News: Lil Kim Puts Comeback Album On Hold, "My Schedule Is So Crazy"

Written by Cyrus Langhorne
Mon, 04 May 2009 16:00:00

Rapper Lil Kim recently discussed the holdup of her new album and said her work on "Dancing With The Stars" is to blame.
Kim did, however, announce the release of a forthcoming mixtape.

"Never, music is in my heart and that's the reason I'm on 'Dancing With The Stars' because I've always felt music," Kim said about abandoning music. "Right after 'Dancing With The Stars' [new album is coming.] My schedule is so crazy with 'Dancing With The Stars.' We rehearse six to eight times, from eight hours a day, so it's like, I do have time on the weekends to go into the studio and when I do, I do a little bit. I have a song out right now with T-Pain ...I'm about to do a mixtape with my people, it's gonna be called Lil Kim: Family & Friends ...And I'm paying for the music videos." ( The Q Deezy Show )
The rapper has continued to make her rounds on the popular competition into its final weeks.

Lil' Kim didn't have to sweat it out for long on Tuesday night's episode of ABC's "Dancing With The Stars." She and Team Tango started the show with an encore of their performance to "Womanizer." This time she was able to correct last night's missteps. Now, it's down to the final five: Lil' Kim, Shawn Johnson , Ty Murray, Gilles Marini and Melissa Rycroft . All of them have been called contenders, but who's going to shine next week. Find out when ABC airs "Dancing With The Stars" on Monday night at 8 p.m. EST. ( S2S Magazine )

The Brooklyn, New York-bred emcee previously opened up about her anticipation for the show to begin.
"When I was in prison me and my girls used to watch it," Kim said in an interview. "My girlfriends would say, 'Kim, you need to be on that show,' it used to be the number one show in prison...I'm totally not what you guys think I am. That's why I'm doing 'Dancing With the Stars' because you will see who the real Kim is...I've never had dance experience, aside from doing videos and stuff like that...It's different, it's very different. It's not easy." ( The Insider )
She joined the likes of other popular entertainers.

Grammy-winning rapper Lil' Kim, Professional Football Hall of Famer Lawrence Taylor , actress Denise Richards , country singer Jewel Kilcher , Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak and reality TV star Steve-O , are confirmed as signing up for the dancing competition. ( All Headline News )

News: Rick Ross Crowns Himself "Head Of Florida," Talks 50 Cent & The Game

Written by Cyrus Langhorne
Mon, 04 May 2009 14:50:00

A new Rick Ross diss song snippet called "Head of Florida" has hit the Internet where the Miami emcee continues his taunts towards 50 Cent while paying homage to The Game .

Less than a minute and rhyming over a piano beat, Ross is heard bigging up former G-Unit member The Game while still dissing Fif, who he refers to by his government name.

"Walkin' in water, covered in ice," Ross rapped. "I f*cks pianos, I rape the drums/I kiss the mic, hits make me come/Bricks make me come from the tip of my tongue/Baby girl drippin' like the clip from my gun/I am the truth, brand new coupe/Running place take you straight back to Martin Luther roots...Held as a Boss, nailed to the cross/Rose from the dead...No need for all black, I can be in all peach and wack me a Curtis Jack...Governor of Florida, one terms' twice/I f*cks with Game, me and Blood the same/I became his fan when he threw away the chain." ( "Head of Florida" )

Ross recently released the anti-50 record "Mafia Music" remix which featured verses from G-Unit rap rivals The Game, Fat Joe and Ja Rule .
"Guess who's bizzack," Rule raps on the song. "I spit murder, the music is mafia...One cold afternoon you get shot at your home/Now 'I Smell P*ssy'/P*ssy got lips, but it don't talk to me/That's why you my b*tch/And you on my d*ck/Aha 'cause I f*cked you up once, I f*cked you up twice and you still talking sh*t/What must I do, to get through to you/ Curly, get off my d*ck...Read in-between the lines when you hear me talk/Get on get outta line, this is Rule York." ( "Mafia Music" Remix )

He also made headlines after calling out 50's boss, Eminem , last week.

"N*ggas cut throat," he declared. "You know now they saying 'monkey' could be black-on-black racial, keep saying monkey. So the only way I can fix that, Eminem, you're a monkey. He's really a honkey, but that's racial. You's a monkey, you n*ggas monkeys...'Wood Face,' it's no longer Curly, now you're Wood Face. Eh, Whoo Kid , I found out you're making 300 a show, my deejay makes way more than you. You're nobody. Do me the biggest favor, hit me up." ( Spiff TV )

Despite his current rap beef with Ross, 50 weighed in on Ross' success atop the charts with Deeper Than Rap , which sold 158,000 copies its first week, with positive remarks.

"I didn't get an opportunity to hear his record," Fif said in an interview. "But a lot of freak numbers come out of the Def Jam system. I mean, just look at it. I think [his numbers] could be a disappointment to the system, based on how much of an effort and money they spent marketing, but I can't call a number one a flop under any circumstances." ( MTV )

The full version of "Head of Florida" has not yet been released online.

