Hip Hop Dope

Kanye West Confronts Paparazzi

2009-09-05T16:10:00.001-07:00

During shopping Kanye West confronts a camera man and gives him a piece of his mind

[Video Premiere] Jay-Z feat. Rihanna & Kanye West - Run This Town

2009-08-20T14:47:00.001-07:00

MTV Germany and MTV UK have already premiered the video, so here is the full video for Run This Town. What do you think?
Recommend:

Jay-Z - The Blueprint 3 - New Album Cover

2009-08-04T13:32:00.001-07:00

Blueprint 3 in stores 9/11/09
Hmmm.... interestingly enough here is the rumored track listing for the album:

1. What We Talking About (Produced by Kanye West)
2. D.O.A. (Produced by No I.D.)
3. Weigh Me Down (feat. Kid Cudi) (Produced by Kanye West)
4. Unforgiven (Produced by Kanye West, Additional Production: MGMT)
5. Run This Town (feat. Rihanna & Kanye West) (Produced by Kanye West)
6. Empire State Of Mind (feat. Nas) (Produced by Kanye West & No I.D.)
7. When It Comes To This (Produced by Timbaland)
8. Always (feat. Drake) (Produced by Kanye West)
9. Scenes From The Past (Produced by No I.D., Co-produced by Kanye West)
10. Everyday A Star Is Born (feat. Mr. Hudson) (Produced by Kanye West)
11. Already Home (Produced by Kanye West)
12. Forever Young (feat. Mr. Hudson) (Produced by Kanye West)
13. Thank You (Produced by No I.D.)
Bonus Tracks:
14. Sound Of The 70s (Produced by Kanye West)
15. We Made History (Produced by Kanye West)

Jay-Z - Run This Town (Feat. Kanye West & Rihanna)

2009-07-24T14:26:00.001-07:00

Beast of a lineup right there. Track off Jay's upcoming "Blueprint 3"; this album is going on to be on some next level craziness. Very excited after hearing this. Check it out!

DOWNLOAD/STREAM

Hov seems to hardly ever let me down. This is going to be played on repeat through this vacation, for real.

Holy Are You - Rakim

2009-07-15T10:41:00.001-07:00

New joint from the legendary Rakim. The vocal sample on this joint is ridiculous.

Download: Holy Are You - Rakim

More: New Joints

(#newmusic) (#mixtape) 50 Cent - Forever King [Mixtape]

2009-07-04T16:20:00.001-07:00

50 Cent dropped his 2nd mixtape prior to his major-label release, Before I Self Destruct in September, 2009. Titled Forever King, it features 12 all-new tracks from Fiddy, and is available via thisis50 x AllHipHop. Check it!

Click HERE for the mixtape.
(*NOTE: I do not provide/host these files, click on your own discretion!)

EH

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Lil Wayne Ft.Gucci Mane: We Be Steady Mobbin

2009-06-15T12:25:00.001-07:00

Stuff like "I'm in ya face like man's cum... Crazy motherfucker, I am one... I'm so hot, you'll catch a tan around this motherfcker.. If you're the shit then I'm sewer-rich..." is funny but nothing right now from Weezy is killing it as much as it used to. Maybe he needs to pop back to space for a minute...

Gucci's verse is kinda hard though.

Jay-Z:

2009-06-05T21:17:00.001-07:00

The song of the day finally makes its way to the internet. Jay's newest track, presumably from his upcoming Blueprint 3, was just played on Hot97 just moments ago, and EVERYONE came through with a radio rip. Even though it's a Hov song, I figure if Kanye and No I.D. produce a song together, then it merits a post on Midwest Broadcast.

Update: Love the song. Hov is good but not great, beat is spectacular. The only thing I don't get is how Jigga can shout out Funk Flex, Mr. Cee, and Hot 97 so many times in one song and it can still be an album track. We'll see if this version makes the album. All I know if this beat is insane. Kanye and No I.D. producing an entire album together > (insert anything here).

Jay-Z: "Death of Autotune" (Prod. Kanye West & No I.D.)

Rapper T.I. Reports to Prison

2009-05-26T16:26:00.001-07:00

Authorities say rapper T.I. has been booked into a federal prison in Arkansas to serve a year and a day sentence on a weapons charge. T.I., whose real name is Clifford J. Harris Jr., was supposed to report to the prison by noon to begin serving his sentence. It is believed T.I. appeared at the prison at 12:29 p.m. in a black van with Georgia license plates and tinted windows. Guards and prison officials in three different vehicles escorted the van to the prison grounds. Click here to see Georgia Gazette host Rickey Bevington's interview with T.I. and Ambassador Andrew Young.

