grew up in an area of Dublin that was very poor, and there was lots of heroin. I had fights with kids, addicts, and I had to defend myself."

As well as hiring Dr. Dre as an unofficial adviser, Sheridan allowed his stars to coach him on ghetto language he didn't understand and he even researched the history of slavery "to understand where some of the attitudes come from." (WWN)

Spike Video Game Awards

2005-10-28T12:13:00.000+02:00

Even digitized versions of 50 Cent, Dr. Dre, Eminem and Diddy are cleaning up at award shows. All four artists have been nominated for Spike TV's Video Game Awards 2005 for their roles in games like 50 Cent: Bulletproof. The awards show, set to take place November 18 at Gibson Amphitheater in LA, will be hosted by Samuel L. Jackson.

50's game received nods for Best Action Game, Best Performance by a Human - Male, Best Cast, Best Supporting Male Performance, Best Soundtrack and Best Original Song. Dre and Eminem got nods for Best Supporting Male Performance for their roles in Bulletproof, while Diddy was nominated in the same category for his role in Marc Ecko's Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure. Jessica Alba even received two nominations for her role as Invisible Woman in Fantastic 4: Cyber Vixen of the Year and Best Performance by a Human - Female.

"Getting Up Anthem: Part 1" by Talib Kweli and Rakim in Getting Up as well as "Maybe We Crazy" by 50 Cent in Bulletproof and "When I Get Angry" by Spider Loc in Madden NFL 6 were nominated for Best Original Song. The soundtrack for Bulletproof is up for Best Soundtrack.

The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Vin Diesel, The Rock, Missy Elliott, Snoop Dogg, Carmen Electra, Xzibit and Ozzy Osbourne are set to appear at the event, while presenters and celebrity attendees will be announced soon.

The venue itself, meanwhile, will feature a slew of 100-foot-tall walls of video screens, skybox audiences, and game-versus-game iconoclastic graphics.

Yayo vs. the Source

2005-10-28T12:11:00.000+02:00

Tony Yayo has had it with The Source magazine. SOHH.com reports that the MC is not pleased with the publication’s November cover, emblazoned with the headline “G-Unot” to describe its feature article on the perceived slippage of 50 Cent’s G-Unit crew of emcees.

"My response is no more passes cause I sat back and I gave [Source Chief Brand Executive Raymond "Benzino" Scott] a pass," Yayo told SOHH.com. "He disrespected me by doing that. I'm bigger than that. Anybody who has to use a magazine as a weapon is soft. He can't even go through [his hometown of] Boston. They set his car on fire. I'm doing a show in his town tomorrow. I'll say what I gotta say there."

According to SoundScan, Yayo’s latest album, “Thoughts of a Predicate Felon,” sold 214,687 copies during the week of its Aug. 30th debut. The Source calls those numbers weak in comparison to previous sales debuts from G-Unit artists, further underscoring their notion that the crew is falling off.

"Dudes is haters," says Yayo says in response. "I did 215 [215,000 units] my first week with Kanye West [debuting as well]. My second week I dropped down to I think it was 60, by 33 percent something like that. Kanye West dropped down to the same numbers, but ain't nobody say nothing to him about it. But it's me, so they're like, 'Ohhh, Interscope is buying my records.' That's what he was saying to try to assassinate my character. I could have did more than 215,000," he adds. "I dropped the same day as Kanye – he's a Grammy Award winner and had way more promotion than me. [He had] Pepsi commercials, all kinds of things that I couldn't do. That was one of the biggest numbers that came out this year. Everybody else that came out was doing 100,000 and change. I did 215 with a Grammy award winner."

2 Rumors not True

2005-10-28T12:09:00.000+02:00

1st off, Daz Dillinger and Kurupt appeared on Julio G's show on KDAY to talk about all their ongoing projects and Kurupt mentioned that Nate Dogg was now officially signed to Aftermath! This rumor is not true.

Another funny rumor is that 50 Cent and The Game will be in the near future dropped from Aftermath and that Game already has been and 50 will be after the movies release. This rumor about 50 and Game being dropped is false. Aftermathmusic.com - ain't gonna be nuthing after that.

1 Year Shade45

2005-10-28T12:08:00.000+02:00

In honor of his SIRIUS Satellite Radio channel's first anniversary, Eminem will be making appearances on the station over the next few days to celebrate its success.

October 27 is the official one-year anniversary of Shade 45, an uncensored and commercial-free hip hop channel produced by Eminem. Launched in October 2004 at Em's Shady National Convention in New York City, the channel has since featured in-studio interviews with Donald Trump, Jay-Z, Ludacris and others, and provided exposure for breakthrough artists like Paul Wall and Mike Jones.

Stat Quo to be on Disturbing tha Peace

2005-10-27T12:02:00.000+02:00

Stat Quo will join Ludacris for the second Disturbing Tha Peace Records album, titled Ludacris Presents… Disturbing Tha Peace. The disc, which will also be available with a limited-edition DVD of music videos, will hit stores on December 13, according to Billboard.com.

50 Cent; Bulletproof Feature Preview

2005-10-27T12:00:00.000+02:00

Bulletproof has been the subject of much speculation since it was first announced earlier this year. The prospect of a video game starring a popular rapper caused more than a few eyes to roll in the wake of less-than-stellar video game offerings that have tried to capitalize on a musician's appeal. Stylish but obviously CG trailers for the game did nothing to quell doubts that the title would coast on 50's appeal, rather than gameplay. However, 50's involvement with the game, as well as that of developer Genuine Games' experienced team, has resulted in a very surprising twist to this tale: Bulletproof actually looks like it might be a more-than-passable entry in the third-person action genre. After getting a demo and some exclusive hands-on time with the PlayStation 2 and Xbox versions of the game, we're pleasantly surprised to report that 50 Cent: Bulletproof is shaping up to be a strong title capable of gaining notoriety because of its presentation and gameplay, not just its star. Gamestar.com get an exclusive hands-on of the surprising action game from VUG starring 50 Cent.

Paramount, 50 Cent Criticized Over 'Get Rich' Movie Advertisements

2005-10-26T14:20:00.000+02:00

Paramount, MTV, Interscope Records and 50 Cent are coming under fire by a coalition of Los Angeles community leaders, activists and concerned parents over advertisements for 50 Cent’s new movie, “Get Rich or Die Tryin’.”Billboards, posters and other ads depict the best-selling rapper brandishing two handguns as a promotion for the upcoming film, which is based loosely around his rise from the streets of Queens, New York to the top of the music industry.The ads are also receiving major promotion on the internet, as the campaign is being served through Google’s targeted affiliate advertising program.The boycott is being led by Project Islamic HOPE, The National Action Network, Justice For Murdered Children, the local NAACP, Stop The Violence Increase The Peace and Dr. Earl Ofari Hutchinson."Gun violence is one of the leading causes of death for young black males in South Central Los Angeles and across urban America,” Najee Ali of Project Islamic HOPE said in a statement. “It's irresponsible for Paramount Pictures to promote and market a movie that glorifies carrying guns.”According to recently released statistics, there were 379 homicides in Los Angeles as of Oct. 8, 2005, down from the previous year. But according to reports, guns were used in 71 percent of murders.The group is demanding that the ads featuring the rapper brandishing the weapons be immediately pulled from the marketplace.“Guns are weapons of mass destruction that are used to kill people,” Ali continued. “We demand that Paramount Pictures remove these negative images of death and destruction, images that our young children are influenced by.”Representatives for Paramount were not available at press time.

50 Cent Prepares for Weekend Promotional Blast

2005-10-26T14:17:00.000+02:00

Details leaking from rapper 50 Cent's weekend promotional bash to trumpet his movie "Get Rich or Die Tryin'" could get the attention of watchdogs of the broadcasting industry.Spies tell me 200 of the top hip-hop deejays around the country were flown in on somebody's dime for a weekend of decadence.The itinerary included free booze stops Friday and Saturday at OPM, the nightclub at the Forum Shops at Caesars, and Crazy Horse Too, the strip club.Prepaid lap dances were part of the latter.Back in July, Sony BMG agreed to pay a $10 million fine for what New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer called widespread payola schemes that implicated Celine Dion, Mariah Carey and Jennifer Lopez.50 Cent motored around in an armored vehicle with fellow rappers Lloyd Banks, Young Buck and Mobb Deep and their security personnel.Five custom buses were to transport the deejays to the various party hot spots.The rapper's handlers rented out OPM's VIP Orchid Room for both nights and prepaid for 100 bottles.The advance team's most unusual request: OPM and the Crazy Horse were asked not to play any songs by 50's rivals Fat Joe, Game and Ja Rule.A Crazy Horse source tells me the club called in an extra 60 dancers on top of its usual stable of 250 to be available for the Paramount Studio/Interscope Records party.

Tony Yayo Takes Aim At Benzino, Plans Video Game

2005-10-26T14:10:00.000+02:00

In between two concert dates, Tony Yayo took the time to chat with SOHH.com and address The Source Magazine's G-Unot cover and his disappointing album sales.Yayo phoned into Star and Bucwild's morning show last month and told (New York) Power 105.1's audience that he warned Source Chief Brand Executive Raymond "Benzino" Scott never to write about G-Unit again. According to Yayo, Benzino was shook and wanted to talk with the G-Unit rapper. Several weeks later, The Source released its November issue, taunting "G-Unot" on the cover."My response is no more passes cause I sat back and I gave him [Benzino] a pass," Yayo told SOHH.com. "He disrespected me by doing that. I'm bigger than that. Anybody who has to use a magazine as a weapon is soft. He can't even go through Boston. They set his car on fire. I'm doing a show in his town tomorrow. I'll say what I gotta say there.Upon dropping Thoughts Of A Predicate Felon on August 30th, Yayo sold 214,687 CDs in his first week according to Nielsen's SoundScan. In the G-Unot issue, The Source notes the sales numbers and claim it's an indicator that the G-Unit brand is slipping. Yayo disagrees."Dudes is haters," says Yayo. "I did 215 [two hundred and fifteen thousand units] my first week with Kanye West [debuting as well]. My second week I dropped down to I think it was 60, by 33 percent something like that. Kanye West dropped down to the same numbers, but ain't nobody say nothing to him about it. But it's me, so they're like, 'Ohhh, Interscope is buying my records.' That's what he was saying to try to assassinate my character."I could have did more than 215,000," he adds. "I dropped the same day as Kanye-he's a Grammy Award winner and had way more promotion than me. [He had] Pepsi commercials, all kinds of things that I couldn't do. That was one of the biggest numbers that came out this year. Everybody else that came out was doing 100,000 and change. I did 215 with a Grammy award winner."Yayo is presently touring the country as part of his "Thoughts Of A Predicate Felon" tour. The Queens, NY rapper is also prepping the release of Free Yayo, a video game soon to be available on wireless phones. He's also in talks to release his own liquor, start an adult entertainment agency and is soon to appear in 50 Cent's Bulletproof video game and Get Rich Or Die Trying soundtrack.Get Rich Or Die Trying's soundtrack features Lloyd Banks, Young Buck, Olivia, Mobb Deep and M.O.P. is scheduled to hit stores November 8th.

Get Rich or Die Tryin' Soundtrack Leaked

2005-10-26T13:57:00.000+02:00

Earlier today the official soundtrack for rap artist "50 Cent"'s upcoming movie 'Get Rich or Die Tryin'' (named after his debut-CD under Shady/Aftermath) leaked. The full version of the soundtrack is available for download. Please go out and buy it when it comes out, support Shady/Aftermath/G-Unit.

50 Cent Shot By "Hommo" Reveals Tell-All Book

2005-10-26T13:56:00.000+02:00

Brooklyn stick-up kid Darryl "Hommo" Baum has been revealed as the man who shot 50 Cent nine times back in 2000.Curtis '50 Cent' Jackson was shot near his grandmother's house in Jamaica, Queens in May of 2000. At that time, police told SoHH.com exclusively that 50 and an associate, 22-year-old Alton Brown, were sitting in a parked car in the Jamaica section of Queens, when an unknown assailant pulled up beside them in a blue General Motors car and fired nine shots with a 9MM handgun. Brown sustained a gunshot wound to the hand while 50 was wounded once in each leg and once in the jaw.After the shooting, the victims drove themselves to a nearby hospital. The suspect was described as a Black male in a black short-sleeve shirt with a stocky build.In the new book, Queens Reigns Supreme: Fat Cat, 50 Cent, and the Rise of the Hip-Hop Hustler, author Ethan Brown reveals that Baum, whose alias is short for Homicide, was indeed 50's shooter. Baum was later shot to death in June 2000 -- just three weeks after shooting 50 .In interviews and songs like 2003's "Many Men" off Get Rich or Die Trying, 50 Cent has hinted that Baum's murder was in retaliation for shooting him. However, author Ethan Brown tells that Baum, then 34, was killed because one of his street accomplices had murdered a member of Brooklyn's Cash Money Brothers crew.Meanwhile, Mike Tyson, as close friend of Baum, was so devastated by the murder that he stopped training for his fight against Lou Savarese. Tyson still won the fight, knocking out Savarese after 12 seconds of the first round. As previously reported by SOHH.com, Baum lived with Tyson prior to being killed.Brown's book shows how the streets and housing projects of Southeast Queens influenced the borough's most prominent emcees. The book documents 25 years, starting with the crack era until Jam Master Jay's murder and the on-going feud between Ja Rule and 50 Cent.Also in the book, Queens native Russell Simmons comments that he doesn't support convicted drug lord Kenneth Supreme McGriff."I'm not standing up for 'Preme," Simmons stated, noting that he'd rather fight for animal rights than for a drug kingpin. "I can't stand up for Supreme. I hope he's innocent. I hope he didn't hurt anyone."The book also features an interview with Irv Gotti as well as details the careers of legendary Q Borough hustlers like Kenneth "Supreme" McGriff, Lorenzo "Fat Cat" Nichols, Gerald "Prince" Miller and Thomas "Tony Montana" Mickens.

