LL Cool J Talks Accidental Racist

Lauryn Hill Say She Didn't Pay Taxes Because Of 'Threats' To Family

In Hip-Hop, and life in general, there are no do-overs. But LL Cool J is nevertheless doing his best to explain and support his slander inspiring 'Accidental Racist' single with Country music artist Brad Paisley. Last night, Uncle L discussed the tune on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.
From the 'I'm Bad' rapper's commentary, he has been listening to at least some of the criticism of the song, mainly that it makes light of racism.
'The song wasn't perfect,' admitted LL to Leno. 'You can't fit 300 or 400 years of history in a three or four-minute song.'
LL was clear in that he couldn't defend the song, but could explain some of his lyrics. One in particular was comparing a du-rag to the Confederate flag, which he adamantly said was not his intent.
'When you think about a kid like Trayvon Martin and you think about some of the things that happen in society based on clothing, when you put it in its proper context, it makes sense. I would never, ever, ever suggest to anyone that we should just forget slavery and act like that didn't happen. I understand the systemic racism that exists, I get that. But you know what, if the playing field is unlevel and if you feel it's unfair, then maybe putting down some of that baggage will help you make it up that hill a little easier.'
Watch the rest of the interview, where a very eloquent LL Cool J makes his case, here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?

Photo: YouTube/NBC

Lauryn Hill is going to have a tough time proving this one. After already pleading guilty to tax evasion last year, the enigmatic singer has filed paperwork that says she didn't pay Uncle Sam because she felt 'threatened.'
Reports TMZ:
Lauryn just filed legal docs asking for mercy before her sentencing later this month, claiming there was a good reason she failed to file tax returns for 2005, '06 and '07 ... when she earned a total of more than $1.8 million. She already pled guilty and faces several years in prison.

According to docs ... Lauryn stopped paying taxes 'when she withdrew from society at large due to what she perceived as manipulation and very real threats to herself and her family.'
She's not specific about the threats -- but it's a new explanation for her mysterious disappearance from the music scene after her rise to fame in the '90s.
Lauryn previously claimed she went underground to get back in touch with her musical roots.
Lauryn's asking the court to consider a bunch of other factors before her sentencing -- including her claim that she can pay off the debt much faster if she's not behind bars.
Hill's previous explanation to her tax struggle included a Tumblr rant where she claimed that she removed herself from society in order to keep her family 'safe, healthy, and free from danger.'
So it seems like L Boogie is basically saying her fame resulted in an inability to write a check to the United States Treasury. For the sake of her children-she has six-good luck with that.
Lauryn Hill will be sentenced on April 22 and hopes to receive probation instead of any jail time.
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Photo: Getty

Flavor Flav is in big trouble. A judge in Las Vegas has ruled that there is evidence that the Public Enemy rapper and OG reality show star threatened his girlfriend's son with a butcher knife. Thus, Flav must stand trial on a pair of felony charges.
Reports USA Today:
The cloc

RZA Tells Dutch Singer Suing Him For Royalties To Kick Rocks

Michael 'Blue' Williams' 'Guns For Greatness' Buyback Event Snags 115 Firearms

RZA is basically telling the Dutch singer who is suing him to kick rocks. Late last year, Thea Van Siejaen filed a lawsuit alleging that the rapper, producer, actor and movie director owed her a significant amount of money in royalties and other payments.
Van Siejaen's soulful vocal were featured on a number of songs on the RZA's Digi Snacks solo album and The RZA Presents: Afro Samurai Resurrection soundtrack. She is reportedly suing for 14 songs (claiming that she co-wrote them), including RZA's "Baby Boy" from the Jet Li film's Unleashed soundtrack.
TMZ reports that the RZA believes that Van Siejaen has already received all the money she was due. According to paperwork the Wu-Tang Clan's Abbot filed, he claims that Van Siejaen was a work-for-hire and not a songwriter on any of the music she appeared on. Thus, what she was already paid is all she is entitled to.
Also, RZA claims that he never promised Van Siejaen royalties or any additional payments for her work. At the time of the lawsuit's initial filing, one of the producer's reps said the situation was 'a groundless lawsuit by someone RZA had helped get off the streets, lent a helping hand to, and now thinks he's an easy target to mark looking for money.'
Bong bong.