Big Boi - Zack Wolfe Interview

2009-04-16T13:33:00.000-07:00

Big Boi Live from zachwolfe.com/live on Vimeo.

Stimulus Plan (Prod. by DJ Green Lantern) - Dead Prez

2009-04-03T16:46:00.001-07:00

I haven't listened to much Dead Prez since their first couple of albums, but this joint is pretty hot.

Stimulus Plan (Prod. by DJ Green Lantern) - Dead Prez

More: New Joints

Jadakiss: The Last Kiss MTV Spot 2

2009-03-17T22:21:00.001-07:00

Music Review: Gorilla Zoe finds niche with new CD

2009-03-16T18:44:00.001-07:00

Gorilla Zoe, "Don't Feed Da Animals" (Block/Bad Boy South/Atlantic)

With the exception of his hoarse voice, Gorilla Zoe seemed like every other self-professed street hustler-turned-rapper, introducing listeners into his world of a drug-selling past on his debut album, "Welcome to the Zoo."

But the burly, bearded Gorilla Zoe tweaked his raspy tune on his sophomore disc, "Don't Feed Da Animals," delivering a clearer message to digest by becoming a harmonizer. The Atlanta-based rapper's new approach flourishes on top of well-produced tracks, especially on his first single, "Lost," a melancholy track about him venturing into depression.

Gorilla Zoe doesn't diverge from his typical drug-dealing tales on "Dope Boy." And he maintains the same talk about going from poverty to a lifestyle filled with luxury cars on "Man I" and "Helluva Life," featuring Gucci Mane and OJ Da Juiceman.

But Gorilla Zoe's husky delivery as a crooner makes his sometimes harsh words an easy listen. When he chooses to sing on "So Sick" and "Echo," which both sound more like pop songs, each melody seems to fit him.

On one of the few tracks where Gorilla Zoe decides to rap, he trades bars with porn star-turned-rapper Roxy Reynolds on the sexually explicit "Talk Back."

In all, his distinctive singing shows as a versatility he can carry on to his next album, though there is still more room for growth as a rapper.

CHECK OUT THIS TRACK: Other than "Lost," Gorilla Zoe's next best track is "What It Is," featuring Rick Ross.

Remy Ma Released By Christmas?

2009-03-15T14:39:00.001-07:00

Remy Ma is hoping to be a free woman in time for Christmas. Currently serving time at Bedford Hills Correctional Facility, Remy filed an appeal against her eight year prison sentence. Remy's lawyers also filed new documents on her behalf, claiming the trial was riddled with mistakes by the judge, including wrongly instructing the jury. They want her sentence overturned and for her to be released by the holidays. Remy says the shooting was an accident.

SOURCE: KREDIBLE ALERTS

Akon says he'd work with Chris Brown

2009-03-11T10:55:00.001-07:00

WASHINGTON – Akon — who has gone through legal woes and bad publicity himself — says he'd be willing to work with pop's latest problem child, Chris Brown.

"Oh, absolutely!" Akon said in a phone interview Monday. "I wouldn't take anybody's personal issues or problems_ I won't hold them accountable for that when it comes to work. I think it's two separate things."

Meanwhile, Diddy confirmed reports that he recently opened up one of his homes to Brown and Rihanna — whom Brown is accused of attacking — so the pair could "talk about a situation they're in."

"It's my house, and I'm allowed to give my house to whoever I want to give my house to," he said on an episode of "The Ellen DeGeneres Show," which aired Tuesday.

The 19-year-old R&B singer was charged with two felonies last week in connection with an alleged attack on his 21-year-old girlfriend and fellow pop star. Brown is accused of beating her in the early morning hours of Feb. 8, the day of the Grammy Awards: Both were due to perform but bowed out. He was arrested that night.

Since then, a photo has surfaced that purportedly shows the face of a badly beaten Rihanna, and an affidavit released last week offered brutal details of the alleged assault.

Brown has seen endorsements evaporate and some stations have stopped playing the music of the platinum star

But Akon said it's not fair "to hold his whole career at bay because of it. He's gonna learn and he's gonna move forward and just hopefully he won't treat the next woman the same way."