Eve Speaks on Her New Album

2005-10-24T20:30:00.000+02:00

Eve is four songs away from finishing her as-yet-untitled fourth album. "Swizz Beatz did a lot of stuff. I'm now with Aftermath again, but Swizz is like my brother. Dre hasn't come in yet, but he will, he's the captain of the ship. It's definitely gonna sound different than anything anybody's ever heard [from me], but not in a scary way. It's just in a more mature way."

Fat Joe Fuels Rap War With 50

2005-10-24T20:29:00.000+02:00

Heavyweight rapper Fat Joe fanned the flames of his feud with 50 Cent and his rap crew G-Unit at last night's Mtv Video Music Awards in Miami, Florida, by poking fun at his entourage.

Joe, still upset by 50's criticism of him in his song Piggy Bank earlier this year, stated, "I feel so safe tonight with all this police protection, courtesy of G-Unit," during his presentation speech for Best Hip-Hop Video.

His sarcastic comment prompted boos that lingered long after Missy Elliott took to the stage at the American Airlines Arena to pick up the award.

And as he walked off the stage with Missy, Joe faced more booing and loud chants of obscenities from members of the audience, which Mtv censors could not bleep out of the live telecast.

Fat Joe didn't have the last word either - G-Unit star Tony Yayo called him "fat boy" at the end of his performance with 50 Cent, before yelling, "F**k Fat Joe".

Mtv censors then rushed to cut out the rest of his obscenities-laden rant, cutting to commercials.

The tensions continued for the remainder of the show, with audience members yelling obscenities and booing during lulls in the proceedings.

M.O.P. Says Koch Missed The Mark

2005-10-24T20:19:00.000+02:00

SOHH.com has learned that Koch Records has allegedly been lying to retailers by promoting M.O.P.'s St. Marxmen CD as the first family's anticipated G-Unit release.

According to Laze, the Mash Out Posse's manager, Koch is in breach-of-contract by advertising the Marxmen album as the group's highly anticipated record with G-Unit/Interscope.

"They were trying to jump retail on Interscope and G-Unit, since 50 Cent has been touring the world with M.O.P., there has been a resurgence in sales and awareness of the First Fam," Laze wrote on the forums of M.O.P's web site. "We feel that this was wrong by Koch and though the Marxmen is a great record, it should not be viewed as the G-Unit album since the Marxmen was made under the stress of our former Roc-A-Fella/Def Jam situation.

According to Laze, the first shipment of M.O.P Salutes The St. Marxmen will be pulled off the shelves and repackaged in 2006. The LP hit stores October 18th and featured guest appearances by Wyclef Jean, Jay-Z, the late O.D.B. and production from DJ Premier, 9th Wonder and Nottz. The CD will now be re-released after M.O.P.'s official G-Unit album hits stores.

Lil' Eazy Speaks on the Game

2005-10-24T20:16:00.000+02:00

The necklace is remarkable, not only as an exquisitely crafted piece of hip-hop jewelry roughly equal in value to a small condominium, but also as a memorial to the dead.

The diamond-encrusted likeness of the late rapper Eazy-E, the size of a fist, hangs at the end of a thick cable of white gold. His characteristic sunglasses and "Compton"-emblazoned baseball cap are adorned with glittering black "ice."

The necklace is the property of Eric "Lil' Eazy-E" Wright Jr., firstborn son of the hip-hop trailblazer Eric Wright, a.k.a. Eazy-E, the frontman of incendiary Compton collective N.W.A and one of the founding fathers of gangsta rap, who died of AIDS-related illness in 1995 when Wright Jr. was 10.

Leading up to the January release of his first album, "The Prince of Compton," Wright Jr. has become a combative torchbearer for his father's legacy.

While the deceased rapper Notorious B.I.G. continues to be immortalized on posthumous singles (and an upcoming "duets" album) and Tupac Shakur still outsells most rappers nearly a decade after his death, Wright Jr. thinks the hip-hop music industry owes Eazy-E a debt it has been reluctant to pay.

"That's what brings the anger in me, when that [stuff] doesn't get recognized," he said. "They got the blueprint from him. As a businessman and an artist, he made it possible for them to be saying what they're saying."

Thematically, on "Prince," Wright Jr. revisits many of the familiar Compton touchstones N.W.A chronicled two decades ago: lowriders, malt liquor, drive-by shootings and at least one helicopter newscast of a police car chase. At a time when police estimate that Compton's escalating murder rate is 90% gang-related, he wants his gritty raps to be a "cry for help" for the city but also a wake-up call about the way people are living "in the ghettos across America."

In addition to landing a "seven-figure" deal last December with Virgin Records ? which includes his debut as well as a commitment for subsequent albums ? Wright, 21, is quickly establishing his bona fides in a branch of the music biz, hip-hop, that has almost no history of nurturing second-generation talent and in which a performer's bloodline offers no guarantee of money or fame.

Just last month he signed with the powerhouse Creative Artists Agency, and he has begun maneuvering to land endorsement contracts, make a publishing deal for his autobiography and break into acting. The rapper is being groomed for a role portraying his father in an Eazy-E biopic currently in development.

Street credibility ? real or manufactured ? is the bedrock of hip-hop, and Wright says his immediate responsibility is to return a sense of urgency and "realness" to a form of quintessentially Los Angeles-based music that his father helped create.

In a dimly lighted North Hollywood recording studio where he was finishing up 11 tracks for his album, Wright ran his finger along the necklace and spoke again of his father.

"I'm doing what I want to do," he said, "keeping his legacy alive but adding to his yardstick."

No silver spoon

Any understanding of Lil' Eazy-E must begin with an understanding of his Compton upbringing. Wright was born and raised by his grandparents in the same one-story stucco home in which his father grew up.

In the mid-1980s, in the Wright residence's converted garage studio, Eazy-E Sr., O'Shea "Ice Cube" Jackson, Lorenzo "MC Ren" Patterson, Antoine "DJ Yella" Carraby and Andre "Dr. Dre" Young came together to form N.W.A, a group that exploded across popular culture and sold millions of albums.

Their songs, including "F*** Tha Police," "Boyz-N-The-Hood" and "Straight Outta Compton," demonized the LAPD and mythologized the deceptively quiet bedroom community where drive-by shootings are a fact of life ? N.W.A received a cautionary letter from the FBI for its efforts in 1989. The group articulated underclass rage in a way that carries on as a guiding force in hip-hop.

Unlike Lil Romeo, the son of rapper and label owner Master P, who grew up in Beverly Hills and was encouraged to begin rapping professionally at age 10, Wright didn't pull any strings to get where he is. And he was never insulated from the streets by his father's fortune ? even as Wright Sr. grew rich and influential as co-founder of Ruthless Records, one of hip-hop's first rapper-owned labels.

"A lot of people assume I grew up in the Valley, but I grew up here, in the streets," said Wright, seated in the Compton garage where N.W.A spawned gangsta rap. Plush sofas lined the walls, and a bedspread with pink and purple flowers covered the carport door. "I wasn't born with a silver spoon in my mouth."

"Master P is alive, and he was able to push Lil Romeo," said Emmanuel "E-Man" Coquia, music director for Power 106, Los Angeles' top hip-hop station. "Whereas with Lil' E, all he has is his father's legacy."

As a child, Wright was never made fully aware of how much money his father made. Eazy-E, meanwhile, lived in nearby Norwalk. "I don't know how my father wanted me to grow up," Wright said. "But my grandmother always said that he said to her, 'Take care of him.' Life ain't perfect."

Despite their distance, he says Big Eazy was a loving father and a regular presence while he was growing up. Early on, Wright learned to love gangsta rap, in particular his father's and Ice Cube's thoughtful, aggressive style. And he gives his father's child-rearing decisions the benefit of the doubt.

"Compton's not a [very safe] city to be growing up in," Wright said. "[But] if I have a son, of course he's gonna stay with his family down here. Get tough. Get rough. He's gonna know where his father and grandfather came up. It made me who I am."

At 18, Wright Jr. moved to Las Vegas. But when it comes to his formative years there, he refuses to divulge specific details ? apparently what happened in Vegas stays in Vegas. "I was just hustling," he said. "I was living to the fullest, making money."

"But," he added, "you can't hustle forever." Two years ago he decided to turn his attention to rap. A meeting with then up-and-coming Compton rapper the Game led to Wright's appearance on the "G-Unit Radio Part 8" mix tape from influential DJ Whoo Kid last year. Word spread quickly across the underground: Eazy's son can rap.

Credibility in question

WRIGHT'S lineage didn't do any favors, however, when it came time to get a record deal. At the outset, he couldn't even arrange a meeting with label executives.

"A lot of people didn't know his history," remembered Lil' Eazy-E's business partner, Pete "P-Luv" Farmer, a former vice president of artists and repertoire at Virgin Records. Farmer brought Wright to Virgin's attention and is a partner in the newly launched Kings of L.A. label, which was started as part of Wright Jr.'s Virgin deal. "When they'd hear about Lil' E, they'd automatically think, 'His dad's famous. He grew up rich.' "

With his street credibility in question, executives were more interested in marketing Wright as a gimmick ? until Farmer played them a demo. "He got the deal based on one verse," said Bruce "Bruiser" Bible, Wright's manager and a partner in Kings of L.A. "The song was about being Eazy's son."

Since Wright landed his deal, his relationship with the Game has soured. That rapper (real name Jayceon Taylor) has a large likeness of Eazy-E tattooed on his right forearm and in interviews has called Wright Sr. "a father figure" But in light of some of Taylor's recent lyrics, Wright thinks the Game is trying to cash in on his father's legacy.

"It's not homage and it's not respect," Wright said of the tattoo and some remarks attributed to the Game. "To say things like 'I'm living Eazy's dream' or you're the 'rebirth' of my father ? you can't do that."

He added: "Am I gonna walk around with a picture of your father on my body?"
Wright's commitment to perpetuating his father's legacy is most apparent on "Prince of Compton." While his rapping voice sounds slightly deeper than Eazy Sr.'s trademark high-octave wheeze, their sonic resemblance is unmistakable.

Poignantly, on the as yet unfinished song "They Killed You," Wright raps, "Pops, without you, the game ain't the same?. I feel you near me." The rest of the album is similarly laced with autobiographical details.

"He's rapping about what he's been through," Bible said, "about how when you get outside that door, you don't know what's going to happen?. Compton? It's a danger zone."

Viewed in that light, Wright's man-of-the-people accessibility ? his public image consists of creased khakis, simple sneakers, crisply laundered T-shirts and a conspicuous blue bandanna folded into his back left pocket ? can be seen as a turn away from the decadent bling-centrism of hip-hop's last few years.

"To be singing about fancy cars and what kind of Cognac you drink is totally dissonant of reality for most people," said Samuel Roberts, a professor of African American history and public health at Columbia University. "It's been a long time since hip-hop was socially conscious. And Top 40 hip-hop hasn't been that thought-provoking."

Wright believes his father's death from AIDS-related illness has contributed to a conflicted legacy. "It would have been different if he'd gone out in a bang-bang-type situation," Wright said. "The type of person he's remembered as ? Compton gangbanger, drug dealer, no heart, [impregnated] women ? they don't understand how much he gave to the community."

Sputtering with anger, he recalled the time his father courted controversy by attending a 1991 Republican fundraising luncheon in Washington, D.C., with the then-president: "He got to the White House and met George Bush! How hard is that?"

Growing buzz

LIL' Eazy-E's single "Gangsta Sh ? " went into rotation on Power 106 three weeks ago and has been generating positive buzz. The single won't be for sale until November, but its slinky "G-funk" backing track ? and Wright's assertion, "I'm the son of a rap legend, Eazy-E!" ? have created a wider consciousness about his intentions.

"Lyrically, he's dope," said Coquia, the station's music director, giving the rapper one of hip-hop's highest compliments. "It sounds just like young Eazy."

According to Coquia, excitement has been building for a rumored N.W.A "reunion" track.

"A lot of the feedback I've been hearing in the streets is about him getting back with the original members of N.W.A," he said. "That'll be big. People have been waiting on that ? not just on the West Coast, across the whole country. If that record comes out, it'll be an event."

So far, only Ice Cube has participated on the album; he functions as a kind of gangsta narrator on the song "Drive By." But according to Wright Jr., MC Ren and Dr. Dre have expressed an interest in appearing on "Prince" and are trying to find time to join him in the studio.

"This is a new generation of gangsta rap," said Wright, hunched behind a vast mixing board at the recording studio. "Gangsta rap died with the person who started it ? my father. It needs a second coming."

Roling Stone Talks About 50 Cent

2005-10-24T20:09:00.000+02:00

On November 8th the soundtrack to 50 Cent's 8 Mile-style motion picture debut Get Rich or Die Tryin' hits stores. In addition to 50, the soundtrack features tracks by fellow G Unit rappers Young Buck, Lloyd Banks and Tony Yayo as well as Nate Dogg, Mobb Deep and Olivia. 50 appears on all but four of the seventeen tracks. The first single, "Hustler's Ambition," defines 50's alter ego, Marcus, a poor kid from the Bronx (not 50's Queens) who goes from slinging drugs to spitting rhymes. The second, "Window Shopper," backs a scene where Marcus longs for expensive sneakers. "Every song has something that ties it to the actual film," 50 says of the tracks he wrote to accompany Get Rich.

