BET Celebrates the 2000th Episode of 106 & Park

Oh, man. These are the days I remember (see photo). Back in college when I'd rush home from class and turn on the tube to catch AJ and Free hosting 106 & Park. I freakin loved that show! But AJ & Free and have been gone from the TRL-ish-but-way-better hip-hop show since '06, and the show got replaced by two lame-o's Terrance and Rocsi. And quite frankly, I haven't really watched the show since.

But I will give big ups to the network for making the show last this long...and it's still goin for that matter! 2000 epsiodes is a lot of music videos, a lot of guests and a lot of Freestyle Fridays.

Keyshia Cole, Big Tig, Soulja Boy, Jennifer Hudson, Busta Rhymes, Terrance Howard, and a much too heavily tattooed Bow Wow all came on the monumental episode yesterday to chat up the crowd or perform a song.

Congrats, 106 & Park!

Preview: The Game's New Album LAX

Check out The Game's new album LAX before it hits stores August 26th. Click here to listen. The new album is definitely not radio friendly, so if hip-pop is your thing, I can already tell you this won't be your thing.

What Ever Happened to Chingy??

Some of his music may have been a little too poppy for my ears, but the more music Chingy comes out with means the more music videos his seXXXy self can be seen in. I haven't heard about this dude in YEARS! Can somebody please inform me of his whereabouts or the future of hopefully still prevalent career? 

Howard Bailey, Jr., AKA Ching-A-Ling needs to make a comeback...like NOW. He's so fly!

For the Second Time, I'm Promoting Something Kanye-Related [sigh]: "Everyone Nose"-Kanye West, N.E.R.D, Pusha T., Lupe Fiasco.

What the heck? Stupid blogger is acting up, and now I can't seem to publish this item. Please check out this video. It's totally off the chain. One of my favorites, in fact. It's this new cut from N.E.R.D.'s latest album. I love the video's theme. It's all 80's video game-premised, and the beat to the song is unique and energizing. I totally dig. I know, I know, Kanye sucks, but whatever. I can't knock this one.

Ludacris Pulls a Kanye

Despite some oh-so-typical misogynistic and explicit lyrics, rapper Ludacris really has kept himself out of controversy's way--that is--until now. Following in the footsteps of a very politically outspoken Kanye West (remember when West proudly declared that George W. Bush doesn't care about Black people?), Luda makes a statement that has people reacting negatively--including presidential hopeful Barack Obama, himself.

In his latest cut, "Politics: Obama is Here," 'cris states in regards to Obama's current and former presidential opponents, "Hillary [Clinton] hated on you, so that b**ch is irrelevant.”

He then goes on to rant, "[John] McCain don't belong in any chair unless he's paralyzed. Yeah I said it 'cause Bush is mentally handicapped. Ball up all of his speeches and I throw 'em like candy wrap."

Upon hearing Luda's hateful new song, Bill Burton, an official spokesperson for Obama, released the following statement geared toward the rapper:

"...This song is not only outrageously offensive to Senator Clinton, Reverend Jackson, Senator McCain, and President Bush, it is offensive to all of us who are trying to raise our children with values we hold dear. While Ludacris is a talented individual he should be ashamed of these lyrics."

Something tells me Luda will not be invited to perform at Obama's inauguration ceremony.

In Case Your Internet Connection Was Down Over the Weekend...

• DMX has been arrested for sixth time in three months--yes, you read that correctly. What was the cause this time around? Identity left. Arrested in Phoenix, Arizona, the rapper allegedly used a fake name and Social Security number to avoid paying a $7,500 medical bill back in April.
• Khloe Kardashian joined Nicole Richie and Lindsay Lohan on the list of celebs (or sister of a celeb) who managed to turn a 30-some-odd-day jail sentence into a mere one-hundred-some-odd (or less) minutes. HAHAHA and to think Paris Hilton actually had to rock a pinstripe jumpsuit for a whopping three weeks. Oh, the tragedies...
• Shannen Doherty will officially be reprising her role as the greatest TV character of all time--Brenda Walsh--on the new 90210. I mentioned before that she was in talks with the producers to possibly do so, but it appears now the Queen has signed on the dotted line to take back her seat on her television throne. Doherty will return to direct West Beverly High's school musical. Whoop-dee-freakin-doo, right? But who cares, as long she's getting screen time!
• Britney Spears makes her first red (or in this case, blue) carpet event appearance in...what seems like....ever? And even krayzier? She actually looks relatively normal in photos from the event. Normal, but numb. All those sedatives do a damn good job of keeping her emotionless.
  

Kanye's Plan to Prevent Particular Blogger From Getting Publicity Surely Backfires

If Kanye West thought "cleverly" scratching out some guy's face and whiting out his name would stop the guy from being noticed, he couldn't have been more wrong.