Akon has been through legal troubles and public relations disasters of his own. He agreed last December to perform community service and pay a fine for throwing a teen off a stage in 2007. He also apologized for simulating sex with a teen at a Trinidadian concert; he said he did not know the girl was so young.

Akon said making music helped him get through those difficult times, and that may be the case for Brown: "If you are going through personal issues to me, those are the best times to make records."

He also said the media needed to stop focusing its attention on Brown and Rihanna and let the couple work through their issues, stressing that both are very young stars.

"At the end of the day, what Rihanna and Chris went through is nothing different than what couples go through every day," he said. "They have problems, they go through issues, and some of them, of course, expand to domestic violence which I don't in any way condone. But, you know, sometimes you really can't control it and some people just need to seek help and figure out ways to deal with their emotions and how they deal with issues and certain things."

Diddy echoed those statements on "Ellen," stressing: "I don't think it's right for anybody to hit anybody."

Diddy was on the defensive after show host DeGeneres questioned why he would open his home to Brown: "I don't understand it," she said.

"It was a dark time for them and I was there as more of a support," he said. "I'm not immersed in (their situation). I'm not going to pass judgment on it. I'm going to be there as a friend."

___

On the Net:

http://www.akon.com

Simmons happy to pay $40,000 a month for kids

2009-02-28T21:00:00.001-08:00

NEW YORK – Russell Simmons says he's happy to fork over $40,000 a month in child support for his two daughters.

Simmons blogged Friday about a court order issued Thursday that finalized custodial and financial arrangements for 9-year-old Ming and 6-year-old Aoki. Those are his children with ex-wife Kimora Lee Simmons.

Los Angeles Superior Court judge Marjorie Steinberg signed off on an agreement giving sole custody to Kimora Lee Simmons, as well as child support. Simmons is to pay $40,000 a month until the girls are 19 and a half years old, but he says he wasn't forced to pay anything.

Simmons says his kids have a fabulous life and he's happy to contribute to it. He says as long as he has money, they will have money.

The comments were made on his blog on globalgrind.com.

Judge allows gun as evidence in Lil Wayne trial

2009-02-24T20:07:00.001-08:00

NEW YORK – A New York City judge says a handgun found on Lil Wayne's tour bus after a 2007 concert can be used as evidence at the rapper's trial.

Lil Wayne, whose real name is Dwayne Carter, has pleaded not guilty to gun possession and is free on $70,000 bail.

He was arrested in July 2007 after a concert at the Beacon Theatre. A police officer said she boarded the tour bus because she smelled marijuana, and then saw him try to hide a gun.

Defense lawyer Stacey Richman argued in court that the officer falsely claimed she smelled marijuana so she could board the bus.

Justice Charles Solomon set an April 20 trial date.

The 26-year-old rapper's albums include "Tha Block Is Hot," "Lights Out" and "Tha Carter III."

T.I. goes back to court to talk to teenagers

2009-02-22T20:21:00.001-08:00

ATLANTA – A month from beginning a yearlong federal prison sentence, rapper T.I. was in court again Friday, but this time he wasn't in the hot seat.

The 28-year-old performer, whose real name is Clifford Harris Jr., spoke to dozens of high school students — half serving juvenile sentences — gathered at the Georgia Supreme Court.

"You can see from me that nobody is too rich, too famous, too cool, too good-looking or too young to make a mistake and pay a price for it," said Harris, dressed in jeans, a gray hooded sweat shirt and a blue knit hat. "More important than the mistake you make, though, is what you are able to take away from that mistake. How can you use that mistake to ensure you will never make a similar mistake again?"

He told them to work hard, stay in school and do what is necessary to get what they want in life.

"Education is more important than any material thing you can have," said Harris, who only has a high school diploma. "The things you do not have in your life, the things you do not have in your possession, will be a reflection of the things you have not learned."

He warned the teens from high schools across metro Atlanta to learn from his mistakes, which include a 2008 federal firearms conviction that will send him to prison for a year starting next month. His appearance was part of 1,000 hours of community service he must complete under that sentence.

His legal troubles didn't start there. Harris grew up in one of Atlanta's housing projects and dealt crack while trying to break into the music industry. The students listened intently as he described the prostitutes, drug dealers and junkies he encountered.

He was first arrested at 17 and spent time in jail for violating probation after several other arrests. In 2007, just an hour before he was scheduled to perform at the BET Hip-Hop Awards in Atlanta, authorities arrested him for trying to buy unregistered machine guns and silencers.