The album, with production from Dr. Dre and Hi-Tek, also includes a likely third single, "Don't Need No Help," with Young Buck. Says 50, "It's a new version of N.W.A's 'Fuck Tha Police,' with a Southern twist."

The soundtrack for Get Rich is available for pre-order through 50's Web site. The film hits theaters November 9th, the day after the soundtrack's public release. The Xbox game 50 Cent: Bulletproof also hits next month, on November 22nd.

The Black Wall Street East Options Rating

2005-10-24T20:05:00.000+02:00

The Game, Nu Jerzey Devil & Johnny Hooks has formed a new division of Blackwall Street titled 'Blackwall Street East". Johnny Hooks (a nation wide developer) heard about Nu Jerzey Devil/Game & the Blackwall Street & was very interested. After hearing the backround of the original Blackwall Street Hooks was hooked. Nu Jerzey Devil introduced Hooks to Game & Fase & now Blackwall Street East is born. With several plans for The Blackwall Street East, all will take place in NJ & will soon venture out to NY.

Young Buck Starts Cashville Records

2005-10-24T20:03:00.000+02:00

David Brown aka Young Buck, G-Unit member of 50 Cent's camp was on Shade 45 today to announce the next direction of Cashville. Young Buck announced to the listeners of Shade 45 that he will start his own label called Cashville Records. His first artist to ink the deal is D-Tay. There has been a D-Tay section open for anyone that wants to get to know more about D-Tay on G-UnitForum.com.

50 Cent, R. Kelly and Eminem Team With B.I.G. For Duets Options Rating

2005-10-24T20:00:00.000+02:00

50 Cent, R. Kelly and Eminem Team With B.I.G. For Duets
Thursday - October 20, 2005 by Carl Chery
The Notorious B.I.G.

Bad Boy Entertainment has just revealed that Diddy, 50 Cent, R. Kelly and Eminem will be appearing on The Notorious B.I.G.'s upcoming The Notorious B.I.G. Duets: The Final Chapter.

As previously reported by SOHH.com, the late Bob Marley is featured on Duets' first single, "Hold Ya Hand" featuring Clinton Sparks. Missy Elliot, Mary J Blige, Eve, Q-Tip, Ludacris, Boyz N Da Hood, T.I., Mobb Deep, Slim Thug, New Edition frontman Ralph Tresvant, Styles P, Snoop Dogg, Obie Trice and others are also scheduled to appear on the CD.

Duets marks Big's second posthumous album. Bad Boy released Born Again back in 1999. The album featured guest appearances by Snoop, Em, Busta Rhymes, Lil' Kim, Method Man, Redman, Craig Mack, G. Dep, Nas, K-Ci and Jo Jo, Ice Cube, Beanie Sigel, Black Rob, Too Short and Hot Boys.

Notorious B.I.G. Duets: The Final Chapter is due in stores Nov. 29 via Bad Boy Records.

50 Cent To Sign Kool G Rap, Lil' Scrappy; Plans Label Positions For Newest Signees

2005-10-24T19:57:00.000+02:00

50 Cent may be adding a few more big name artists to his already stellar roster at G-Unit Records. He spilled the beans on Saturday (October 15) during an interview on BBC's Radio 1 Rap Show in London, where he said he may be signing Kool G Rap, Beanie Sigel and Lil' Scrappy.

During the interview with host, Tim Westwood, 50 stated that he plans to remodel hip-hop. And to start off, the aforementioned artists will be next.

"Everybody wants to be affiliated and a part of what we are doing right now 'cause we got the best camp," said 50. "I'm entertaining the idea of Kool G Rap; we talked and had conversations. Beanie Sigel, we talked to Beanie. [And] Lil' Scrappy is coming over to G-Unit."

Although, there is no official word, 50 continues to express interest in possibly adding them to his artist roster.

In addition to 50 scouting new talent, he plans to move some of his newest recruits -- Mobb Deep and Mase -- to corporate positions within his label. And even noted that they will sign new talent as well.

"You'll be seeing, probably Mase moving into a corporate position. You'll see Prodigy and Havoc start signing new artists 'cause they are really experienced artists. In the A&R department, can't nobody A&R better than the actual artists," 50 told Tim Westwood.

But wait, that's not it. 50 has big, bright plans for his G-Unit company. Currently, G-Unit Records is an imprint under the Interscope umbrella, but he plans to branch off on his own with plans of being the next Def Jam Records.

"We getting ready to do something so big," 50 explained. "We are already making up 70% of the black music at Interscope. Eventually, we're just gonna move over, create our own radio staff and everything else -- just move away from it and be the [next] Def Jam."

Aside from running his label, 50 Cent is preparing the release of his big screen debut, "Get Rich Or Die Tryin," along with the film's soundtrack. The film, which is loosely based around his life story, will hit theaters November 9th with the soundtrack dropping the day before.

Get Rich or Die Tryin' Official Soundtrack Cover and Tracklist

2005-10-24T19:52:00.000+02:00

1. Hustlers Ambition - 50 Cent
2. What If - 50 Cent
3. Things Change - Spider Loc feat. 50 Cent & young Buck
4. When Death Becomes You -M.O.P. feat 50 Cent
5. Have A Party -Mobb Deep Feat. 50 Cent & Nate Dogg
6. We Both Think Alike - 50 Cent feat. Olivia
7. Don't Need No Help -Young Buck
8. Get Low -Lloyd Banks
9. Fake Love -Tony Yayo
10. Window Shopper -50 Cent
11. Born Alone, Die Alone -Lloyd Banks
12. You a Shooter -Mobb Deep feat. 50 Cent
13. I Don't Know Officer -50 Cent feat. Lloyd Banks, Prodigy, Spider Loc, Ma$e
14. Talk About Me -50 Cent
15. When It Rains It Pours -50 Cent
16. Best Friends -50 Cent
17. I'll Whip Ya Head Boy -50 Cent feat. Young Buck

Gotti's Defense Strikes Back To Exclude Wiretapped Convos About 50 Cent Beef Options Rating

2005-10-24T19:47:00.000+02:00

In Part 2 of SOHH.com's exclusive pre-trial coverage of the Murder Inc. trial, we look at the defense's recent filings to suppress conversations between Kenneth "Supreme" McGriff and the Lorenzo brothers (Irv and Chris "Gotti") discussing beef with 50 Cent and intents to perjure, stating they are irrelevant to the money laundering charges against the Gottis.

SOHH.com has obtained exclusively a 5-page motion filed on October 11 by Gerald Shargel, Chris Lorenzo's attorney. In it, Shargel refutes the prosecution's claims of a conspiracy to submit false testimony, and protest the relevance of several taped conversations between Kenneth "Supreme" McGriff and the Lorenzo brothers. Shargel requests that Judge Edward R. Korman exclude large portions of transcripts in which the Lorenzos and McGriff discuss 50 Cent, former Supreme Team member "Born Master," and the death penalty, among other topics, as they are irrelevant to the money laundering case at hand.

According to the filing, McGriff and Chris Lorenzo had a conversation on March 4th in which McGriff and Lorenzo diiscuss the beef between 50 Cent and Irv Lorenzo. Specifically, McGriff and Irv Gotti express worry over the mock Ja Rule death certificate included with 50s Massacre CD, suggesting that a "crazy fan" of 50 Cent might be a threat to Ja.

Shargel asserts that allowing these conversations into next week's trial lead to "unfair prejudice, confusion of the issues" and would serve to mislead the jury by introducing subtle suggestions of a link to rap world violence such as the 2002 murder of Jam Master Jay and 50's 2000 shooting. That said, Shargel states that this conversation is irrelevant to the money laundering charges.

During a March 29th conversation between McGriff and Irv Lorenzo, McGriff again is taped telling Lorenzo that "... your lawyer I think was asking my lawyer that he wanted me testify that you don't know this fucking guy....Jon Ragin." The prosecution points to this conversation to assert that McGriff and Irv Lorenzo "conspired to offer perjured testimony" about Irv knowing Jon Ragin aka "Born Master", a former Supreme associate who has since joined the witness protection program. Schargel request that this conversation also be excluded because Irv Lorenzo never definitively responds to McGriff's statement and therefore there was no conspiracy to commit perjury.

In a final push rush to whittle down the charges against the Lorenzos, Schargel is preparing to go head-on against the prosecutions claims of "money laundering" and establish the entire trial as much-ado-about-nothing. So far, SOHH.com has learned that Ja Rule's manager, Ron "Gutta" Robinson has had all charges against him dropped. Cynthia Brent, the Murder Inc accountant arrested in November 2004 for "structuring" cash, pleaded guilty 2 weeks ago and received no jail time. Dex Ottley, arrested for gun possession, pleaded guilty to gun possession for the gun found in the raid of Murder Inc's offices and received probation.

While the Schargel filing was entered last week, at press time, there is no word as to whether or not Judge Korman has ruled on the issue.

M.O.P News

2005-10-18T16:22:00.000+02:00

Look for more from the First Family in 06. M.O.P is presently on the Massacre World Tour with 50 cent and the rest of the G Unit. Billy and Fame are in the process of recording the new M.O.P album with G Unit / Interscope. Check out the website TheMashOutPosse.com. Merchandise will be coming soon.

M.O.P. First Family returns to the streets with a new, hard-hitting street album titled "Salutes The St. Marxmen". The new KOCH Records release from the First Family is in stores now. You can order the album here. The set features Jay-Z, Wyclef Jean and the late Ol’ Dirty Bastard.

In related M.O.P. news: After working security for Zulu Nation and serving as M.O.P.'s tour manager, Foxx's rhymes have created a strong industry buzz -making her a player to watch for 2005. Chances are you've seen Foxx next to Lil Fame and Billy Danze in every single M.O.P video, or heard her deep voice on one of the duo's cuts over the years. Yet, most are still clueless about the Bronxite's role with the First Family.

Before joining M.O.P., Foxx had enrolled at Perdue University and played college ball for two years. Yet, after injuring her leg, she returned to New York and worked security for Zulu Nation and Afrika Bambataa. Nowadays, Foxx is stepping from behind the scenes and prepping her solo career. It's been years since she rhymed with her former group, Fly, Slick, Wicked and Lethal and the legendary DJ Kid Capri. Now, She's attracting attention from Dame Dash and P. Diddy.

6'2 - Weed-n-Snortin' Produced by Dr. Dre

2005-10-18T16:20:00.000+02:00

Check out the new 6'2" song "Weed-n-Snortin", which is produced by Dr. Dre. He is finally dropping his debut called "Mac A Roni And Gs". Dr Dre produced two tracks on the album.

Game Returns to the Studio for Doctor's Advocate

2005-10-18T09:53:00.000+02:00

The Game is wasting no time as he prepares his 2006 follow-up to his debut, The Documentary.

Appearing last week on New York's Hot 97 morning show, The Los Angeles-based MC said he's currently working on the album, currently titled Doctor's Advocate, and plans to release it in April of next year.

Game has enlisted a host of A-list producers including Dr. Dre, Kanye West, Just Blaze, Buckwild and The Justus League, among others.

In related news, The Documentary was recently nominated for Album of the Year at this year's Vibe Awards. Chuck Taylor will face off against Kanye, John Legend, Mariah Carey and Lil' Kim in the category. The Award show is set to air on November 15th on UPN.

Game's Doctor's Advocate is due in stores next April.

Congrats Em!

2005-10-17T19:06:00.000+02:00

Today is Monday, Oct. 17, the 290th day of 2005. There are 75 days left in the year, but today is a special day for one person - Eminem turned to 33 today. Happy Birthday Slim Shady!Right now Em is putting the finishing touches on a greatest-hits album titled "Curtain Call," which is set for release Dec. 6. Be on the look out for that.