This morning, West posted a blog entry entitled, "I DON'T KNOW WHO THE HELL THIS IS... BUT I COVERED HIS NAME AND FACE SO HE WOULDN'T GET THE PUB HE WAS OBVIOUSLY LOOKIN' 4!"

This short posting was in response to a blog entry written about a guy named Marcus Troy who is supposedly West's "Ghost Writer." In other terms, this is someone who supposedly blogs for the rapper behind the scenes so that he can continue to have posts up on his site even when he is off jetsetting around the world or on tour. These posts are written to sound like West, so that people do not think someone is writing them for him.

As West whited out anything relating to this Marcus fella, all it took was the googling of the entry's title, "Meet Kanye West's Ghost Blogger" to read the original entry and find out what this guy is all about. And naturally, within just a few short hours of Kanye's attempt at giving this guy an invisible identity, the blogger dude probably had more hits on his personal website than West, himself, for the day.

And what's especially funny? Troy isn't even the one to be held accountable for this "Ghost Writer" talk. It was this other blogger named Sandra Rose, who claimed this information as such. The Kanye-outing continues, as in a more recent post, Rose proceeds to deem West a "Blog Jacker." I'm sure we can all sit back and anticipate another Kanye reaction to this one.

So, lesson of the day, folks? Make up a rumor (or state the truth, for that matter) about Kanye West--or call him out for something, or talk shit--and you're automatically guaranteed free press. Because Kanye is the King of clearing up rumors on his blog for the world to see. Little does he know, his little shit talking antics are really doing everyone else a favor.

Snoop Dogg: Jews Got a Lil Gangsta n 'Em

I swear it's in our blood or something. But we Jews love us some hip-hop. It's funny, because the non-Jews who have witnessed me getting all passionate about my urban music always find it quite funny. But if you think about it, look at two of the biggest Hip-Hop producers/most respected folk in the game: Scott Storch & JR Rotem--both of whom are white, Jewish males.

Anyway, Snoop Dogg told Esquire magazine:

"I performed at a Bar Mitzvah. And I’m telling you, man, these little motherfuckers, they were singing my shit, they was cussin’, they were singing the dirty version. I’m talking about twelve- and thirteen-year-old little white kids singin’ this real gangsta shit. Man. I was shocked. I just gave them the mic and let them motherfuckers go."

What can I say? We catch on early. :-)

Speaking of learning the words to cuss-induced Snoop songs at an early age, I think "Ain't No Fun" was the very first rap song in which I memorized every single word. And yeah, I was pretty young. I can't recall if people hearing me rap that jam were impressed--or appalled. Either way, I love hearing Snoop talk about this experience.

Pharrell Williams Is Callin a Wrap On His Body Art

Pharrell Williams has never been much of a follower. Reppin a consistently unique style—lyrically, musically and fashionably—nobody has ever accused the rapper/producer of biting their style.

Williams’ latest efforts are to come in the form of body art—or lack thereof. The successful artist and businessman realizes to fully convey the class act image for which he aims, he must indeed class it up a bit. By this, Williams has announced his plans to remove the plethora of tattoos generously placed all over his body. But being the big wig he is, don’t think Williams is planning to go by means of laser tattoo removal. Nope—only the exceptionally obscure for this trendsetter.

"It's basically like getting a skin graft, but you're not taking skin from your ass or your legs. These guys actually grow the skin for you," Williams explains.

"First you have to give them a sample of your skin, which they then replicate. Once that's been done, they sew it on - and it's seamless."

Sounds strange to me, but hey, regardless of the procedure, I am all for people ridding their tattoos! Especially rappers. It seems as though you cannot come across any who are ink-free. Mad props to you, Phareezy.

I Can't Believe I'm Actually Promoting This... "I Put On" - Young Jeezy f/ Kanye West

Never one to push a Kanye jam, I can’t help but post this one. But to tell you the truth, Kanye only has a couple lines at the very end—with the help of a T-Pain-inspired voicebox. The real meat of the song really comes from Young Jeezy. Anyway, without further explanation, this song is sikkkk, plain and simple. Check it out!

The Game Gives Props to Former Nemesis 50 Cent

Looks like the G-Unit CEO and his former protégé have finally put the dramz behind them.

At Thom Thom’s club in Santa Monica on Tuesday night, guests took a break from smoking, drinking and sneak-peaking The Game’s long-awaited album “LAX” to listen to a courteous—albeit shocking—announcement from the rapper.

"I ain't got no beef with 50," the Game said. "All that . . . was on wax. I never shot at him, he never shot at me. Both of us done said a lot. But we're not Biggie and Pac. I appreciate homey for helping me on my way up."