High School junior Stephen Murphy said he is trying to turn his life around after getting into trouble with drugs and driving without a license last year. Harris' speech was encouragement to keep working at it, he said.

"Your life can go down the wrong path, and you'll end up in prison, where he's fixing to go," he said. "I don't want to go there."

Harris, a Grammy winner, has a list of No. 1 hits on his resume, including two off his latest CD, "Paper Trail," which also hit No. 1 on the Billboard charts.

Rihanna won't discuss Chris Brown, but thanks fans

2009-02-20T18:56:00.001-08:00

LOS ANGELES – As police probe whether one of their own leaked a picture of a bruised and beaten woman that appears to be Rihanna, the image is sparking a discussion of the impact it could have on the issue of domestic violence.

The celebrity Web site TMZ, which posted the photo Thursday night, did not explain its origin. The site wrote only that it was taken after an altercation between platinum-selling singer and her boyfriend, fellow pop star Chris Brown.

Los Angeles Police Chief William Bratton acknowledged Friday afternoon that the photo could prove embarrassing to the woman pictured, a view shared by some advocates for abused women. But in the welts and marks on the face of the woman in the photo, some also saw a teaching moment.

"If it could happen to Rihanna, it could happen to anyone," said Kim Gandy, president of the National Organization for Women. There are an estimated 4.8 million domestic violence attacks on women and another 2.9 million attacks on men each year, according to the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control.

"Maybe it is a good idea if it's her, if young girls see this," said Susan Murphy-Milano, a Chicago author and advocate for battered women. She said she hopes it makes them think, "Is the next picture going to be of her in a morgue?"

Both women expected the image, which even Bratton wouldn't go so far as to confirm was Rihanna, could spark a new awareness about domestic violence.

"The reality that domestic violence can happen to anyone, even someone with fame and celebrity, ought to bring home the point that this is a problem for our entire society," Gandy said. "We can't avoid or ignore it."

Bratton told reporters that along with launching an internal investigation into whether the photo is police evidence, he is also looking into how TMZ obtained the picture. He said the department may pursue a felony conspiracy case against TMZ and whomever might have helped them get the image.

Bratton said he suspected someone within the department leaked the photo, but did not elaborate or go so far as to confirm that it came from police evidence files.

"We are not treating this lightly," Bratton said. "It's an embarrassment to this department if in fact evidence was leaked.

"It's going to be a very painful experience for any personnel from this department and possibly those who they may have engaged in a conspiracy with to violate the laws of California."

TMZ did not say how it obtained the image and a publicist for the site did not return a phone or e-mail message seeking comment Friday.

Brown, 19, was arrested Feb. 8 on suspicion of making felony criminal threats, but police have not publicly identified his alleged victim. The woman was Rihanna, according to a person familiar with the situation, who was not authorized to speak publicly on the matter and requested anonymity.

A spokesman for Brown said the singer had no further comment beyond a statement released Sunday in which he said he was "sorry and saddened" about the incident. His attorney has not returned calls seeking comment.

Rihanna broke her silence on Friday, her 21st birthday, by releasing a statement through Rubenstein Associates.

"At the request of the authorities, Rihanna is not commenting about the incident involving Chris Brown," the statement read. "She wants to assure her fans that she remains strong, is doing well, and deeply appreciates the outpouring of support she has received during this difficult time."

The singer canceled a planned birthday bash in New York and postponed concerts overseas in the days following the incident.

Prosecutors are still waiting for police to present more evidence against Brown. Bratton said Friday that detectives are working quickly to finish that investigation, and the inquiries into the leak.

Both Gandy and Murphy-Milano said one of the reasons the photo's release is so shocking is because domestic violence isn't in the spotlight except for when it involves high-profile couples.

"Such a graphic image may give people pause and make them think about what we're doing for the women who don't have resources to escape and take care of themselves," Gandy said. She said the country's economic problems will translate into more domestic violence cases as families suffer financial strain.

And from a painful image, Murphy-Milano hoped a new advocate for battered women might have been made.

"I think she could be a very important voice and a tool for other people," she said of Rihanna. "She could turn this around," Murphy-Milano said, and tell others, "'Don't be me.'"

___

AP Music Writer Nekesa Mumbi Moody contributed to this report.