Photo: TMZ/Facebook

Over the weekend, Michael 'Blue' Williams' 'Guns for Greatness' gun buyback program held its first exchange event in Brooklyn. According to reports from the NYPD, the program was successful in getting 115 weapons off the streets. With just under a week to prepare for the inaugural event, Williams and his team can count the program an early success.
As previously reported, NYPD commissioner Ray Kelly approved the buyback plan on March 25th. Taking place last Saturday (March 30), gun owners were lured by the promise of tickets to the upcoming concerts of Beyoncé, Alicia Keys and the joint Justin Timberlake & Jay-Z show in exchange for firearms. A large part the guns were turned in by Black and Latino males, which served as the main target demographic for 'Guns for Greatness.'
A tally of the weapons include 55 revolvers, 33 semi-automatic handguns, nine rifles, five shotguns, four rifles, one assault rifle and a collection of BB guns and starter pistols. Similar 'guns for cash' programs have been popping up nationwide, especially in neighborhoods and cities ravaged by violence. Recently in New Jersey, the cities of Camden and Trenton set records with 1,137 and 2,600 guns collected respectively. In Los Angeles, one man showed up at a gun buyback event last December with 22 pistols alone.
A press conference with Commissioner Kelly and Williams will take place this evening. 'Guns for Greatness' partners will also be in attendance as well.
To get connected with the 'Guns for Greatness"'program, please follow this link.

Photos: New York Daily News

The world of Hip-Hop and comic books are more intertwined than you may know. Ghostface Killah, who also goes by the moniker Tony Starks otherwise know as Ironman, comes from the era where DC and Marvel reigned supreme, and has in turn prepped a comic to accompany the release of his forthcoming Twelve Reasons To Die project.
Until now, fans have been so excited about his recent collaborative offerings with producer Adrian Younge, that many forgot about the other portion of the release. Today, we receive a sneak peak at

Too $hort Will Not Be Charged With Felony Drug Possession

Mobb Deep Discuss Beef & The Group Moving Forward [VIDEO]

By now you have surely seen OG rapper Too $hort's suspect getaway skills after he was stopped by Los Angeles police for a DUI earlier this week. $hort Dog was charged with felony drug possession for allegedly trying to dispose of drugs in the back of a squad car, but those charges have been dismissed.

TMZ reports:
We broke the story...Too Short was arrested Wednesday for DUI. He made a failed attempt to escape (see video below) and was taken to jail, where cops say they found drugs in the back of the black and white. He was booked for felony drug possession.
We've learned...the L.A. County District Attorney has REJECTED the felony drug case, because cops only found a very small amount of drugs -- which they say is meth. Given that Short does not have a felony record, the D.A. decided not to prosecute and sent the case over to the L.A. City Attorney for misdemeanor review.

We're told the City Attorney will look at the case...probably next week.
FYI...Short insists he was not in possession of drugs, and whatever was found in the back of the cop car was left by the prior arrestee who involuntarily hitched a ride to the pokey.

Too $hort wins this round. Please get a proper weed carrier/designated driver and refrain from fleeing from the cops, sir.
Yes, we had to include the 'Blow The Whistle' rapper's struggle sprint below.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=CWsCZtFeUVQ

Photo: TMZ

Hip-Hop witnessed one of its legendary groups in Mobb Deep crumble last year, or so we thought. Thankfully, Havoc and Prodigy have since reconciled, but fans haven't forgotten about their brief spat. Knowing this, the Queensbridge duo sat down with MTV news to discuss their issues and Mobb Deep moving forward.

Havoc began with, 'Let me just start off by saying Mobb Deep is like brothers. Understand what I'm saying? And brothers, we go through things.'
The two admit that their issues were indeed real, to which Havoc referred to his infamous Twitter rant. 'The tweets definitely happened and I take my part in that. At the end of the day, like I said, we went through things. When family goes through things it's like, they shouldn't be handled in the streets,' said the 'Gone' rapper, who admits full responsibility for his actions.

Prodigy chimed in, saying 'Me and Hav got a different type of relationship man. It's different man. We been through a lot of stuff growing up, just personal stuff.'