Not to be ignored, however, it is reported that shortly before this point, The Game proclaimed from the stage that he was drunk, as he slurred his words and skewered the members of his rap collective Black Wall Street. He even flubbed the name of the president of his record label as he gave him a shout-out from the stage. So who’s to say Game would stand by his statement in a sober statement.

The feud—initially triggered back in ’05 by The Game collabing on a track with 50-rival Joe Budden and appearing in a music video with other 50-rival Jim Jones—led to many back and forth hate-related actions including The Game’s coining of the term G-Unot—a mockery of G-Unit (including a tattoo of the term on his arm), an array of s**t-talking songs, and public altercations with The Game and members of his former crew. This led to becoming one of the most well-known feuds in hip-hop history.

The Game and Fiddy last attempted to end their war of words in May 2005 when they declared a truce at a press conference, during which they donated $253,500 to the Boys Choir of Harlem, New York.

But the truce lasted less than a month before The Game publicly criticized 50 Cent's leadership qualities as the head of the G-Unit rap brand.

Now that supposedly alls good in the hood, should we expect another 50/Game collabo anytime soon? Or do you think this was either a meaningless belligerent statement or perhaps a publicity stunt to promote The Game’s new album?

Ice-T: The Only Hip-Hop Artist to Still Keep it Real?

In this money-hungry world we live in, it seems like people will do anything or work with anyone if it means making a buck or scoring a mag cover. Rapper/actor Ice-T, most notoriously known for his back-in-the-day banned-from-airplay jam “Cop Killer,” is the first Old-Skool artist to finally take a stand against these so-called “rappers” who are ruining “hip-hop.”

Sounding off on DJ Cisco's Urban Legend mixtape, the hip-hop legend says, “Fu*k Soulja Boy! Eat a dick! This ni*ga single handedly killed Hip Hop. That sh*t is such garbage man. We came all the way from Rakim, we came all the way from Das EFX, we came all the way from motherfu*kers flowing like Big Daddy Kane and Ice Cube, and you come with that Superman sh*t? That sh*t is garbage. Hurricane (Chris) take them fu*king beads out of your hair ni*ga! Man up. You ni*gas is making me feel real fu*king mad about this sh*t.”

It’s about time someone speak-up in defense of real hip-hop. Sure, these ridiculous “artists” like ‘Soulja’ and ‘Hurricane’ may be good for Top-40 Radio airplay or for a popular spin for a DJ at a nightclub, but it evokes a sense of true anger in me when I meet people and we start talking music and they have the *nerve* to suggest the like “rap” or “hip-hop,” when it clearly could not be further from the truth. It’s not even so much the mainstream issue, as it is the issue between the hip-hop/pop gray area. Sure, Paul Wall and T.I. may be VERY mainstream, and a few of their songs may get KIIS-FM (for example) airplay, but when it comes down to it, those artists are still considered “rap” to me. They rap about real issues and real things—just sometimes with a mass-appeal-aimed-style. Soulja Boy’s shit isn’t even comprehendible. What the hell is he talking about? I think people automatically classify any black artist who pops out a record with “danceable” jams, as a hip-hop/rap artist. Not the case.

More people need to stand up for the hip-hop genre like Ice-T, instead of collaborating with these so-called “artists,” just to get a little more noticed. Because quite frankly, is $$ really worth credibility? In the long-run, probably not.

Fox News Attempts To Be Hip; Fails

Obviously Fox News didn’t study it’s hip-hop dictionary, because the conservative news channel made a lil boo-boo. Addressing Michelle Obama as “Obama Baby Mama,” it must have slipped FN’s mind that Michelle is in fact the hopeful president’s WIFE, and that to get technical, a “baby mama” is slang for the unwed mother of one's child.

Naturally, Bill Shine, Fox News Senior Vice President issued the following statement—the *third* apology-ish statement necessitated by the channel within *three* weeks:

“A producer on the program exercised poor judgment in using this chyron
during the segment.”

Tha Muthaf****n Man!

This muthaf***a DJ Khaled is the S**T! I've been listening to his stuff for like 3 or 4 years, but after hearing his latest jam, I just *had* to do a posting. I'm just like, shit. He may not be an actual *rapper* per-se, but all the shit on his albums is all his. And for the first time in my entire life, I can honestly say there is not *one* song of I’ve heard that I have not absolutely *loved*. I’m like bumping his tunes in my headphones while I’m at work, and it makes me want to get in my car and take a long drive. I think I need to go out and buy all of his albums like stat! I think I’m going to do that today after work. So if you are in the ‘Wood and you hear someone rolling by in a black whip with Khaled bumpin, well that’s probably ME!

Everyone needs to peep his latest jam. It’s ILL!!!!

"Out Here Grindin"