2005 Vibe Awards Nominees Include the Game & 50 Cent

2005-10-17T19:02:00.000+02:00

The nominees for the 2005 VIBE Awards have been announced with Ciara leading the nominations, which include Kanye West, Mariah Carey and John Legend.Ciara received a total of five nominations after the honors were announced on Monday.Ciara, Carey, Legend, 50 Cent and West will compete for Artist of the Year.The coveted Album of the Year category, expected to be equally competitive, includes John Legend's Get Lifted, Kanye West's Late Registration, The Game's The Documentary, The Emancipation of Mimi by Mariah Carey and Lil' Kim's opus, The Naked Truth.50 Cent, Kanye West, Ludacris, T.I., The Game are up for Rapper of the Year, while Boyz N Da Hood, Cassidy, Juelz Santana, Mike Jones and the aforementioned T.I. are contenders for this year's "Street Anthem."This year's show was in jeopardy after a man struck producer Dr. Dre as he went to accept a lifetime achievement award at the Vibe Awards in 2004.Vibe publisher Kenard Gibbs told Billboard that he forged ahead after a groundswell of support."For obvious reasons, it was up in the air at one point," Gibbs said. "Everyone was very concerned as to what would be the fallout of something like this. But after conversations with UPN, our advertisers and the record community, we found everyone was committed to supporting this platform."Below are the nominees for the 2005 VIBE Awards:R&B VOICE OF THE YEARDestiny's ChildFantasiaJohn LegendKeyshia ColeMariah CareyBEST RAPPER50 CentKanye WestLudacrisT.I.The GameNEXT AWARDDaddy YankeeKeyshia ColeMike JonesPaul WallYoung JeezyCOOLEST COLLABO"Gold Digger," by Kanye West, featuring Jamie Foxx"Like You," by Bow Wow, featuring Ciara"Oh," by Ciara, featuring Ludacris"Soldier," by Destiny's Child, featuring T.I. & Lil Wayne"Still Tippin'," by Mike Jones, featuring Slim Thug and Paul WallSTREET ANTHEM"Dem Boyz," by Boyz N Da Hood"I'm a Hustla," by Cassidy"S.A.N.T.A.N.A.," by Juelz Santana"Still Tippin'," by Mike Jones, featuring Slim Thug and Paul Wall"U Don't Know Me," by T.I.POWER BROKER OF THE YEARJermaine DupriJohn SingletonKevin LilesShawn CarterTyler PerryCLUB BANGER"1 Thing," by Amerie"Bring Em Out," by T.I."Can I Have It Like That," by Pharrell, featuring Gwen Stefani"So Seductive," by Tony Yayo, featuring 50 Cent"Wait (The Whisper Song)," by Ying Yang TwinsREELEST VIDEO"Lose Control," by Missy Elliott, featuring Ciara & Fat Man Scoop"Pimpin' All Over the World," by Ludacris, featuring Bobby Valentino"The Corner," by Common"Trapped in the Closet" (Chaps. 1-5), by R. Kelly"Welcome to Jamrock," by Damian "Jr. Gong" MarleyHOTTEST HOOK"Hate It or Love It," by The Game, featuring 50 Cent"Hollaback Girl," by Gwen Stefani"I Ain't Heard of That," by Slim Thug"Some Cut," by Trillville, featuring Cutty"Soul Survivor," by Young Jeezy, featuring AkonVIDEO GODDESSBuffie the Body in "So Seductive," by Tony Yayo, featuring 50 CentChessika in "Play," by David BannerEsther Baxter in "Number One Spot," by LudacrisLyric in "Candy Shop," by 50 Cent, featuring OliviaSummer Walker in "Badd," by Ying Yang Twins, featuring Mike JonesBOOMSHOT AWARD"Can't Satisfy Her," by I Wayne"Footprints," by T.O.K."I've Got Your Man," by Lady Saw"Tempted to Touch," by Rupee"Welcome to Jamrock," by Damian "Jr. Gong" MarleyBEST R&B SONG"All Because of You," by Marques Houston"Let Me Love You," by Mario"Make Her Feel Good," by Teairra Marí"Ordinary People," by John Legend"We Belong Together," by Mariah CareyBEST GROUP112Destiny's ChildThe Black Eyed PeasThe DiplomatsYing Yang TwinsVSTYLEAIX Armani ExchangeBaby PhatJust CavalliRocawearSean JohnVIBE VIXENCiaraJoy BryantKeyshia ColeKimora Lee SimmonsTyra Banks ALBUM OF THE YEAR Get Lifted, by John LegendLate Registration, by Kanye WestThe Documentary, by The GameThe Emancipation of Mimi, by Mariah CareyThe Naked Truth, by Lil' Kim ARTIST OF THE YEAR 50 CentCiaraJohn LegendKanye WestMariah Carey

Yayo Talks About Mase

2005-10-17T18:59:00.000+02:00

Mase still has them talking with his G-Unit freestyles. If you haven't heard, he has a joint that dropped a couple of weeks ago called "Check Cleared" on which he's throwing a light jab at Diddy and calling Brandy a hoe (to her on again-off again boyfriend New York Knick Quentin Richardson no less). People have been calling in to New York radio stations, calling Pastor Murda a hypocrite. The G-Unit's "Energy God," Tony Yayo, says let Mase do his thing."I feel like he felt like he was in a situation and had to get things off his chest," Yayo explained of Mase's recent hardcore freestyles. "He's around 50 and us, he's feeling good, he's in a good situation. It's just a mixtape rap."I think he wanted to see if he still had 'Murda' in him, and he did," Yayo added. "On them tracks he's spitting fire. When everybody around you is spitting like that, maybe it tempted him to spit like that a couple of times. 'Let me see if I can go toe-to-toe with some of the best artists that's out right now.' "Yayo also said he's heard new Mase material that is leaning on the more conscious side, but will be controversial nonetheless.

50 Amazes in Get Rich or Die Tryin' Movie

2005-10-17T18:54:00.000+02:00

As if Terrence Howard isn't already having the type of year that most actors would gladly call a career ("Crash" in May, "Hustle & Flow" in July and "Four Brothers" in August), he still has one last 2005 performance heading to the screen in "Get Rich or Die Tryin'," the 50 Cent quasi-biopic. Taking a break from dodging questions about his myriad chances for some statuettes during next year's awards season, Howard recently offered a quick glimpse into 50, "Get Rich" and what makes him tick as an actor.

"For all those people who have been anxious to know what events led to creating 50 Cent, this [film] will answer a lot of those questions," Howard said, speaking of "Get Rich" in his signature soft, measured tones. "This is loosely based on his life; you see his stoic nature, his intense determination to become something better than the environment he was nurtured and raised in." As for 50 — billed as Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson — the rapper stars in the film as Marcus, an aspiring hip-hopper who finds himself headed down the path to destruction after his mother is murdered. When an attempt on his life leaves him questioning his greater purpose, he decides to channel his intensity into hustling rhymes, rather than drugs. Howard, on-set for the filming of the scene in which Jackson recreated the real-life shooting that left him riddled with nine bullets, recalled the moment as emotional, and perhaps suggestive of a sense of closure. "He was happy to be able to play that [because for him, as it is for me,] acting is therapy," Howard reflected. "I guess it's better that he was re-enacting it, instead of another actor playing him, because that would've meant that he didn't survive it." Such dark-humored remembrances kept the "Get Rich" set focused, without becoming too somber. "He said he didn't even feel most of it," Howard remembers of conversations he had with 50 Cent about the assault that almost ended the rapper's life. "He told me this great story: Right after he was shot, and his boys had thrown him in his car, and he was in the back seat right behind the driver. He's leaning up against the window, and there's this blood gushing from the side of his mouth. He had been shot in the mouth, and they stopped at a red light. "This woman who was in the car adjacent to them," he continued, "saw 50 with his tongue hanging through the side of his mouth and all this blood. She began to scream, and he said he remembered that it cracked him up. That [he looked so] jacked up." It's no secret that the "Candy Shop" rapper is a tough guy, but one scene did stir up emotions far more intense than even the recreation of his own near-murder. "He had to be able to see the tragedy of his life," Howard said, marveling at the rapper's screen debut. "And I think losing his mother was worse than being shot. "He was surprised with his emotional abilities in this movie, his ability to tap into that," Howard said of the scene that has Marcus similarly losing his mother. "50 shows you everything." After all this tragedy, at the character's lowest moment, Howard's unlikely guardian angel enters the picture. "My character is a guy named Bama, from North Carolina, and he's been a rogue individual for most of his life," Howard said. "I meet 50 in prison, in a scene in which someone is trying to kill him. I come to his aid, and we end up in solitary cells next to each other and develop a friendship and camaraderie.

"While he's in solitary, he's rapping in there," Howard recalled, admiring the power of the moment. "He's just rapping to himself, and my character sees some talent and ability in him, and the next 20 minutes I'm trying to convince him to let me be his manager. I'm in the next jail cell, so we ultimately become friends." Based on a real-life character ("He's in jail now," Howard acknowledged. "I'm sure he'll see it; I hope he'll be pleased."), Bama helps Marcus tap into his emotional center, and acts as a grounding, centering influence, as the rapper learns to harness his considerable talent and charisma. "All of them are new," Howard said of the freshly minted tracks that 50 channels through the Marcus character. "I'm not sure how many songs are performed in the movie. I think maybe three or four, at the most. We have scenes where we're in the studio, scenes when he's in jail and the concert at the end of the film." Many of the songs, Howard marveled, were written on the set. "[50 Cent] had a studio on wheels, basically, and in between shots or set-ups for shots he would go in there and record more music for the film. He ended up writing, like, 30 songs, and they chose maybe about 9, 10, 11, 12, and all of them — that I heard, anyway — were hits. They were incredible, and I was just blown away." According to Howard, 50 fans and filmgoers alike can look forward to being similarly blown away when "Get Rich" opens next month. And as those who've seen any of Howard's first three films of 2005 can attest, the man knows a good script when he reads one.

When You Diss Dre You Diss Yourself

2005-10-16T19:06:00.000+02:00

Do you remember "When you diss Dre you diss yourself"? 50 Cent was on the Westwood show explains that neither him or Dr. Dre will be participating in The Games new album "The Doctor's Advocate". 50 said if Dr. Dre works with The Game on this record it will create beef between them. Click here to listen to the Westwood show if you want to hear what 50 had to say. Wake up 50!

In other news: Police are investigating whether a beef between 50 Cent and Bang 'Em and Domination is behind a Queens shooting that left two people injured early yesterday morning. The gunfire erupted outside Mo's BBQ on Archer Avenue in Jamaica during a mix-tape release party for Bang 'Em and Domination, a two-member hip-hop act engaged in a bitter and public battle with 50 Cent and G-Unit.

Busta Rhymes Speaks on His Album and More

2005-10-16T09:23:00.000+02:00

When Busta speaks, people tend to listen. The conviction in his voice and his mastery of wordplay was evident this morning in Big Boy's Neighborhood as he spoke about his highly anticipated album Big Bang and much more. This is a must interview for all Busta Rhymes fans.

[Part 1] - [Part 2]

The highlights: Dr. Dre sent Busta back to the booth many times, Dr. Dre took some beats away from Busta because he didn't kill them like he could've, Album is finished. Busta's just dealing with some "legalities", Guests: Stevie Wonder, Rick James, ODB, Biggie Nas, Eminem, and a "firey 20 bars from Dre", Busta loves that Aftermath doesn't make him do poppy songs (ie. Janet Jackson, Mariah Carey, etc.) They put out un-radio friendly singles like Stan and are still really successful. Thanks to the homies "retrospect', 'Rebel' and 'LeroyBrown' from our Aftermath Music community.

Famed Eminem Shop Re-Opens

2005-10-16T09:17:00.000+02:00

The Hip-hop Shop, the clothing store and rap battleground that spawned the careers of Eminem, Proof and Slum Village, is being resurrected. But the reopening, by Detroit entrepreneur Kevin "Hustle Simmons" Brown, has triggered a battle itself, as Brown does not have the blessing of the Shop's original owners.
"I decided to open it because there was a void in the Detroit hip-hop market," Brown says of his vision of the 15736 W. Seven Mile Road venue, which celebrated its grand opening last week. "There was a need for a place for hip-hop heads and rappers and people who appreciate the culture to come and mold and network and have a medium in the city of Detroit."

Opened in 1993 by Maurice Malone to promote his hip-hop apparel line, Maurice Malone Designs, the Hip-hop Shop quickly evolved into a rap venue, with D12 member (and Eminem's right-hand rapper) Proof hosting popular open-mike nights every Saturday. The often heated rap battles at the Shop would go on to inspire scenes in the semi-biographical Eminem vehicle, 8 Mile.

By 1997, however, Malone and his partner Jerome Mongo decided to close the venue, relocating to New York City to focus on the clothing line. This is Brown's second attempt at resurrecting the spot: In 1998 he opened a new incarnation of the Hip-hop Shop further down Seven Mile Road, which lasted for a year. (The new Shop's timing, hot on the heels of its predecessor, was not quite right, says Brown.)

Malone is now concerned that the use of the name by Brown, who calls himself "one of the most recognized names in Detroit hip-hop and Detroit entertainment at large," is misleading. "[Brown] didn't have my approval to open it as the Hip-hop Shop that everyone knows I owned," says Malone. "It sounds [like we're] related to his store. Have you seen Coming to America? It's like the guy opening 'McDowell's' and saying it's 'McDonald's.'" Brown's logo, claims Malone, is similar to his, toeing the line of trademark infringement and inciting him to consider a lawsuit.

According to Brown, however, he didn't need Malone's approval, since the trademark had expired. Besides, says Brown, "This is not about him or me. This is about Detroit." He challenges Malone directly: "If you really, truly cared about that store, and you cared about the name of that shop, you would not have abandoned it for almost ten years. You abandoned your child, your baby. If you ever want to come back and get it, we can sit down like men." The new Shop's grand opening featured an open-mike night and an on-site video shoot with local rappers Dreco and Cadoe.

But Malone says he still has plans for the Hip-hop Shop as a franchise: An apparel line is due in October (at thehiphopshop.com), and he envisions a television show and movie series. Also at his Web site is a piece of history: footage of an early Eminem rap battle. Malone is, however, keeping other archival footage under wraps in the hopes of attracting interest from production companies.

Proof remembers those early days well and says he is torn about the resurrection of the Shop. "I checked it out," he says. "Opening a clothing store with urban retailers is a great thing to do, and something we wanted to be a part of. But when the people that basically made that store what it was are not involved, it makes no sense. It's going to bring about some mixed emotions."

Game's Next Album to be Entitled 'the Doctor's Advocate'

2005-10-15T12:19:00.000+02:00

"The Doctor's Advocate"...Game said in an interview that it will be strictly westcoast and will top the Documentary.
Should drop by next April, but we all know how release dates get pushed back...