'When you dealing with someone for that long everyday, you going to have your little squabbles or whatever. It's nothing,' explained P. 'The bottom line is we [sic] smarter than all the BS.'

Mobb Deep currently plans to embark on a 20th anniversary tour in May, so you know it's real or at least amicable. See the tour schedule below.

Check out the full interview here: http://www.mtv.com/videos/news/891372/exclusive-mobb-deep-fight-and-reunite-like-brothers.jhtml

Photos: MTV

Dr. Dre fans have wondered if the long-rumored Detox album will ever see the light of the day, and he hinted at the faint possibility of a release during an interview this morning. Dre called in to Power 106 program Big Boy's Neighborhood, announcing that co-host Fuzzy Fantabulous will leave the program

When the rumors of Lil Wayne's health conditions prove to be false, fans, celebrities and family members of the Young Money CEO took to twitter and instagram to expressed their rag



via: http://rashaentertainment.com/toya-wright-t-i-put-tmz-on-blast-for-false-reports

RZA Sued By Dutch Singer Thea Van Siejaen For Unpaid Royalties

Dr. Dre Opened Companies In Ireland To Escape Higher Tax Bracket

RZA is getting sued, and this time it isn't by one of his fellow Wu-Tang Clan group members. Dutch singer Thea Van Siejaen alleges that the music producer and movie director failed to pay her a significant amount of money.

TMZ reports that Van Siejaen has filed a lawsuit for not getting her fair share of money for co-writing songs and singing for work she did for Bobby Digital from 2004 to 2011. According to Van Siejaen, she didn't demand the money sooner for fear of being blackballed in the industry by RZA.

Now she is asking that the court order RZA to pay royalties she feels she is due. Van Siejaen's soulful vocal performances were featured on a number of song on the RZA's Digi Snacks solo album and The RZA Presents: Afro Samurai Resurrection soundtrack. She is suing over a total of of 11 songs, including RZA's 'Baby Boy' from the Jet Li film's Unleashed soundtrack.
RZA's reps told TMZ, 'Unfortunately this is a groundless lawsuit by someone RZA had helped get off the streets, lent a helping hand to, and now thinks he's an easy target to mark looking for money.'

Photos: TMZ

Dr. Dre doesn't want to end up on the ever-growing list of rap stars busted for not paying their taxes, so he's taken his business ventures to Ireland.
The Good Doctor, who was named Forbes' highest paid musician of the year thanks to his Beats By Dre empire, has launched a few business in the UK to avoid giving Uncle Sam too much of his ends.

Dre has reportedly opened three companies in an area known as Clonkailty, County Cork, in search of tax refuge.

From the Irish Examiner:
The three businesses each share their address with O'Mahony Donnelly accountants, run by husband and wife Michael O'Mahony and Ann Donnelly.
Mr O'Mahony said helping clients like Dr Dre had become one of their niche markets. 'Since I established O'Mahony Donnelly here in 2000 we've worked with a number of multinational corporations to get them set up in Ireland. This has become a great niche for our firm.'

According to O'Mahony several companies have high tailed it across the pond. 'We are active in a network of international business advisers that brings us clients looking to do business here. We like the challenges and diversity this niche brings to our firm.'

Although he would not mention Dre specifically, O'Mahony acknowledged doing the same work for similar companies. 'We set up limited companies, provide company secretarial services including providing a registered company address, as well as other accountancy and business advisory services. The low corporate tax rate is a big factor in attracting companies to set up in Ireland, but there are many other reasons. Ireland is the only country in the eurozone with English as a primary language and we are still known to have a great workforce, top quality of life and business environment.'
With a net worth well above$200 million, it's no wonder Dre's trying to hold onto as much of his money as possible.

Photos: rsvlts.com

Wu-Tang Clan has always been for the children, but at least one of its members is for the students, too. The Genius/GZA has teamed with Columbia University professor Christopher Emdin to create Science Genius BATTLES, a program that uses Hip-Hop to teach science in New York City schools.
Last night (December 12th), GZA spoke to a crowd of educators and students assembled at

Flavor Flav Accused Of Chasing Girlfriend's Son With Knives & Threatening To Kill Him

Q-Tip Speaks on The Last Zulu & Cruel Winter

Flavor Flav's old man tirade hit the struggle level when he was arrested at his Las Vegas home for assault with a deadly weapon Wednesday (Oct. 17), and now we're finding out the details behind his downward spiral. The 53-year-old New York native was double-fisted with a couple of knives when he ran after his fiance's son, reports TMZ.