___

On the Net:

http://www.rihannanow.com/news/reloaded/

http://www.chrisbrownworld.com/

http://www.tmz.com

R&B star Chris Brown apologizes, seeks counseling

2009-02-15T16:58:00.001-08:00

R&B star Chris Brown, who was arrested last weekend on suspicion of attacking a woman widely believed to be the pop star Rihanna, said on Sunday he was "sorry and saddened" about the incident, and was seeking counseling.

Chris Brown says he is seeking counseling from loved ones and family members, one week after an alleged attack against his girlfriend, singer Rihanna.

The 19-year-old performer of such U.S. chart-toppers as "Run It!" and "Forever" has been in hiding since the alleged fracas with his girlfriend in a rented Lamborghini.

"Much of what has been speculated or reported on blogs and/or reported in the media is wrong. While I would like to be able to talk about this more, until the legal issues are resolved, this is all I can say except that I have not written any messages or made any posts to Facebook, on blogs or any place else. Those posts or writings under my name are frauds."

Brown turned himself in on February 8 but no charges have been filed yet. He is free on $50,000 bail while the case is being investigated.

He hired a public relations company that specializes in crisis management to issue a five-sentence statement in which he also said many media and blog reports have been wrong.

"Words cannot begin to express how sorry and saddened I am over what transpired," he said. "I am seeking the counseling of my pastor, my mother and other loved ones and I am committed, with God's help, to emerging a better person."

Police and prosecutors have not officially disclosed that Rihanna was the victim of Brown's attack just after midnight on February 8. But unidentified police sources told the Los Angeles Times that Rihanna was the victim, and numerous media outlets have reported the same information.

Brown turned himself in to police, and he was booked on suspicion of making criminal threats against a woman. The Los Angeles Police Department is still investigating, and a spokeswoman for the L.A. District Attorney's Office said a decision has not yet been made on whether to file charges.

On Friday, Brown's father said his son is at home and "very remorseful" over what happened. Rihanna is reportedly at home in Barbados recuperating.

Celebrity websites and magazines have reported that the incident happened shortly after Brown left a Beverly Hills party with Rihanna as his passenger. The 20-year-old native of Barbados suffered bruises on her face and a split lip, according to several reports.

Brown added in his statement: "Much of what has been speculated or reported on blogs and/or reported in the media is wrong. While I would like to be able to talk about this more, until the legal issues are resolved, this is all I can say except that I have not written any messages or made any posts to Facebook, on blogs or any place else. Those posts or writings under my name are frauds."

Despite the serious nature of the allegations, many of Brown's showbiz comrades have defended him. Most recently, hip-hop star Kanye West said, "Can't we give Chris a break?" during a taping of VH1's "Storytellers" on Friday.

NEW ALBUM INFO! Diddy announces his new album 'Last Train To Paris'... and it drops THIS SEPTEMBER!!!

2009-02-14T15:39:00.001-08:00

Rapper-mogul Diddy has revealed during the season premiere of Making The Band 4, that his upcoming record will be titled Last Train To Paris. Not much else is known about the album yet, but it's been revealed it will follow the autotune craze started by T-Pain & perfected by Kanye West. Earlier this month Diddy reaealed a few more tid bits on the new album, currently due for a September release.

"Right now, I'm working on my record, and it'll be out in the end of summer. It's feeling good. It's different. I'm creating a new sound. It doesn't sound like anybody else's stuff out there. With that comes a risk. I'm excited about the risk. I do have a beef a little bit with the game right now. I think hip-hop has lost its risk-taking quality. Everybody goes to the comfort zone. It doesn't have that risk anymore. You're not like, 'What is that?' when you hear that record anymore."

I really can't think of a more contrived or pretentious album title than Last Train To Paris. Coming from Diddy, it just feels like he's trying to think of something 'artsy' to try and steal Kanye West's thunder. It's quite ridiculous him going on about "creating a new sound", because I honestly feel this whole Paris er! a is goi ng to be nothing but swagga jackin' off Kanye.

Diddy's always been used to being the big boy on top, and now that Kanye is extremely successful as an artist, producer and fashion icon, Diddy wants to try steal his crown back. With that said though, I did really like his Press Play album, and I'll definitely check the new record out, it's just that I'm not going to be expecting anything too original or fresh.

Usher's wife recovering after

2009-02-13T21:18:00.001-08:00

SAO PAULO – The wife of R&B singer Usher continues to recover in a Sao Paulo hospital after suffering a cardiac arrest shortly before undergoing plastic surgery, the spokeswoman of the doctor who was to perform the procedure said Thursday.