No-Nonsense Sheridan Blasted 50 Cent on Set

2005-10-15T12:13:00.000+02:00

50 CENT's hardman reputation failed to intimidate director JIM SHERIDAN, who screamed at the hip-hop star whenever his acting wasn't up to par as they shot his movie debut.

Sheridan directed 50 Cent, real name CURTIS JACKSON, in GET RICH OR DIE TRYIN', a movie loosely based on the hip-hop star's life as a New York crack dealer who was shot nine times before becoming a musical success.

And film-maker Sheridan refused to let the rapper's real-life past get in the way of his wishes to make the picture perfect.

50 Cent says, "I wasn't intimidated (about working with Sheridan), but he screamed at me. Jim was perfect for me, actually.

"I worked with an acting coach for two months before I actually started shooting. She helped me out a lot, but when I did something wrong, Jim didn't like how she was telling me I was wrong. He wanted her to tell me, 'No! That's not it!'

"He was able to get me to give the type of performance that I'm proud of right now. I can't wait until everyone gets the chance to see how well I did."

iEminem

2005-10-14T21:54:00.000+02:00

Eminem and Apple have patched up their relationship and the chart topping rapper, who was reportedly released from rehab for addiction to pain killers, is featured in a new advertisement for the iPod. On Wednesday (Oct. 12) Apple CEO Steve Jobs introduced a new iPod that plays TV shows and videos. Eminem’s image is featured in one of Apple’s new silhouette ads. In May of 2005, the rapper reached a settlement with Apple, after he sued the company for copyright infringement. The rapper’s Eight Mile Style publishing company accused the computer giant of using one of his songs without permission in a previous iPod advertisement.

Game, Chingy, JoJo and more do charity track

2005-10-14T07:39:00.000+02:00

The Game, Celine Dion, Chingy, JoJo, Jesse McCartney and Ruben Studdard are among the artists lending their voices to the hurricane relief charity single "Come Together Now." Actress Sharon Stone and songwriter/socialite Denise Rich teamed up to write the track, which will be unveiled on Monday during a press conference in Hollywood.

the Game Movie Details

2005-10-14T07:36:00.000+02:00

In the world of Hollywood, rappers are continuously making the transformation from music to acting. Dr. Dre’s protégé, The Game, is no different. He will soon star in a new film titled The Billionaire Boys Club.

The movie is based on a character that The Game plays named G. G goes to prison for a crime and upon returning home his old friends are waiting and ready to pull G right back in to the same lifestyle that he had left behind during his incarceration..

Also starring in the film is Michael Williams better known as Omar from HBO’s cinematic drama series The Wire and rapper WC from the former group Westside Connection.

50 Cent and Young Buck Donate From The G-Unity Foundation, Inc.

2005-10-14T07:24:00.000+02:00

SANTA MONICA, Calif., Oct. 12 /PRNewswire/ --
Recording artists Curtis Jackson and David Brown announced today two new grants that will be
distributed from The G-Unity Foundation, Inc.
On behalf of Young Buck the Nashville Alliance for Public Education will
receive $25,000. This grant will support "AVID" (Advance Via Individual
Determination), a national program proved to increase learning and performance
for students who have the ability to attend college. Through hard work,
determination and support of teachers this program gives underrepresented,
minority, and at risk students an opportunity to overcome adversity and break
the cycle of poverty by preparing for a college education. As a native of
Nashville, Young Buck felt it important to work with an organization that
would serve the community from which he came by giving these kids the best
education they deserve.
"The Nashville Alliance for Public Education is proud to accept this gift
from The G-Unity Foundation to benefit a program which brings out the best in
students and helps close the achievement gap for low income and disadvantaged
youth," states Kay Simmons, Co-Executive Director of the Nashville Alliance
for Public Education. "This gift represents a statement from G-Unit and Young
Buck of the importance of education."
Teach For America-Houston is the recipient of a $100,000 grant to support
their Hurricane Katrina recovery efforts. Houston Independent School District
has accepted thousands of displaced students over the past month. This grant
has allowed a unique partnership between KIPP NOW (New Orleans West) and Teach
For America-Houston to flourish, thus aiding New Orleans evacuee children.
The charter school will be staffed entirely by displaced
Teach For America-Greater New Orleans corps members.
"We are extremely grateful for the substantial gift from The G-Unity
Foundation, Inc.," said Ann Best, Teach For America-Houston Executive
Director. "This gift affords us the opportunity to do what we are compelled
to do, respond in crisis. Our displaced New Orleans corps members are
thrilled to have the opportunity to teach students who have evacuated from New
Orleans. We know that the partnership between KIPP and Teach For America will
provide New Orleans students with an excellent education in Houston, which
they deserve."

Teach For America is the national corps of outstanding recent college
graduates of all academic majors who commit two years to teach in urban and
rural public schools, and become lifelong leaders in the effort to expand
educational opportunity. Their mission is to build the movement to eliminate
educational inequity by enlisting some of our nation's most promising future
leaders in the effort.

The mission of the Nashville Alliance for Public Education is to raise
private support for public education to assist the Metropolitan Nashville
Public School system in becoming a top performing school system in the nation,
and to help our public schools improve and our public school students be
successful.

The G-Unity Foundation is a public foundation that provides grants to
nonprofit organizations that focus on improving the quality of life for
low-income and underserved communities. The major goals of The G-Unity
Foundation include: emphasizing the critical importance of supporting academic
institutions; assisting students in their efforts to obtain a first-rate
education; and supporting after school activities. Previous grants include
The Boys Choir of Harlem Academy, the Jam Master Jay Foundation for Music,
Queensborough Community College, and the Compton Unified School District.

Eminem Released from Rehab

2005-10-13T07:31:00.000+02:00

Roughly two months after checking himself into Detroit's Brighton Hospital for an addiction to sleep medication, Eminem has been released and is ready to hit the studio.

Sources say Slim Shady spent three weeks in the rehabilitation center and spent an additional three weeks in the hospital's outpatient program, completing his treatment in late September. Em opted to go the rehab after six weeks on the Anger Management 3 tour.

Word is the rapper constantly struggled to sleep, causing him to cancel the European leg of the tour. Interscope Records officials initially said that exhaustion and other medical issues were the cause of the tour's cancellation. A label spokesperson wouldn't comment.

Em is already back in the studio collaborating with Dr. Dre on two new songs for his forthcoming greatest hits album, Curtain Call. Dre reportedly flew into Detroit to work with Slim this past weekend.

Prior to Curtain Call's announcement, rumors had been spreading that Em was to release a three-disc compilation dubbed The Funeral. The CD was to feature Em associates putting an end to each of the Detroit lyricist's musical personas.

Eminem's Curtain Call is scheduled to hit stores December.

2nd Rounds on Me Rumor Tracklist

2005-10-13T07:28:00.000+02:00

Here is a tracklist, but it isn't confirmed to be real.

1. Open Up (Comin' At Ya) (Produced By Eminem)
2. Murder City (Produced By Dr. Dre & Scott Storch)
3. Gonna Make History (Featuring Eminem) (Produced By Eminem)
4. Secrets (Featuring 50 Cent) (Produced By Eminem)
5. I Got Balls (Produced By Red Spyda)
6. So Much To Say (Produced By Red Spyda)
7. Don't Shoot The Messenger (Featuring Eminem) (Produced By Eminem)
8. Who I Am (Produced By Needlz)
9. A Hole In My Heart (Featuring Kon Artis Of D12) (Produced By Denaun Porter)
10. Hard Times (Featuring Nate Dogg) (Produced By Dr. Dre & Mike Elizondo)
11. Sting Of A Rose (Featuring Timbaland) (Produced By Timbaland)
12. Black Boy (Produced By Red Spyda)
13. Dirty Talk (Featuring Stat Quo) (Produced By Denaun Porter)
14. Volume Up (Produced By Red Spyda)
15. The Last Boy Scout (Featuring D12) (Produced By Eminem)
16. I'll Admit (The Bar Is Closed) (Produced By Red Spyda)

Olivia New Video - So Sexy

2005-10-12T21:34:00.000+02:00

The new video of Olivia "So Sexy" premiered earlier today. I'm working on a playlist for the video on the bottom of this website, so that the last can be viewed too. Please be patient, I will post a new message when it's there.

PSP Users Get Rich or Die Tryin'

2005-10-12T21:30:00.000+02:00

50 Cent is about to Get Richer with the Play Station Portable. His new film Get Rich or Die Trying will have a web site built exclusively for PSP users.

The content will be available for users with the PSP 2.0 operating system. Trailers, wall papers, webisodes and photos will be available for users to download directly to their unit.

Paramount Pictures Interactive Marketing, a division of Paramount Pictures designed the site. Amy Powell, vice president of interactive marketing made the announcement yesterday.

"We're thrilled to have built the first movie-related PSP-specific site -- it's just one example of how we're always looking for new ways to reach online moviegoers,” Powell says of the development. ”As we move into a mobile world, it's important to be aware of the ways advances in technology affect information access. In addition, 'Get Rich or Die Tryin'' is a perfect match for the first PSP-exclusive movie site; the PSP is huge in the hip-hop community and 50's fans are avid PSP users."

PSP users can access the site at www.50psp.com. The film’s main site is www.GetRichOrDieTryinMovie.com and also features a teaser and full trailer. The movie hit theaters nation wide November 9.

Eminem Talks About 'Curtain Call'

2005-10-12T14:21:00.000+02:00

Detroit rapper Eminem will step back up to a microphone this week, nearly two months after entering a local drug rehabilitation center for a pill addiction.The hip-hop star is producing a pair of songs with longtime collaborator Dr. Dre, who flew into Detroit during the weekend. The two tracks will be featured as new bonus material on Eminem's upcoming greatest-hits compilation, "Curtain Call," scheduled for release Dec. 6 by Interscope Records.The rapper had admitted himself to Brighton Hospital on Aug. 16 seeking help for a dependency on sleeping medication. He remained at the facility for three weeks, sources told the Free Press, and spent an additional three weeks in the hospital's outpatient program, with treatment wrapping up in late September.Eminem's rehab decision followed a six-week U.S. tour that found the star struggling to sleep and forced the cancellation of several European stadium concerts. Interscope Records officials cited exhaustion and complicating medical issues.A label spokesman did not respond to a request for comment Tuesday.The two new cuts with Dr. Dre will appear on "Curtain Call" alongside what Eminem casually described in a statement as "some songs that a lot of people like," including the Oscar-winning hit "Lose Yourself" and his debut national single, "My Name Is."News of "Curtain Call" should stem lingering online rumors of a three-disc hits compilation to be titled "The Funeral," which was envisioned to feature performances by Eminem cohorts laying to rest each of the rapper's musical personas.But "Curtain Call," which has been planned for several months and was added to the Interscope release schedule on Monday, could mark the last release under the Eminem name, as the artist born Marshall Mathers heads into 2006 likely scaling back his solo activity. As the Free Press reported in July, Mathers has been planning a career shift that would include more behind-the-scenes production work, with 2004's "Encore" standing as the final original Eminem album.

G-Unit Hoping Jay-Z Airs Out Game

2005-10-12T07:36:00.000+02:00

The opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed do not necessarily reflect the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints of hiphopdx.com... But I think this is pretty damn funny- A-Plus, News Director

Well, a whole week passed by and I have official rumors from the G-Unit camp. They are officially waiting (and making bets) to see any tape, hell, they would even take a slideshow at Jay’s show… just to see the Game be humiliated in front of everybody!

I also heard, that the whole tape thing might not even go down, at least that's what Game’s Manager, Jimmy Henchman said in a statement.

I’m sure Jay’s not even worried at the moment. I also heard that he and Beyonce are chilling in France right now. They went to ”The Worlds Best Lingerie Show from Agent Provocateur, the “Box of Tricks” Collection. now I don’t know if Hov was trying to purchase some lingerie for “B” but I assume he wouldn’t be against it.

After Chilling in Paris, Hov apparently just arrived in London, and everyone seems to know what is about to happen. Yep Jigga wants to buy a Piece of the British Soccer Team “FC Arsenal”. Now we all know everything Jay touches turns into gold (or should I say, double platinum??!!).

And I know this might be disturbing to some people, but there’s this well know groupie, or at least she was known, that had a sexual relationship with NORE (good PR for him, now that his album is coming) that is telling everyone how he enjoys getting his *cough* “anus” licked.

Yeah, I know, PRETTY damn disgusting and absolutely too much information for me to tell the people. Dear artist, don’t hate me, cause I’m just telling what I heard.

The same chick also had also sex with one of my favorite artists (not like that “favorite”, he seems very cool, from what I got to know). I’m talking about Memphis Bleek. Yep, he had sex with that chick and after getting “free ass” as I would call it, refused to share his last blunt with the chick. I did hear that he was ok in bed…if that's any relief for you upcoming groupies. Can I just say “not cool”? You’re getting ass for free, and you don’t even wanna share the smoke with the chick?

What happened to the artist that use to appreciate getting ass, at least enough for the chicks to get some bubble gum?!?!

No disrespect Bleek, you are one of the few artist I enjoyed meeting after I did an interview!

New Mobb Deep Album Coming Soon

2005-10-12T07:34:00.000+02:00

The new Mobb Deep album "Bloody Money" is scheduled to release early 2006 and features productions from Havoc, Dr. Dre, Eminem and Alchemist. Furth information will be provided towards the release date stay tuned.