Flav, real name William Drayton Jr., allegedly threw his lady love, 39-year-old Elizabeth Trujillo, to the ground and ripped out her earrings (ouch!), before setting his eyes on her son. According to the police report, the teen son jumped in to save his mother before being met with knives of fury. The elderly Public Enemy hypeman also kicked down a locked door to get to the son, before showering him with threats against his life.

The whole argument started over accusations that Flav- who is obviously irresistible to the ladies- was being unfaithful. Things got heated, the fiancée ended up on the ground, her son ended up being chased, and Flav ended up in the back of a squad car on his way to jail where he was booked on misdemeanor battery and felony assault charges.

He has since posted $23,000 bail and has been released, and is scheduled to appear in court next week.

Legendary MC and G.O.O.D. Music recruit Q-Tip performed at a Heineken sponsored concert in Philadelphia last weekend and discussed what he's been working on lately. The most notable topics covered were Q-Tip's forthcoming solo effort The Last Zulu and G.O.O.D. Music's rumored Cruel Winter project.

The Queens MC revealed to Hip-Hop Since 1987 that the results from an African Ancestry test inspired the title of his first G.O.O.D. Music project. 'So the DNA went out and whatever. The results came back and I found out that all through my charts I was South African Zulu. And the rare thing about it is that in America like during the slave trade, it was like single percentage of people that came from that region because it was so far south in Africa,' said Tip citing the rarity of finding an African person of Zulu heritage at that time.

When asked about Cruel Winter, the Native Tongue MC said 'I can't really let out too much details about it, but yeah, I'll be on it.' Do you think that G.O.O.D. Music will actually deliver a follow up to Cruel Summer, or is Q-Tip just blowing steam? Sound off in the comments section.

As far as rap beefs go, the brewing feud between Jay-Z mentor and rap veteran Jaz-O and a former collaborator, Sauce Money, seemingly appeared out of thin air. Two days ago, a Forbez DVD video interview was released featuring Sauce speaking on the Roc-A-Fella Records situation. and he called Jaz-O a piece of 'excrement' to keep it PG-rated. Jaz-O responded in kind via a phone call from Tampa, throwing some insults regarding Sauce Money's weight and even touched on his troubles with Hov as well.

'This fat n---a Sauce talking sh-t,' opens up Jaz immediately. 'He a disrespectful motherf---er lookin' for a scapegoat. I feel sorry him for him, you know. Basically, he's saying I'm a piece of sh-t. I'

Scott Storch Wanted By Cops For Failing To Pay Almost $30K In Child Support

Nelly Releases Statement About Heroin & Weed Loaded Tour Bus

Scott Storch is a wanted man; just not for his beats. A Florida court has issued a warrant for the chronically troubled producer's arrest because he neglected to pay almost $30,000 in child support.

TMZ reports that the warrant was issued after Storch, producer of such hits like Terror Squad's 'Lean Back' and BeyoncÃÆ'© 'Naughty Girl,' failed to show up for a scheduled court date and explain why he didn't pay his child support. Storch can avoid landing in the bing if he makes good on the reportedly $28,300 he owes his baby mama.

Storch's struggle is a multi-state affair, though. Back in California, the Beverly Hills Hotel alleges that last week Storch checked out without paying his $4000 bill. In February of this year, Storch was arrested for coke charges in Las Vegas. Also, in April an artist sued Storch for failing to deliver her the beats that he promised and that she paid for.

Yesterday, news broke of St. Louis rapper Nelly being detained by authorities after copious amounts of drugs were found on a tour bus he was travelling in. After the vehicle was pulled over in Sierra Blanca, Texas, police found 36 small baggies of heroin, over ten pounds of weed and a loaded .45 handgun. While a man by the name of Brian Keith Jones copped to owning the contraband and was arrested, Nelly released a statement regarding the situation, distancing himself from the company he kept.