Ellen Dastry, spokeswoman for plastic surgeon Silvio Sterman, says Tameka Raymond checked into the Sao Rafael Hospital last Friday for a "simple liposuction." Dastry said that Raymond suffered a cardiac arrest while being anesthetized for the procedure "but was revived in less than a minute by heart massage." She was then placed in an induced coma before being taken to the intensive-care unit, a procedure Dastry said was "absolutely normal" and performed in order to "avoid unnecessary complications."

That same day Raymond was transferred to Sao Paulo's posh and better-equipped Sirio-Libanes Hospital where she is recovering, Dastry said without providing further details.

At Sirio-Libanes, a spokeswoman would only say that Raymond remains hospitalized. She explained that Raymond's family requested that no information regarding her condition be divulged by the hospital. She did not give her name, per hospital rules.

Usher was supposed to perform at music mogul Clive Davis' pre-Grammy party last Saturday, but backed out to come to Brazil to be with his wife.

The 30-year-old R&B star and his wife were married in August 2007. They have two young sons, 2-year-old Usher Raymond V and 2-month-old Naveid Ely Raymond.

Lil Wayne faces climb in getting best album trophy

2009-02-05T21:00:00.001-08:00

Although the Grammys were slow to recognize hip-hop, over the past decade, rap acts have enjoyed a bevy of Grammy nominations, often emerging as the leader when nominations are announced. This year, rap leads the way again, with the omnipresent rapper Lil Wayne receiving eight nominations.

While the bulk of Lil Wayne's nominations come in the rap categories, he's nominated for arguably the most coveted award of the night album of the year for "Tha Carter III." Given that the CD was not only 2008's best-selling album but also delivered two of the year's biggest singles "Lollipop" and "A Milli" it would seem that momentum is on Lil Wayne's side.

Yet if the past is any indicator, Lil Wayne may go home empty-handed in the album category, with his wins contained in the rap categories. While, rap or hip-hop albums have been nominated every year for a best album Grammy since 2000 (2006 was the exception), its two victories Lauryn Hill's "The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill" in 2000 and OutKast's "Speakerboxxx/The Love Below" in 2004 have been for hip-hop albums highlighted by the artists' musicality, not their rhyming skills.

"Lil Wayne indisputably made the best album of 2008," said Blender's editor-in-chief Joe Levy. "Now, are the voters going to recognize it by sending him home with a small truckload of Grammys? Hard to say. Hip-hop still remains challenging to Grammy voters, who include guys who were making records 40 years ago."

That's not to say that rap has gotten a bad rap from Grammy voters. Dr. Dre has been recognized as producer of the year among his multiple Grammy wins, Jay-Z has four, Eminem has eight trophies and Kanye West owns 10.

But Eminem has lost in the best-album category twice (the first was famously to Steely Dan in 2001) and Kanye West has lost the category three times.

Danyel Smith, editor-in-chief of Vibe magazine, thinks this year might be different for ! Lil Wayn e.

"I think he does have an even better chance because a lot of his rapping is very melodic," said Smith of Wayne, whose is known as much for his gravelly singing voice as he is his frenetic rapping style.

"I also think as time goes on, there are a lot more people on the voting committee ... who are, if not actual fans of hip-hop, understand it more, and understand the significance of hip-hop as part of pop music and not sort of its step-cousin."

If Lil Wayne does win, he'll have to beat back tough competition. Coldplay, who received the second-most nominations with seven, are nominated for "Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends"; Radiohead, who have been nominated before in the category are again recognized for "In Rainbows"; R&B singer-songwriter Ne-Yo is cited for his "Year of the Gentleman"; as is "Raising Sand," the unlikely collaboration between Robert Plant and Alison Krauss.

Darius "Deezle" Harrison, a producer on "Tha Carter III," said he and Lil Wayne are excited just to be nominated, and noted that dreams of Grammy trophies were on their minds when they worked on the CD.

"We were talking in the studio, and he was like man, 'I wanna get Grammys this year,'" Harrison recalled. "I looked at him and I said, 'We're gonna get Grammys this year,' and he looked at me and gave me a pound, and said, 'Believe that.' And we're here, nominated for a bunch of Grammys. Hopefully we'll bring them all home."