Watch 50 Cent's New Video 'Hustlers Ambition'

2005-10-11T20:16:00.000+02:00

50 Cent has just released a video for 'Hustler's Ambition' which will appear on the Get Rich or Die Tryin' OST. Please scroll down and on the bottom on this page you will see a windows media player. It may take a few minutes for the clip to load. This is a new addition, everytime a new video comes out under Shady/Aftermath/G-Unit/Black WallStreet/Grown Man Music/Scott Storch it can be viewed on this website. If there's too much time between too videos, the newest audio will be available again. Enjoy.

Eminem - Curtain Call in Stores Dec. 6th. Greatest Hits

2005-10-11T07:25:00.000+02:00

Eminem has announced plans to release Curtain Call, a best of/greatest hits album, set to be in stores on December 6th. The Aftermath/Interscope recording artist is putting some last minute work in on the project and hopes to have final song selection completed in the next few days.

People can expect both the blockbuster hits and fan favorites that have made Eminem a household name and one of the leading mc's in the rap game. "My Name Is," "The Way I Am," "Lose Yourself," and "Stan" will be featured on the collection, along with at least two all-new, previously-unavailable, so-fresh-from-the-studio-we-aren't-even-giving-you-the-song-title songs.

Eminem is in the process of putting the final touches on the album, which he has been working on since early summer.

"I have some songs that a lot of people like," commented Eminem. "I have some songs that only I like. This album is obviously for the 'lot' of people."

Eminem has sold over 65 million albums worldwide to date.

Release Date List Updated 10/10/05

2005-10-10T14:41:00.000+02:00

Here are the official dates (and official titles) of the upcoming releases of Shady/Aftermath/G-Unit/Black Wall Street.

Artist - Album Title (Release Dat) / Label

50 Cent - 'TBA' (Unofficial Date) / Shady/Aftermath

AXL - 'TBA' (2006) / Shady/Interscope

Bishop Lamont - the Reformation (2006) / Aftermath/Interscope

Bobby Creekmore - 'TBA' (2006) / Shady/Interscope

Busta Rhymes - the Big Bang (Octobre '05) / Aftermath/Interscope

D-12 - Devil's Night; Halloween (2006) / Shady/Interscope

Dr. Dre - Detox (2006) / Aftermath/Interscope

Eminem - Hell (2007 Unofficial) / Shady/Aftermath

Eve - 'TBA' (Early 2006) / Aftermath/Interscope

G.A.G.E - 'TBA' (2006) / Aftermath/Interscope

G-Malone - 'TBA' (Unofficial Date) / Black Wallstreet

Lloyd Banks - the Big Withdrawal (12/12/'05) / G-Unit/Interscope

the M.O.B. - 'TBA' (2006) / Black Wallstreet/Aftermath

M.O.P. - Ghetto Warfare (Summer '06) / G-Unit/Interscope

Mase - 'TBA' (2006) / G-Unit/Interscope

Mobb Deep - Blood Money (Summer '06) / G-Unit/Interscope

Nu Jerzey Devil - Ryde Wit the Devil (2006) / Black Wallstreet

Obie Trice - Second Round's On Me (December '05) / Shady/Interscope

Olivia - Behind Closed Doors (Late '05) / G-Unit/Interscope

Prodigy (off Mobb Deep) - H.N.I.C. 2 (2006) / G-Unit/Interscope

Spider Loc - the West Kept Secret (2006) / G-Unit/Interscope

Stat Quo - Statlanta (November '05) / Shady/Aftermath

the Game - 'TBA' (Early '06) / Aftermath/Interscope

Tony Yayo - 'TBA' (Unofficial Date) / G-Unit/Interscope

Various - Get Rich or Die Tryin' OST (11/08/05) / Shady/Aftermath

Young Buck - Buck All Y'All (Early 2006) / G-Unit/Interscope

Scott Storch Label Under Aftermath

2005-10-10T14:30:00.000+02:00

According to Scott Storch, he's starting a record label right now with Dr. Dre, under Aftermath. They haven’t got a name for it yet but its going to be whatever, Scott Storch/Aftermath, whatever they call it. Click here to read the full interview at MoreHipHop.com.

Busta Rhymes on Jamie Foxx Album

2005-10-10T14:28:00.000+02:00

Jamie Foxx is cashing in on the musical cred he earned through his remarkable Ray performance with his new album, Unpredictable, due November 22nd. Many of Foxx's seductive new tunes, including "Can I Take You Home," "DJ Play a Love Song" and "V.I.P.," find middle ground between his gospel and soul roots and the laid-back beats and raps provided by guests Busta Rhymes, Pharrell Williams, Ludacris and Twista.

In other Busta Rhymes News: Props to Allhiphop.com for dropping a two part interview with Busta. In the interview Busta discusses his situation at J-Records in-depth and uncut. Don't forget to check out BustaOnline.com for more information. The Big Bang is coming!

50 Cent vs. Lil Kim

2005-10-10T14:25:00.000+02:00

The bad blood continues between Lil' Kim and 50 Cent. Though the rappers paired up for the 2003 smash "Magic Stick," the relationship between the two quickly disintegrated, and 50 Cent dissed Lil' Kim in performances. In a recent interview Lil' Kim made it clear there would be no duets in the future between the two.

"I can't front. I don't have a lot of respect for 50 Cent because his music is hardcore ... violent," said Lil' Kim. "And I love his music sometimes, but I feel like in his personal life, his real life, he carries that on, and that's not a great message, you know what I mean? I think he promotes it."

Dr. Dre Donates $1Mio to Hurricane-Hit Familys

2005-10-10T14:22:00.000+02:00

Dr. Dre has dipped into his personal fortune to donate $1 million to 50 hurricane-affected families. He has donated the cash through the Julia C Hester House, a Texas, organisation which will give $20,000 to each of the 50 families in need. The families were chosen after a needs assessment based on criteria established by Dr. Dre.

"I wanted to be sure that my donation did two things: went directly into the hands of hurricane victims and that it was an amount that could really impact their lives and make a difference." (Dr. Dre)

Eminem Calls Ringtone Companies to Court

2005-10-06T07:35:00.000+02:00

Rapper's publishing company sues to stop unlicensed ring-tone sales.Eminem's lawyers sent a message on Tuesday to ring-tone companies who want Em's number: "Just Lose It."Attorneys representing the rapper's publishing companies, Eight Mile Style and Martin Affiliated, filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Detroit in an attempt to stop five companies from selling Eminem ring tones on the Internet, according to The Associated Press. Cellus USA, FanMobile, Nextones.com, MyPhoneFiles and MatrixM are named in the suit. The lawyers also plan to sue karaoke companies that sell Eminem songs for sing-along CDs without first obtaining the proper licenses."This is a big business," said attorney Howard Hertz, a representative for the plaintiffs. "We're talking hundreds of thousands of dollars a year."Ring-tone revenue has recently exploded, according to a Jupiter Research report published earlier this year, more than doubling to $217 million in 2004 with expectations that it will more than triple by 2009.Eminem has not been seen since early August, when he abruptly canceled a European tour citing "exhaustion". Two days after the cancellation, his spokesperson confirmed that Em had checked into a drug-rehabilitation facility to treat a dependency on sleep medication. Late last week, the spokesperson said there was no update on Em's condition or whether he'd been released from the facility.

Jessica Alba's Awkward Meeting with Eminem

2005-10-06T07:31:00.000+02:00

Sexy actress JESSICA ALBA was stunned when she learned EMINEM had rapped about her on a track - because their only meeting was a brief, awkward moment in a gym.The SIN CITY star, who Eminem calls his "wife-to-be" in his D12 collaboration MY BAND, was looking for her director pal BILLE WOODRUFF when she bumped into the rapper.She says, "Eminem was in a gym, boxing or something, but I thought my best friend was in there. I come barrelling in all heated because I can't find Bille, and it's like five big dudes, Eminem and an empty gym."Everyone stopped. I was trying to act all casual, looking around this small gym that my best friend obviously wasn't in. Then I just left. That was the only encounter I ever had with him."Alba learned she was name-checked by Eminem from her younger brother JOSHUA.She adds, "He said, 'Did you know you're in Eminem's song? I was like, 'Oh!' It was weird, but I thought it was flattering. My agent said, 'Looks like you've made it.'"

50 Cent Relives Shooting in New Film

2005-10-06T07:29:00.000+02:00

Rapper 50 CENT found filming the shooting scenes in his semi autobiographical film GET RICH OR DIE TRYIN' "weird" since it took him back to when he was shot in real life.The hip-hop star, real name CURTIS JACKSON, was shot nine times while he was sitting in the passenger seat of a car in the Queens suburb of New York City in May 2000.He says of filming the movie scenes: "It was eerie lying on the operating table. The shooting sequence in the movie wasn't the same as what happened to me, and I was more focused on the physical aspect of it, making it look real."When it happened for real, I wasn't conscious by the time I got to the operating table, I was already under anaesthetic. So lying there still and awake for eight hours while they shot the scene with the actors pretending to be surgeons standing around me, that was weird."

50's Shooter Not Connected to Ja & Irv

2005-10-06T07:27:00.000+02:00

In Queens Reigns Supreme, Brown shows how the streets and housing projects of Southeast Queens influenced the borough's most prominent emcees. The book documents 25 years, starting with the crack era until Jam Master Jay's murder and the on-going feud between Ja Rule and 50 Cent.Supreme also details the careers of legendary Q Borough hustlers like Kenneth "Supreme" McGriff, Lorenzo "Fat Cat" Nichols, Gerald "Prince" Miller and Thomas "Tony Montana" Mickens. In order to pen the vivid tale, Brown spent hours digging through over 1000 pages of wiretaps, interviews and courtroom transcripts."It started in 2003 when I was researching a cover story for New York Magazine about the Murder Inc. investigation and I knew just a little bit about the background, but I didn't really know much. And when I was researching, going back through all the newspaper articles from the 80s, it blew my mind what was going on back then. And how much of the crack epidemic was centered in one area," Brown told SOHH.com. "I realized there weren't many articles on these guys [Supreme, Fat Cat, Tony Montana and Prince] beyond 1988, the year when rookie cop Edward Byrne, was murdered by one of Fat Cat's hit men. I went down to the U.S. District Court in Brooklyn and requested all the case files for Fat Cat, Supreme, Tony Montana, Prince. I ended up having truck loads of information at my disposal."Brown contends he didn't encounter opposition or threats in his process to document the book. Apparently, all the characters including Fat Cat's family and Irv and Chris Gotti were all cooperative in giving Brown information. Word is Fat Cat knows about the book and even sent a message to Brown. The message is printed in Supreme."One thing that I'm a little worried about... I have a portrayal of Supreme that is very different than what he would like and what his fans so to speak believe about him. But it's the truth. I wasn't going after him in anyway," Brown revealed to SOHH.com."Out of everyone whether it be Fat Cat or Pappy [Mason], Supreme kinda had the worst luck in terms of constantly being arrested, being told on by informants," Brown continued. "Supreme had this reputation as this guy who is like a Teflon kinda hustler. The actual truth of the matter is pretty far from that."According to Brown, the rumors that Supreme had 50 shot back in 2000 are also far from the truth, which is another topic he tackles in his book."Supreme was very unhappy with 50 for a long time over various things. You probably heard about him being upset about 'Ghetto Qu'ran.' It's true. At one time I think, he was trying to manage Ja and he was unhappy with 50's non-stop attacking of Ja. Preme had a lot of reasons to be upset with 50. He did take action about those feelings. He made 50 very aware of how upset he was. But I don't believe he put him under surveillance," Brown shared with SOHH.com. "I don't believe Irv or Chris were working to put 50 under surveillance. That's what the feds are intimating in that document -- they're saying, they were text messages between Irv and Preme. I just think they were talking sh!t back and forth about 50, not surveillance."The identity of 50's shooter is also unveiled in the book. Though Ethan is withholding the name until the book's release, he reveals a link between the shooter and a successful pro athlete. The shooter apparently lived with the athlete prior to being killed nearly a month after shooting 50."What happened to the guy who shot 50 has a lot less to do with Hip-Hop and 50 than what 50 would like people to believe. The guy who shot 50 was from the old stick up kid era," Brown told to SOHH.com. "He was a guy who was almost a kleptomaniac. He had an addiction to stealing everything. Someone I interviewed for the book called him a wallet taper. His death has more to do with that and very little to do or nothing to do with 50."

Vote for Stat Quo's Video 'Like Dat'

2005-10-05T13:44:00.000+02:00

Vote the new Stat Quo video "Like Dat" on TRL! The video is not on the countdown. No worries, just select "other" and fill in the info. Click here to vote now. Vote "Like Dat" on 106 and park, too. It's one of the choices now, so just click here and hit submit.

Eminem on Upcoming B.I.G. Album

2005-10-05T08:09:00.000+02:00

The upcoming Notorious B.I.G. album features several unreleased Biggie recordings and pairs him with Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Mary J. Blige, Nas and Ludacris, among others. According to Diddy, "Duets" will expend the last of Wallace's previously unheard material. "That," he said, "is why it's called 'The Final Chapter.' "

50 Cent Update

2005-10-05T08:07:00.000+02:00

50 Cent is putting the finishing touches to what is looking to be another blockbuster release this year, the soundtrack to his film debut "Get Rich Or Die Tryin'". The album, ""Music From And Inspired By The Motion Picture Get Rich Or Die Tryin'"", will be released on November 8. The film, directed by Jim Sheridan will open in theatres on November 9.