'It is my understanding a member of my staff made an unfortunate decision to bring unlawful materials onto our tour bus that resulted in his arrest this morning, October 11th. Neither I nor anyone else on the tour bus was aware of his decision to bring these on board. Law enforcement officials in Sierra Blanca, Texas did not press charges against anyone other than that individual.'
Reportedly, Jones is one of Nelly's bodyguards. The rapper was more candid with the commentary on Twitter. 'I'm not gone front I'm MAD as Hell about this sh#t!!2have some1 who works 4u n who u call a friend 4 ova 10years jeopardize ur life WTF?,' he tweeted yesterday. 'That being said he was not only an employee but he was fam some1 who protected my life 4many years!No excuses for wad he did!!!! My heart goes out to his fam and is kids!!!!'

The Sierra Blanca checkpoint, a Texas border town, is notorious for busting artists with illegal items in their possession, including Snoop Dogg and Willie Nelson.

In the years that followed the Haiti earthquakes which rocked the country, Wyclef Jean's YÃÆ'©le organization continues to face intense scrutiny, even after the company was shut down last month.
According to this intense expose in today's New York Times, 'a trail of debts, unfinished projects and broken promises,' were all that remain of the Wyclef-founded charity.

Possibly the most troubling of the story's findings are reports that a forensic audit examined $3 million of the charity's 2005 to 2009 expenses and found $256,580 in illegitimate benefits to the founding member of the Fugees and other Yale board and staff members as well as many other potentially improper transactions.

These included $24,000 for Clef's chauffeur services and $30,763 for a private jet that transported Lindsay Lohan from New Jersey to a benefit in Chicago that raised only $66,000. Ouch.

Mystikal Ponders A Career In Adult Films

Shyne Credits Himself With Saving Jennifer Lopez From Being Killed [LISTEN]

Mystikal is a man with a back up plan. Now that's he's out of jail, he's decided to give this music thing another go, but if it doesn't work out, there's another profession in his future.

The Louisiana native told TMZ that in his quest to maintain a steady cash flow, he has decided to transition into the adult film industry, to make ends meet. If given the opportunity, he'd like a chance with dirty flick star Pinky. 'She's a bad b-tch,' he raved. 'I would take her down in a second.'

Choosing to work in said arena allows Mystikal to follow in the footsteps of Snoop Dogg, and most recently Tyga, who is not only directing an adult film, but launched an accompanying website.

Ironically s-x movies should be the last thing Mystikal is interested in, given his criminal record. The 42-year-old served six years in prison for s-xual battery, stemming from an incident with a hairstylist in which he forced her to perform a s-x act.

After his long prison bid, Mystikal went back to jail stemming from a domestic abuse case. He repented for his actions stating that he was 'ashamed.'

No word yet on when his album will drop.

The 1999 club shooting that ended with Shyne being sent to jail for 10-year bid, also spared the precious life of Jennifer Lopez-so says the former Bad Boy rapper.

Speaking to Charlotte's WGIV 103.3, the 33-year-old explained that had things happened differently, Lopez wouldn't be here. 'I was thugging and bugging that night, ya dig? I was actually the best behaved because I don't drink and I don't smoke,' he said. 'I'm from the streets so when it's time for my hammer to go off... somebody was getting ready to pop ol' boy's head off... It might not have been no Jennifer Lopez movies or none of that, if I didn't pull my ratchet and squeeze off.'

Humble man that he is, Shyne made it clear that Lopez wasn't the only person he saved. 'I saved all of our lives cuz them kids from Brooklyn don't play,' he explained, of the discrepancy with club goers that led up to the violent outbreak.

Even with his well-publicized issues with Diddy, who was seen as sacrificing his former artist's freedom in order to ensure his own, more than a decade later Shyne has no problem owning up to his faults. 'I squeezed off that's my responsibility. No way, no how do I ever say what he did or he didn't do, I aint see him do nothing, as far as I know he didn't do nothing. That's not my responsibility, my responsibility is what I did.
"But you can't be my man and we in a situation together and you gon' call a witness to testify against me so you could get out the situation.'

Diddy has been ordered to pay $850,000 of his own money to the victims hurt in the New Years Eve altercation. Meanwhile Shyne is getting back to the music, revealing both his Gangland mixtape cover art, and plans to release a new album next year.