NYC judge tosses ex's lawsuit against 50 Cent

2009-02-05T20:58:00.001-08:00

NEW YORK – A judge has thrown out a $50 million lawsuit filed by 50 Cent's ex-girlfriend, who said the rapper promised to take care of her for life.

Manhattan State Supreme Court Justice Carol Edmead dismissed Shaniqua Tompkins' claims to half the rapper's assets. The judge said 50 Cent's financial worth is "set at no less than $50 million."

The judge said she doubted an oral agreement for Tompkins' lifetime support existed. "It is incredible that two then-unemployed, penniless, 21-year-olds would make such an oral contract," she wrote.

The judge said that even if it were true that the two made an oral agreement for Tompkins' lifetime support, her breach of contract claim, "which is actually a claim for palimony," was barred by the six-year statute of limitations.

She said the couple's story was "an unfortunate tale of a love relationship gone sour."

She also noted Tompkins will receive about $6,700 a month for years to come to take care of her son by 50 Cent, 12-year-old Marquise.

The rapper's lawyer, Brett Kimmel, said he was happy with Wednesday's ruling.

"Ms. Tompkins' claims pertaining to a $50 million verbal contract were entirely frivolous," Kimmel said. "This is a complete and total victory for 50."

A statement from 50 Cent said: "I'm very thankful for this decision. I knew that once the facts were heard that justice would prevail."

Tompkins' lawyer, Paul Catsandonis, said he will consider an appeal.

Tompkins, 32, claims she supported 50 Cent financially after they started dating in 1995 while he was trying to start a recording career. She says she also nursed him for months after he was shot nine times on May 24, 2000.

Tompkins says the 33-year-old rapper promised to support her forever if he "made it big." She says they made the oral agreement in her bedroom in September 1996, a month before their son was born.

The rapper (real name: Curtis Jackson) denied telling Tompkins he would take care of her for life. The judge said 50 Cent stated that if that was what he had intended, he would have married her.

The rapper admitted that he loved Tompkins when their child was born but didn't consider her his wife and didn't intend to marry her. He said she had been his girlfriend and now she was "my son's mother."

Last year, Tompkins sued 50 Cent to stop her eviction from a $2.4 million house the rapper had bought on suburban Long Island. She claimed he reneged on a promise to give her the house. The house later burned down.

Suffolk County police and fire officials have investigated but haven't determined whether the fire was a case of arson.

The rapper has been nominated for 13 Grammys, including for the song "In da Club" and the album "Get Rich or Die Tryin'." In 2005, he starred with Terrence Howard in a semi-autobiographical movie based on that album. He also starred in the 2006 film "Home of the Brave" as a soldier returning home from the Iraq war.

Much change in Biggie Smalls' neighborhood

2009-01-17T17:28:00.001-08:00

NEW YORK – In rapper Biggie Smalls' old Brooklyn neighborhood, the building that once housed a coin laundry is now a plastic surgeon's office. A block away, a wine bar sells "artisanal" cheeses and meats.

Much has changed where the late superstar spent all but a few years of his life and sometimes sold crack cocaine before spinning vivid tales of his street exploits into millions of record sales.

"It's completely different," said Voletta Wallace, Smalls' mother, who moved into the area in 1969 and left after her son was killed, at age 24, in a 1997 drive-by shooting in Los Angeles. "It's a place for the better."

Wallace is a producer of "Notorious," the Smalls movie biography that hit theaters on Friday, and was on the set during filming in the area.

In interviews, she and other longtime residents and business owners reminisced about Smalls and reflected on the neighborhood's changes, which have occasionally sparked tension.

"Much has changed but much remains the same," said City Councilwoman Letitia James, whose district includes the neighborhood.

"In the movie the drug trade was a predominant feature," she said. "Crack was at its height. Some of what happened and occurred and existed during Biggie's time is still on Fulton Street, and we're trying to address that."

"But we've come a very long way," James added.

She emphasized the neighborhood's racial and class diversity. There's less graffiti and more white, Asian, Latino and professional residents as well as blue-collar workers, artists, and students.

On Fulton, the major commercial artery where the crack trade flourished in the 1980s and '90s — and where Smalls sometimes wowed sidewalk crowds with freestyles, making up rhymes on the spot — there's now a mosque and a "coffee lounge" offering organic hot chocolate, chai latte and macchiato. The video-game arcade is now a restaurant of traditional West African food.

Smalls, who also used the stage name The Notorious B.I.G. but who was born Christopher Wallace, lived with his mother in a seven-room apartment at 226 St. James Place.