The soundtrack will be released on G Unit/Interscope Records and will feature all new music from 50 Cent, and the entire stable of artists on his G Unit Records Imprint.

The first single, "Window Shopper," is a track that exposes the mentality of a rapper who can't afford to buy the things he wants and feels he deserves. It also serves as a focal point for some of the movies most poignant scenes.

Earlier this month, the album track "Hustler's Ambition" was dropped to give people a taste of what to expect from the soundtrack. Its grimy nature will take you back to where it all began, the hungry streets of Queens. DJ's across the country are spinning this track uncontrollably in the clubs.

"I created the music for the soundtrack while I was actually filming the movie. I had a studio trailer with me and would record every day between takes," comments 50 Cent. "I keep telling you, I'm the hardest working man alive."

50 Cent executive produced the album. Sha Money XL is co-executive producer with Dr. Dre and Hi-Tek providing further production. Mase, Nate Dogg and newly signed G Unit members Mobb Deep and M.O.P are also featured on the album.

Vivendi Universal Games ("VU Games") today announced that an exclusive pre-sell offer for the gritty urban action video game 50 Cent: Bulletproof is now available at major retailers nationwide. Consumers who pre-order 50 Cent: Bulletproof at retail will receive a never-before-released 50 Cent live performance DVD "No Fear, No Mercy Live," when they pick up the game at launch. Available this holiday for PlayStation 2 computer entertainment system, Xbox video game system from Microsoft, 50 Cent: Bulletproof will carry an MSRP of $49.99.

Recorded live on the "No Fear, No Mercy," European tour September 14, 2003 - October 9, 2003, the exclusive DVD includes nine tracks mixed by G-Unit producer Sha Money XL. The DVD, only available through the VU Games pre-sale, features live performances of:

1. "What Up Gangsta"
2. "Wanksta"
3. "Heat"
4. "U Not Like Me"
5. "Gotta Make it to Heaven"
6. "21 Questions"
7. "P.I.M.P."
8. "In Da Club"
9. "Poor Lil Rich"

In 50 Cent: Bulletproof, 50 gets caught in a web of corruption, double-crosses and shady deals that lead him on a bloody path through New York's underworld. Backed-up by his G Unit soldiers, the streets heat up as 50 Cent takes on the most dangerous crime families in the city. Players assume the role of 50 Cent in a fictitious story, where they will use an arsenal of tactics including more than 25 dramatic counter kill moves, evasive rolls and mobile cover to stay alive while the bullets fly.

Penned by Emmy award winner Terry Winter, 50 Cent: Bulletproof stars an unprecedented lineup of the hottest recording artists in the music industry today, including 50 Cent and G Unit's Tony Yayo, Lloyd Banks and Young Buck, as well as other hip-hop superstars.

The game also includes exclusive new tracks and remixes from 50 Cent, music from Get Rich or Die Tryin', The Massacre and more than a dozen 50 Cent and G Unit music videos.

50 Cent: Bulletproof is being created in partnership with Interscope Records, Shady Records and Aftermath Records. 50 Cent: Bulletproof will be available for PSP (PlayStation Portable) system in 2006.

More information about the game can be found at The50centgame.com.

Game Recording Lp, Growing Afro, Moving Next Door To Hilary

2005-10-05T08:04:00.000+02:00

Rapper taking on many multiple roles, including proud papa, collaborative go-to guy.
The Game

When the Game is done, Arnold and Willis, Rerun, and even Cooley High's Richard "Cochise" Morris won't have anything on him. He's growing out an afro and has gone so far as to buy a pick with the black-power fist on it to keep himself groomed.

"I got the hair growing," Game said recently in New York, taking off his Cincinnati Reds fitted cap to reveal his new 'do. "I think I'mma role with it, the chicks dig it. ... I'm waiting for [my hair] to grow out big enough and I'm gonna stick [the pick] in there."

Game's actually growing his hair out for his role in "Waist Deep," a film he's currently shooting in L.A. with the likes of Tyrese, Larenz Tate and Meagan Good.

"Since day one Larenz and Tyrese have been playing monumental roles in my acting success," he said. "I say 'success' because I'm flat-out good. I got a new name: 'Larenzel Washing-Tate.'

"That's my new name and that's what I'm going by," he continued with a half-smile before continuing to describe the film. "It's just a good 'hood flick, man. I play a character called Big Meat. Big Meat don't f--- around; he's chopping off arms, he's like Nino Brown in 'New Jack City.' It's a story about Tyrese going to the pen. He's getting out, and my character is taking over the neighborhood. Larenz Tate's character is named Lucky, and he's Tyrese's cousin in the movie. He ends up not picking up Tyrese's son from school and some of my cats end up kidnapping Tyrese's son by carjacking him and not knowing that his son was in the back of the car asleep. It's just 'hood from there."

In real life, Game still hangs in the 'hood but is in the process of purchasing a multimillion-dollar crib in an exclusive area, a place he calls, with a grin, "the block of stars." He's going to be living on the same stretch as Hilary Duff and Good Charlotte's Benji Madden, who, Game says, has already been playing the good-neighbor role by buying him a car cover for his 1968 Chevelle.

Game recently collaborated with the Madden brothers on an unnamed track, and the Compton MC says he's not sure where's it's going to land (see "Joel And Benji Madden Record 'Clash Meets N.W.A' Track With Game").

"They produced it, and Benji and Joel jumped on the hook," Game said. "It came out crazy. It's crazy, it's 'hood and wild. Them guys are wild. I befriended [the Maddens] two VMAs ago. I met Benji backstage and we been friends ever since. Them dudes is crazy."

Game, who appears on the new Lil' Kim and Kanye West LPs, says his main recording concentration, however, is the follow-up to The Documentary. He's already finished up tracks with Just Blaze and Cool & Dre and wants to recruit the rest of the producers he used for his official debut.

"I'm going back in with the same team and we gonna get it done on a different note," he said.

"All it's going to take me is a couple months," he added of the recording process. "Hopefully I'll be done before Christmas. If not, so what, it'll come out when Dr. Dre says it's ready."

His professional duties are keeping Mr. "Washing-Tate" so busy these days, he rarely has time to charge the battery on his cell phone. But rest assured, Game does clear his schedule often enough to spend some quality time with his son, Harlem.

"Harlem is already famous man," the proud papa said of his boy, who appears in the artwork to The Documentary as well as the videos "Hate It or Love It" and "Put You On the Game." "It took me six months to find a school in California where nobody knew who he was. But he's in there, nobody knows him. He can just be Harlem. I dropped him off at school and he had his little SpongeBob roller briefcase thing that he picked out himself and he rolled on in there. He ain't even say bye. I told him I was going to New York, and he went straight for the building blocks. That's my inspiration, my life."

D12 Pro Wrestling Hands-on

2005-10-05T08:03:00.000+02:00

Hip-hop culture has already had a profound impact on mobile content,
and it's poised to take the whole shebang over. Sean "P. Diddy"
Combs caused a furor at a recent industry conference when he told
the audience that he, in effect, was a vital mobile brand. And,
given the position of hip-hop on the ringtone charts, he can hardly
be argued with. The tide has spread quickly to mobile games, too.
There's already been a Snoop Dogg game, and Marc Ecko and G-Unit
games are on the way. Hudson Entertainment wants in on the trend, so
it has leveraged its relationship with The Source to lock down the
license to D12--Eminem's somewhat ridiculous but always entertaining
rap band. We got our hands on a preview version of D12 Pro Wrestling
to see what all the fuss is about. It's a couple of atomic elbow
splashes later, and we've got a big grin on our faces.

First of all, Eminem, D12's centerpiece and founding member, didn't
make it into the game. Apparently it would have cost Hudson an extra
million bucks for the rights to Em's likeness, so his bad self was
left out of D12 Pro Wrestling. That's OK, though, because the other
five members of the band are there--Bizarre, Kon Artis, Swift,
Kuniva, and Proof--as well as a few clever additions, such as a
rough and tough character called Groupie, who's sort of a composite
picture of D12's infamous female fans, plus two unlockable fighters.

The rappers of D12 hail from the wilds of urban Detroit, and they
know how to scrap. Each fighter makes use of a unique set of moves
and combos, all of which are accessible via the phone's nav pad. Up,
right, and down perform light, medium, and strong attacks,
respectively, while left is your block, and the action key charges
up your "juice meter." Since stronger attacks require more juice,
timing your charging in between attacks is the most important part
of the game. At the same time, if each opponent attempts the same
level of attack at the same time, nothing will happen and they'll
both lose some juice. At times, D12 Pro Wrestling plays like a
violent, fast-paced game of rock-paper-scissors.

You'll have to sustain some damage to pull off your strongest
attacks, which can take away three-quarters of your opponent's
vitality with one blow. Also, every fighter has some mean combo
attacks that play almost like a rhythm game. You initiate a regular
attack, and then hit the action key at exactly the right time to
start another attack, creating an extra-nasty beatdown. While you're
throttling the other sap, you get a black starburst background,
suggesting that you've hit the guy hard enough to tear open space-
time. The fighters also get one "savage attack" per level, which
takes up all of your juice and turns the screen bloodred. Some of
the techniques are downright awe-inspiring, like Kon Artis' triple
sole kick, which is an off-the-ropes running attack that seems to
set off an atomic explosion. A quick three-count pin is almost
inevitable after such a blow.

On the LG VX7000, D12 Pro Wrestling sports a neat, cartoonish look
that gives each fighter its specific trademark appearance. Bizarre's
definitely lost a lot of weight, but he's still wearing that weird
shower cap thing, while Kon Artis is decked out in a magenta
tracksuit and headband. The character sprites are pretty homogenous
otherwise, as are their combat animations, which consist of a few
different frames of animation put together in various sequences. On
the other hand, the game's got six different arenas to fight in, and
it makes great use of music, including a few tunes licensed from
D12. Each fighter has its own theme music to help pump them up, too.
The game ran great on the 7000, and it seemed quite playable on the
midrange LG VX6000, too.

We like what we've seen from D12 Pro Wrestling so far. It's a goofy,
fun little game that reminds us a bit of Sumo Wrestling, another
fighting game on Verizon. It's a pity that Eminem isn't making an
appearance, but it hardly ruins this game's streamlined, humorous
approach. We'll bring you the full review once the game's out in
October.

Young Buck T.I.P Album Coming Out November 8th Options Rating

2005-10-05T08:01:00.000+02:00

Young Buck's court date in relation to last year's Vibe Awards stabbing has been pushed back for the fourth time and is now slated for October 25th. Meanwhile, a former Buck affiliate is releasing an album of his songs pre-G-Unit.

The Cashville, Ten-A-Kee rapper has already pleaded not guilty to stabbing Jimmy James Johnson, 26, during a melee at the Vibe Awards in Santa Monica last November. A mass brawl ensued after Johnson pretended to ask Dr. Dre for an autograph only to sucker punch the producer. The incident took place just moments before Dre was to take the stage to receive a Lifetime Achievement Award.

In other Buck news, Jeff Pringle's JGE (John Galt) Entertainment is slated to release T.I.P, a collection of unreleased songs Buck recorded prior to signing with G-Unit.

"Around 98, 99, somewhere around there, I was a principal on a company called Next Level Records, which Buck was the first artist that we signed. We made a record with Buck and we put it out in 99, 2000 -- sold a few copies. After that, Buck went about his business," Pringle, president of JGE told SOHH.com. "He had previously signed to a company called Totally Independent Productions. He did a bunch of recordings but they never released the record. We since had purchased the assets or their company and all of their masters to all of their artists, one of them was Buck. His portion of it was recorded prior to his relationship with G-Unit."

With titles like "Blood In Blood Out," "Crime Pays" and "Get Your Murder On," Pringle thinks Buck's early material is "probably more thugged out than his G-Unit, Straight Outta Cashville stuff."

JGE is scheduled to release Young Buck's T.I.P through Universal Records distribution November 8th.

Sheek Louch (d-block) Freestyle Calls 50 "curtis Rats" Options Rating

2005-10-05T07:55:00.000+02:00

The battle between D-Block and G-Unit continues as a new freestyle by Sheek Louch from D-Block goes after and has a few words for G-Unit. Jadakiss joins Sheek Louch on this freestyle with punch lines awaiting for G-Unit's reply.

Fast download link:
Download here

Backup long-lasting link:
Download here

Get Rich or Die Tryin' OST Coming November 8th

2005-10-05T07:53:00.000+02:00

With Get Rich Or Die Trying soon to hit theaters, 50 Cent is slated to release its soundtrack, Music From And Inspired By The Motion Picture Get Rich Or Die Trying.

The soundtrack is set to drop on G-Unit/Interscope Records and will feature all new material from 50 and the rest of G-Unit, including Tony Yayo, Lloyd Banks, Young Buck, M.O.P., Mobb Deep, Mase and Olivia. The track "Hustler's Ambition" was leaked in early September while the soundtrack's official first single, "Window Shopper" just hit the streets last week.
"I created the music for the soundtrack while I was actually filming the movie," said 50 via a statement. "I had a studio trailer with me and would record every day between takes. I keep telling you, I'm the hardest working man alive."

In addition to the aforementioned artists, Nate Dogg makes a guest appearance while Dr. Dre and Hi-Tek contributed production to the project. The G-Unit honcho serves as the album's executive producer while Sha Money XL is the CD's co-executive producer.