Listen to the interview: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ms6mUTJg2L4

RZA stays busy. The Wu-Tang Clan's Abbott announces that he will be heading on the 'Iron Fists' Tour during the month of October. According to Prefix, starting in New York City on October 3rd and conclu

Adam 'MCA' Yauch Prohibits His Music For Commercial Use

Diddy Reportedly Very Close To Joining American Idol

Rolling Stone recently obtained a copy of Adam 'MCA' Yauch's will that he constructed shortly before he passed away. The Beastie Boys' member specifically prohibits the use of his music and "artistic property" for advertising purposes after his death.

'Notwithstanding anything to the contrary, in no event may my image or name or any music or any artistic property created by me be used for advertising purposes,' the will states. The phrase 'or any music or any artistic property created by me' was added in handwriting.

The will, which was passed on Tuesday in a Manhattan court, leaves Yauch's $6.4 million estate to his wife, Dechen, and their daughter, Tenzin Losel. Yauch passed away on May 4th, 2012 after a three-year battle with salivary gland cancer.

The producers of Fox's American Idol have reportedly been wooing Bad Boy CEO and Hip-Hop mogul, Sean 'Diddy' Combs to become a judge on the show. After Aerosmith front man, Steven Tyler, opted to leave the show this season along with Jennifer Lopez two seats were up for grabs on America's biggest karaoke contest.

Jennifer Lopez was reportedly replaced by the incomparable Mariah Carey, and Diddy is said to be high on the wish list of the show's producers to replace Tyler along with Pharrell Williams. Diddy has oversaw the careers of many musical luminaries including The Notorious B.I.G., Mary J. Blige, Lil Kim and many more. What we wouldn't give for Jennifer Lopez and Diddy to be judges on that show? Now that would've been some great TV!

The Team USA Men's Basketball team took home the Gold medal, so of course the after party was going to be live. LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Kobe Bryant, Carmelo Anthony and the rest of the squad partied at Club Bud in London, which featured the still relevant Swizz Beatz, who brought out a special guest in Queensbridge rapper Nas to close out the festivities.

'Club Bud' was a two-day pop-up club located in Roundhouse London on Chalk Farm Road and was sponsored by Best Events and Tao Group (TAO & Marquee nightclubs).

Check out photos of the players and entertainers, including Nas performing with a bottle of Ace of Spades in his hands and a pair of Olympic Air Force 180s on his feet, having a blast in the gallery.

Dr. Dre Signs Development Deal With FX Channel To Create Crime Drama

Mystikal Released From Prison

Dr. Dre sells a gang of headphones and occasionally produces music (he's on the cover of the latest XXL), too. So the next logical progression in his stories career is...cable television. The world renowned producer has inked a deal with FX to develop a crime drama, reports The Hollywood Reporter. The cable channel has commissioned the 'Deep Cover' rapper/producer (who serve as an executive producer) and writer Sidney Quashi to write the script for a one-hour drama pilot that mingles the crime business and music business.

Quashi will be billed as both the creator and executive producer of the drama, with Dre serving as an EP. Daniel Schniderwill co-executive producer for Dre's Crucial TV, along with co-EP Brad Bertner.

Crucial Films was launched in 2007 with a first-look deal at New Line. Dre's label, Aftermath Entertainment, launched 11 years earlier and has showcased such talent as Eminem, 50 Cent, The Game and his newest discovery Kendrick Lamar. He began his career as a member of seminal gangsta rap group N.W.A and continued as a producer and solo artist. In 2008, Dre moved into the tech sector with the launch of popular headphones line Beats by Dr. Dre.

Dre surely has the music side covered and considering the shady dealings he went through at Ruthless Records while a member of N.W.A and then Death Row Records with Suge Knight, he should at least be familiar with the crime side. But who wants to bet whether or not we'll be watching this as yet unnamed crime drama before hearing Detox?

Mystikal is once again a free man after serving two months in prison for violating his probation. The YMCMB rapper was released from the East Baton Rouge Parish Jail in Louisiana early this morning where he had been incarcerated since May 14 according to TMZ.

Mystikal previously spent the past six years in prison and after being free for only a couple of months, he was slapped with a misdemeanor charge stemming from a domestic abuse case. 'Disappointed isn't the word for it -- ashamed,' Mystikal told Billboard.com shortly before he turned himself in for his 81 day sentence.