News: Fabolous Speaks On The Downfall Of Mixtapes, "There's Nothing Really Special"

Written by Cyrus Langhorne
Mon, 04 May 2009 13:20:00

As an artists who jump-started his career with the help of DJ Clue and the mixtape circuit, Fabolous recently spoke on the status of the overly popular market.

While he believes mixtapes are declining in popularity, Fab also feels there are ways to help strengthen them.

"That game is really saturated," Fab said in an interview about the mixtapes. "I feel like you really have to do something special now, but there's not really anything special you can do on a mixtape besides trying different things musically or with the way you distribute it...There's nothing special to me about a mixtape now...There's pretty much one coming out every five minutes. Right now, I think the dopest thing is to have a mixtape online--don't even have a hard disc, because even that's slowed down. When was the last time someone went somewhere and bought a hard copy of a mix CD? So maybe the next step is to release something digitally and tie it in with that." ( Hip Hop DX )

Fab's hip-hop career took off nearly a decade ago with the help of mixtapes.

Fabolous's grand entrance into the rap world began with some impromptu flow outside the PJ's, which led to a hastily arranged audition for music-biz mogul, mixtape king DJ Clue in early 1998. The only catch was that the laid back linguist would have to impress Clue while kicking it live for thousands of New York radio listeners tuned in to Clue's Monday-night Hot 97 show. Add the fact that CNN 's Noreaga was in the studio, and you're probably looking at more game than you can handle. ( Sing365 )

Like 50 Cent , Fab's mixtape rhymes generated a strong fan base.

Fabolous was one of the first East Coast MCs to embrace the bling mentality of the South as well as the gangsta swagger of the West Coast, all the while incorporating a subtle undercurrent of pop-rap into his music. He was among the first of a new breed of New York City rappers, later to include 50 Cent most notably, who were able to crossover well among multiple markets without losing street credential. His youth was key, but so was his bravado, and when Fabolous could balance this persona optimally and find himself a production formula to fit, commercial success resulted. ( All Music )

With his upcoming album Loso's Way nearing, SOHH spoke with F-a-b-o about a recently leaked audio clip from his project which features Jay-Z .

"Actually, it got leaked and it was a version with Jay only rapping on it and it's called, 'When The Money Goes,' Fabolous said. "Jay had recorded something to it, I guess what you hear on the leak, for American Gangster and I don't think it made the final cut so he had reached out to me, knowing that I was working on this project and knowing the theme of what I was trying to put together and said, 'Yo, I got a record that might fit in to play.' So, when he brought the record to the table it did. I re-vocaled it. Jay is just on the hook as far as that, it was his idea for the hook." ( SOHH )

News: Eminem Confesses Drug Addiction, "I Hadn't Recorded A Song Sober In 7 Years"

Written by Cyrus Langhorne
Mon, 04 May 2009 16:45:37

Eminem has reportedly opened up about his past drug problems and revealed his struggles with balancing hip-hop and soberness.
In the new issue of Vibe , Em breaks down his slow recovery and recent return to the spotlight.
"I wanted to make an overall statement--I'm back," Em said. "It was a slow process. You gotta remember I hadn't recorded a song sober in seven years. So it took me awhile to even feel like I could record a song sober...I don't know the last time I shot a video sober, without drinking or taking anything. It's been years...I almost feel like a little kid again with rap. I wanna play around with different flows. If I don't feel like it's what I'm fully capable of, if there's one weak line, I wanna change it. Rap was my drug. It used to get me high and then it stopped getting me high. Then I had to resort to other things to make me feel that...now rap's getting me high again." ( Rap Radar )

In a past interview, the rapper said drugs forced his transition into producing.

"I wasn't ready to give up drugs," Em explained. "I didn't really think I had a problem...I felt like I wanted to pull back, because my drug problem had got so bad. I felt like, maybe if I take a break, maybe this will help. I started to get into the producer role more." ( XXL Magazine )
He also recently launched a new website using rehab concepts to help promote his upcoming album Relapse .
Boasting the slogan "We Remade You" -- a riff on Relapse 's first single "We Made You" -- Popsomp Hills is advertised as a real Bloomfield Hills, Michigan rehab center with a Swiss founder named "Dr. Balzac" in charge. There's much more weird stuff on the Popsomp Website: By clicking "Learn More," you're redirected to the Wikipedia page for "Hell," the "Terms & Conditions" seem to be enablers ("Life is too short, party harder than ever. We can help") and links to a multitude of actual rehab options. ( Rolling Stone )

Em made his return into the spotlight earlier this year with his "We Made You" music video.

Slim Shady promised he was up to his old tricks in the video for "We Made You," his first solo clip since 2005. Debuted exclusively on MTV's "AMTV" this morning and directed by Joseph Kahn , Em does his best preening Bret Michaels , dangling a rose with a backstage pass on it in front of a line of rock star wannabes that includes impersonators of Sarah Palin Lisa Ann ), Samantha Ronson, Lindsay Lohan and a dentally challenged Amy Winehouse .

Dr. Dre and 50 Cent make cameos in a casino scene alongside Em. ( SOHH )


FAB TALKS TO THE MIXTAPE GAME, LIL KIM PUSHES BACK ALBUM, EMINEM'S DRUG PROBLEM, AND MORE