The soundtrack is slated to hit stores November 8th, one day prior to the film hitting theaters (November 9th). Directed by Jim Sheridan (In America, My Left Foot), Get Rich Or Die Trying stars Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson, Terrence Howard (Crash, Hustle & Flow) and Joy Bryant (Honey, Antwone Fisher).

In other 50 news, the Queens rapper's video game, 50 Cent: Bulletproof is now available for pre-sell at all major retailers nationwide. The game features over a dozen music videos, new material as well as remixes from The Massacre and Get Rich Or Die Trying.

The game will also come with an exclusive live performance DVD, No Fear No Mercy Live. The DVD's footage was taped during the G-Unit's "No Fear, No Mercy" European tour back in 2003. It features performances of songs like "U Not Like Me," "Heat," "What Up Gangsta" and "Wanksta," among others.
Both the game and DVD are set to hit stores through Vivendi Universal Games during the holiday season and will be available on PlayStation 2 and Xbox for $49.99. The game will later be available for PSP (PlayStation Portable) in 2006.

G-unit: The Ski Mask Way #2 Mixtape, 5 New G-Unit songs Options Rating

2005-10-05T07:51:00.000+02:00

DJ Kool Kid is back blasting that G-Unit sh*t and doing things the Ski Mask Way on this major G-Unit sequel. This mixtape is packed w/ more than 20 tracks of non-stop heat from the masters of the mixtape, G-G-G-G-G-Unit. Yayo, Buck, Banks, 50, MOP, Mase and Mobb Deep.

1 - Lloyd Banks - Colder
2 - Lloyd Banks - If You Ain’t Holdin’
3 - 50 Cent & Lloyd Banks - The Streets
4 - Lloyd Banks - You Not A Gangsta
5 - 50 Cent, Tony Yayo, Young Buck, Lloyd Banks, Mobb Deep, MOP - 300 Shots
6 - Lloyd Banks - Without My Glock
7 - Tony Yayo & Prodigy - Be Dead
8 - Tony Yayo & Lloyd Banks - My City
9 - 50 Cent & Lloyd Banks - Simple
10 - Young Buck - Knocked The Fuck Out
11 - Lloyd Banks - Ya’ll Niggaz
12 - Stat Quo & Young Buck - South Coast
13 - MOP & 50 Cent - Big Boy Game
14 - Young Jeezy, Young Buck, Trick Daddy - Last of a Dying Breed
15 - Mobb Deep - Not Hurtin’ Nothin
16 - Lloyd Banks & Mase - Move Your Ass Girl
17 - Young Buck - Stay Fly
18 - Mobb Deep - Baby
19 - Mase & Lil Scrappy - Take a Picture
20 - Prodigy - Stuck To You
BONUS TRACKS - Red Cafe
21 - Red Cafe - G’s & Hustlas
22 - Red Cafe - Izzr

Eminem Rumoured to Star as a Boxer in Movie

2005-10-03T14:08:00.000+02:00

Eminem is rumoured to be following up his acting debut in 8 Mile with a starring role in a boxing movie. .

He's said to be playing the part of undefeated 22-year-old Ukranian-born Jewish boxing phenomenon Dmitry Salita. .

The rapper has reportedly recruited Lennox Lewis' old trainer Emanuel Steward to prepare him for the role, reports XFM.co.uk. .
Steward said: "I put him through his paces and I was amazed that he was as good as he was. Since then, he's trained regularly and I've put him in the ring with some top-notch sparring partners. .

"He's improved enormously. He's aggressive, a real slugger. He moves a lot like Muhammad Ali.".

Salita, who now lives in Brooklyn, keeps kosher, will not fight on the Sabbath, studies with a rabbi and is tipped be the next world champion with an unbeaten run of 17 fights. .

It's rumoured that the movie, which may be called Golden Boy, will be made by legendary producer Jerry Bruckheimer.

Police Called Because Of 50 Cent's Hell-raising Entourage

2005-10-03T08:51:00.000+02:00

We're thinking the childish gangsta "charms" of 50 Cent, his tag-along pals G Unit and other liggers don't translate well into Italian. The poor people of Milan had to put up with the self-styled pimp's entourage going on a booze-fuelled violent rampage and disturbing the peace of the city's Fashion Week.Fiddy, as he likes to be known, took his 30-strong crew out to sample the best Milanese nightlife in the early hours of Friday morning after he played a gig in the town.But they caused trouble wherever they went, having two separate fights with locals and getting a 6am hotel visit from the police. After a boozy bar crawl, the former drug dealer and his friends turned up at T-35, a brand-new warehouse-style club in the fashion district, at 3am.A fellow clubber tells us: "You couldn't miss 50 and his friends - they were in a big group, clearly up for a large night. "They got the best tables in the club and drank bottles and bottles of bubbly and vodka."It was Fashion Week, so the place was crawling with models and 50 was surrounded by them."But some of the guys with him were getting really aggressive with a group of locals, and without warning chairs were being thrown and fists were flying."50 was bundled out of the place in seconds by his security guards."Things then went from bad to worse.After cruising the city trying to find another party, they went back to Fiddy's super-posh hotel, Principe di Savoia, at 5am.A bleary-eyed fellow guest says: "50 and some of his entourage took over the bar. There were a few guests still about in the lobby, and 50's lot were being pretty rowdy." Another hotel source says that within the hour another scrap kicked off between some of Fiddy's unruly gang and other late-night drinkers at the bar.Milanese police confirmed they were called to the hotel in the early hours of Friday morning to investigate a fight, but said no charges had been brought.The police even managed to wake up other hotel guests - including former Blue singer Lee Ryan - as they searched the entire complex for the hell-raising group.Lee told us: "I was woken up at 6am by the police - all I know is it had something to do with a party that 50 Cent and G Unit had. But after that I couldn't get back to sleep!"As our teachers used to say, perhaps it's time to choose some nicer friends, Fid.

Melloe Won and Dr. Dre

2005-10-03T08:48:00.000+02:00

Melloe Won is out grinding with his solo mixtape "The Next On The West," his buzz has clearly reached the ears that count and as a result is negotiating a deal with a major label, one of which is Dr. Dre's Aftermath Record imprint. On the new mixtape, "The Next On The West," Dr. Dre has signed off a beat for Melloe Won which features a verse from him, Snoop Dogg & Nate Dogg, if that isn't big i dont know what is! Now many of you will have heard the Dr. Dre verse but the beat and other verses are funky fresh! The track, "There They Go," will be hitting radio stations soon but Melloe Won hit up dubcnn with the exclusive!There They Go (Feat. Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg & Nate Dogg) (Prod. Dr. Dre)http://www.dubcnm.com/audio/september05/me...g)-(dubcnn).mp3

50 Cent Calls Out Game In New Single

2005-10-03T08:42:00.000+02:00

50 Cent talks about NWA and G-Unot and Game paying his bills in the new single.

Download

However, 50 cent still does not actually say "Game"

50 Cent Responds to Lil' Kim Diss

2005-10-02T21:00:00.000+02:00

Rapper 50 Cent has had only one day off this summer. It was July 9th, the day after he wrapped his starring role in his first feature film, Get Rich or Die Tryin', and the day before he hit the road with Eminem and G Unit on the Anger Management Tour.
Things aren't slowing down any time soon. On August 9th, 50 released his autobiography, From Pieces to Weight. In November, he will launch a Reebok shoe line and star in his own video game, Bulletproof. He's also preparing three new albums: a rerelease of this year's The Massacre, the soundtrack to the Get Rich movie and a new studio album. And despite Eminem's decision to cancel the European leg of Anger Management, 50 has booked his own overseas tour.

On the surface, the rerelease of The Massacre, out September 6th, looks like an attempt to squeeze some more money out of the holiday season. It has no new music except a remix of "Outta Control." But it does feature a bonus disc with videos for all twenty-one songs. Retailers anticipate big sales for the new disc. "It's a collectors' piece," says Virgin Megastore product manager Carlos Adams. "It will definitely drive traffic into stores."

50 says he originally planned to release the videos on the first version of the album but didn't have enough time to make them. "I got tied up because I had to go to Toronto to shoot my film," he says. The videos range from the clever mix of animation and black-and-white footage in "I Don't Need 'Em" to the low-budget, semi-porn clip for "Disco Inferno."

50's goal was to show what was going through his head when he wrote the songs, as honestly as possible. "MTV won't even play a record called 'Gunz Come Out,'" he says. "This is my chance to create a visual for it -- an uncensored film."

Get Rich or Die Tryin', loosely based on his life story -- including his mother's murder, his crack dealings in Queens, New York, and finding his salvation in hip-hop -- hits theaters in November. 50 says the soundtrack will feature at least five new tracks, including "What If," "Best Friend" and "Get Low." "I wrote the music in character," he says. "It's got a different feel to it -- it's soulful." On August 19th, in Virginia Beach, Virginia, 50 got his own sneak preview of Get Rich and now plans to write the movie's theme song. "Eminem raised the bar with 'Lose Yourself' [from 8 Mile], and that was written after he saw the film," says 50. "Hopefully I can write something to put the entire film in a nutshell." Quincy Jones wrote the movie's score. "It don't get no bigger or better than Quincy," says 50. "I figure I'd start at the top and try to stay there."

Amid all these preparations, 50 still makes time to fuel his notorious hip-hop feuds. In the new video for "Piggy Bank," he takes swipes at Nas and Jadakiss. And Lil' Kim reportedly raps on her upcoming record about how 50 can't be "street" while residing in his Connecticut mansion. "I guess she figures she'd do it right before she went to jail -- she'll feel safe in there," says 50. "But she should talk to Ja Rule. He'll tell her that it's not a good idea to go directly against me."

Domination Tells 50 to Grow Up

2005-10-02T20:57:00.000+02:00

In recent weeks, gossip has suggested strongly that Gangsta Flip Records’ CEO Bang’em Smurf, the former G-Unit member, was assaulted and sodomized while serving out a sentence in a New York correctional facility.

These rumors didn’t escape Domination, a fierce adversary of 50 Cent and partner of Bang ‘Em Smurf.

While Smurf is in jail for a handgun violation, the Queens native immediately put down the hearsay.
"The whole Smurf situation is bulls**t," Domination told AllHipHop.com. "He didn’t get touched in jail. He’s good, he never had anything happen, he’s in general population and he’s good in there. I see him every weekend, I speak to him every day, that’s my dude. Nothing happened to him, he never went to the infirmary."

According to Domination, the misinformation spread through various G-Unit and Shady Records fan sites. Smurf either left or was dismissed from G-Unit depending on who is telling the story. Smurf said that 50 Cent's abandoned his Queen's brethren amid his meteoric rise.

"If you gonna make something up, at least make sure the s**t is real, man, cause that s**t is second grade type s**t. You can do better than that, 50. That’s all the promotion you’re gonna do for your album," Domination said laughing. "All that s**t about the AP said this and that, they’re lying. They drew up a whole story about some bulls**t."

Domination also addressed 50 Cent's brewing feud with fellow rapper's Jadakiss and Fat Joe. 50 took issue with Joe and Jadakiss for appearing on Ja Rule's song, "New York, New York."

"He can’t go head up with either one of them," Domination said comparing each rapper's skills. "If either one of them try to get back, all he’s gonna do is throw his blackballing power around. That’s the name of his game. "What, you mad just, ‘cause he’s on a song with Ja Rule? C’mon, man. Somebody tell that n***a to grow up."

Ghost Unit Mixtape Receives XL Status from XXL

2005-10-02T10:16:00.000+02:00

Following the scathing DJ Whoo Kid- premeired "300 Shots" -- laced by the entire G-Unit including new signees Mobb Deep M.O.P. -- Bill Murray should be the only one surprised by The Game vigilant comeback, the Ghostbuster inspired mixtape Ghost Unit On Games hilarious rendition of the Ghostbusters' theme song "Ghost Unit intro" he likens G-Unit to the paranormal crime fighter and comfortably rides the electric guitar licks of the 80's soundtrack beat spitting"..he poked his chest out and signed Mobb Deep/Nigga you a bi*ch when its time for beef/ all he gonna do is hide behind M.O.P. .... they thugs/ but what about M-A-dollar sign-E?" Alongside Sheek Louch Fabolous Beanie Siegel and Jadakiss on the haunting "kiss Ya Ass Goodbye(extended remix)" Game takes some well crafted potshots at Tony Yayo rhymng "After you flop im taking your fan/give you a reason to do that dumb sh*t with ya hands" Then ovver the Young Gunz "Set It Off" Money Mike from Firday After Next spits hilariously simple but carefully penned disses at the rocafella duo asking "how does it feel to get disses by an actor" Paired wit Nas on his G-Unit dis record "Dont Body Yourse;d (remix)" Game breaks his simplistic deliviery and comes off sounding like a lyrical titan with his upbeat multiword flow. Chuck taylor then rhymes over 50's "outta Control(remix)" on "Mr. Potato Head" where he flips 50's spoof poking fun at him for creating such a sucessful monster. Unfornunatley R&B crooner BBQ wastes his soulful vocals to take cheap shots on "Oliver Part II" and Rockstar's otherwise impressive remake of the pus*ycats Dolls "dont Cha" suffers from a poorly crooned G-Unit bashing chorus from singer Dior. Even with some uneccesary backup Game sounds victorious on Ghost Unit proving the Underdog is still on top.

50 Cent's "In Da Club" Goes Platinum

2005-10-02T10:12:00.000+02:00

After over two years, 50 Cent has finally got PLATIUM sales for his second single "In Da Club".