'Everything I was doing, the 81 days was right there riding with me -- in the SUV, come on, who's that? My 81 days. Everywhere I went, it was keeping me in check, and it's a fight. I can tell myself all kinds of things, I can sit there and mope, or I can get out and thank those fans the way I'm supposed to, the way they deserve to be thanked. So of course I am.'

Wu-Tang Clan's GZA Speaks On New Album Dark Matter, Upcoming Graphic Novel

G.O.O.D. Music Rapper Common's Chicago Condo Facing Foreclosure

Although Wu-Tang Clan's Ghostface Killa famously said on the classic track 'Criminology' that he 'revolve around sciences,' it would seem that his fellow swordsman the GZA has literally taken those bars to heart. The Brooklyn native has immersed himself in working alongside MIT professors for research and mixing his potent bars with scientifically-influenced facts. Just a month shy of his 46th birthday, the veteran wordsmith sat down with The Fader and their Captain Morgan Black-sponsored 'Step Into The Black' series, breaking down his interest in science, his new album Dark Matter and plans to work on a graphic novel.

'I was interested in science from a very early age but not to the point where I wanted to go to school and study and be a physicist,' said GZA. 'Just learning things about the stars and the planets, the workings of the atoms and molecules, knowing that we're part of this whole universal structure. It's all fascinating. It's something to write about.'

Along with Dark Matter, GZA hinted that he's working on three albums and also a graphic novel Chlorine - a coming-of-age tale of four youth during summer vacation set at a swimming pool; GZA said that the book will be 12-part anthology series. As if the GZA wasn't busy enough, he's also a travelling lecturer, having graced the halls of Harvard and the aforementioned MIT.

'It's pretty intimidating at times, and challenging,' shared GZA, comparing lecturing to his normal stage setting of Hip-Hop. 'It all relates back to music, my upbringing, my involvement with the Clan.'

The ambitious Dark Matter album, in where GZA uses rhymes inspired by the cosmos and the creation of the universe, is slated for a fall release.

Check the video: http://hiphopwired.com/2012/07/23/wu-tang-clans-gza-speaks-on-new-album-dark-matter-upcoming-graphic-novel/

It looks like G.O.O.D. Music's Common hasn't been checking his mail back in Chicago. TMZ reports that the rapper's Chi-Town condo is under threat of foreclosure after he allegedly fell months behind on his mortgage payments.
Com Sense, who keeps a crib in LA, and his longtime manager Derek Dudley purchased the pad in 2008. But according to Bank of America, they stopped making the $2,285 a month mortgage payments in March and the bank decided to begin foreclosure proceedings. It's not likely the Common is hard up for cash.

Besides a successful recording career (he dropped his latest album, The Dreamer The Believer, late last year, and its 'The Believer,' featuring John Legend, can be heard in a new Jeep ad campaign), the rapper born Lonnie Rashid Lynn is also a successful actor. The 'So Sweet' rapper is reprising his role of Elam, a recently freed slave, in the second season of AMC's Hell On Wheels, which returns August 12th

Rodney King's Family Asks For Donations To Cover His Funeral

Jimmy 'Henchman' Rosemond Admits To Setting Up 1994 Tupac Shakur Shooting

Even in death Rodney King may not be able to find the peace he was desperately searching for. The 47-year-old died of an apparent accidental drowning a week ago, but has yet to be laid to rest, as word comes that his family is having trouble paying for his funeral.

According to TMZ, the King family has come up short of the more than $22,000 funeral price tag.

The family released a public statement encouraging 'those who wish to contribute to the King family,' to make a donation via a newly started memorial fund. 'They need the money,' said their rep, Kali Bowyer.
Although King received a $3.8 million settlement, following the vicious beating handed down by LAPD officers 20 years ago, bad business deals and legal issues ate away at his net worth. As a result, his three daughter's are trying to come up with the money to pay for the ceremony.
King's funeral is expected to take place on June 30.

In all likelihood for Jimmy 'Henchman' Rosemond, the shit has been introduced to the fan. Not only was Henchman found guilty last month for operating a drug ring and indicted for murder on Friday, but he has finally come clean about his role in the infamous Quad Studios shooting of Tupac Shakur.