Voletta Wallace, a Jamaican immigrant, taught preschool by day while earning her master's and attending Jehovah's Witness services in the evenings.

Young Chris had a talent for visual art and attended Catholic school and public high school but dropped out after being lured away by the crack trade's fast money and accoutrements.

"My son wasn't the pauperized kid he made himself out to be," his mother told writer Cheo Hodari Coker, who co-wrote the screenplay for "Notorious."

Although B.I.G. claimed the Bedford-Stuyvesant area as home ("Live from Bedford-Stuyvesant, the livest one representing BK to the fullest"), his old building has been part of the Clinton Hill Historic District, west of Bed-Stuy, since 1981.

In the late 19th century, the neighborhood of mansions, Victorian row houses and brownstones was home to some of the city's wealthiest white residents, including the Underwoods (as in typewriters), the Pfizers and Bristols (FDA-approved drugs), and Charles Pratt (oil).

"The Pfizers of Clinton Hill gave way to street pharmacists selling heroin and cocaine on the corner," Coker wrote in the 2004 book "Unbelievable: The Life, Death, and Afterlife of The Notorious B.I.G."

Blacks from Harlem, the South and the Caribbean began moving into the neighborhood in earnest in the 20th century. By the 1970s and '80s mostly black neighborhoods like Clinton Hill, which contained solid black middle and working classes, were lumped in with the grittier Bed-Stuy.

Since then, with Manhattanites and others moving deep into Brooklyn in search of less pricey real estate, real estate agents have revived names like Clinton Hill and Fort Greene to disassociate those areas from Bed-Stuy, which many outsiders associated with blight, crime and poverty, people familiar with the neighborhoods say.

Apartments in B.I.G.'s old building have been converted to condominiums, and brownstones in the neighborhood have sold for as much as $3 million. Studio apartments are advertised for $1,250 a month while one-bedrooms rent for as much as $1,700.

Current residents include actor Jeffrey Wright and his wife, actress Carmen Ejogo; actor Malik Yoba; actress Rosie Perez; rapper-actor Mos Def; and rapper Talib Kweli.

Some older residents, most of them black, complain about the higher rents and about how newer residents (usually white) try to change things in an "insulting" and "disrespectful" manner.

Some newer residents gripe about "noise" coming from black churches, and about young black men rehearsing their rap music in parks, talking to each other on stoops and sitting in playgrounds, maybe reading a book or magazine, without children.

"What we've attempted to do is bridge the gap, the divide," James said.

B.I.G.'s debut CD, 1994's "Ready to Die," helped re-energize the East Coast rap scene, which up to that point had been overshadowed by West Coast rap.

Three years later, on March 9, 1997, B.I.G. was killed. Six months earlier, rapper Tupac Shakur, 25, died following a drive-by shooting in Las Vegas. Police have yet to solve either killing.

In Brooklyn, love for B.I.G. and his music is easy to find, particularly in the summer when hits like "Juicy," "One More Chance" and "Big Poppa" float from apartment and car stereo speakers, and T-shirts bearing his likeness are perennial fashion.

Many fans say B.I.G., who stood 6-foot-3 and weighed more than 300 pounds, was the best rapper ever to rhyme, citing his charisma, wit and emotional honesty.

"Just like after Ali there's no boxing and after Bruce Lee there's no karate, after Biggie there's no rap. It's a wrap. He's the king," said Abraham Widdi, who's worked for 35 years in his family's Met Food, where B.I.G. once bagged groceries.

Near the cash registers is a photo of B.I.G., hung on the wall after his killing.

Across the street, barber Eugene "Guess" Minter recalled meeting B.I.G. when he walked into the shop one day when he was 12 or 13. Years later, the rapper entered the shop with news of his record deal.

"He was so happy," Minter recalled. "He said, 'Guess, I finally got signed!'"

B.I.G. needed a haircut that day but didn't have any money, recalled Minter, who cut his hair anyway.

"That afternoon he came back with five crispy $100 bills," Minter said.

Guess also remembered B.I.G.'s endurance as a freestyler, arguing that only a couple of rappers, including KRS-One, could possibly outlast him.

"He could freestyle, it seemed, forever," Minter said. "If you didn't stop him, he would keep going without stumbling over words. He was a lyrical wizard, a lyrical genius."

"We lost something," Minter said later. "All of us. The world."