This shooting turned friends Tupac and The Notorious B.I.G. into bitter enemies and eventually led to demise of both of their lives. Per The Village Voice:

'Rosemond secretly admitted to involvement in Tupac's ambush during one of nine 'Queen For A Day' proffer sessions with the government last autumn, court transcripts show. (In such sessions, suspects under investigation choose to enter an agreement with the government to confess knowledge of certain crimes with the agreement that the information won't be used to prosecute them.) His confession unfolded as he was trying to carve out a cooperation deal that might lead to a reduced sentence, according to federal prosecutors.

'Rosemond apparently came clean about his involvement in Tupac's ambush shortly after his former best friend, Dexter Isaac, stepped forward last summer to publicly confess that he had led the attack on Shakur in 1994. Isaac released a statement on June 16, 2011 to allhiphop.com, saying it was Rosemond who had paid him to rob and pistol-whip Tupac.'

The statute of limitations on robbery is seven years, so although this confession brings minor closure to a huge chapter in Hip-Hop, the involved parties will see zero jail time for this.

The law is finally working in DMX's favor. According to TMZ, a booking agency dropped their $630,000 lawsuit against the rapper.

Heavy Rotation filed the suit against X after a comeback tour never came into fruition. The booking agency signed a one-year deal with the 42-year-old to perform different dates all over the country. Unfortunately both sides couldn't come to an agreement, the shows never happened, and HR claims to have lost $750,000 in the aftermath.

X's team claimed that they terminated the business deal, but failed to give details as to why. In May, he announced the kick-off of his Undisputed: Weigh In tour

According to gossip website TMZ.com, VH1 and Shaq's ex Shaunie O'Neal have axed 3 cast members of the problematic Basketball Wives reality show. If true, it can be assumed that VH1 and Shaunie found 3 new cast members - who were recruited to be "friends" of the other cast members.

A source told TMZ that Royce Reed, left, Jennifer Williams (right) and Kesha Nichols (center) also got their walking papers - and will be replaced next season.

TMZ claims Royce was axed because her baby daddy, Dwight Howard, got a judge to force Royce to keep his name out of her mouth. Jennifer was let go because she filed a fake lawsuit against Nia Crooks for slapping her on the show, and Kesha was just too "boring."

If this is true, the women are being fired to make room for new cast members who will breathe life into the show's falling ratings.

As you know, most urban reality shows are scripted urban soap operas surrounding a cast of fake "friends" who really didn't know each other until they met to read the scripts for the first time.

Networks such as VH1 and Bravo have audiences of gullible women (and some men) who believe everything the network throws at them. Thanks to blogs and other intellectuals, the public is now more aware of the wicked motivations behind these so-called urban "reality" shows.

An inside source told me that VH1 is dismayed that I seem to know so much about what's going on behind the scenes. The source told me that one of the producers asked her if she was telling me anything about the cast members. But she didn't have to tell me anything. It really doesn't take a rocket scientist to see through their bullsh*t

According to TMZ, R&B singer Angie Stone was arrested yesterday in Georgia for speeding while driving on a suspended license. She was released an hour later. No word from her rep yet

Singer Sean Kingston has been accused of sexual assault, but sources say cops don't believe his accuser.

The alleged incident occurred Sunday night at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Seattle. Sources tell said that two women showed up for a party in one of the hotel rooms. Kingston was present.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ that the women were both intoxicated when they arrived, with bottles of vodka and beer in hand. They're told one of the women claims Kingston had sex with her, and, as one source says, "She was very aggressive." Kingston then left the party and went to another room on the same floor.

Sources say the woman then proceeded to have sex with two other men in the room.

The second woman, we're told, also had sex with someone in the room.

A hotel manager tells TMZ "an incident" did indeed occur in the hotel Sunday night, though he was not specific. The fire department tells us an ambulance was called and transported both women, ages 19 and 20, to a hospital where rape tests were conducted. We're told the women were also tested for Rufinol, but the results are not in.

Sources say Kingston, who is scheduled to perform tonight with Justin Bieber in Portland, was initially asked by cops to come in for an interview, but police have determined the case is not credible and they now say an interview is unnecessary.

We're told one of the women is going to file a civil lawsuit, and maybe both.