News: Raekwon On Wu-Tang Separation, "We Need To Make More Money"

Written by Cyrus Langhorne
Mon, 25 May 2009 14:30:00
Wu-Tang Clan 's Raekwon The Chef recently spoke on the division among the iconic Shaolin rap
group and why each member's solo effort helps his crew's overall image.
The rapper spoke on each member's own path within hip-hop.
 "Everybody has their own focus on where they wanna be at," Raekwon explained in an interview with
DJ Green Lantern. "We did the family thing for a long time for y'all. We been very loyal to that, giving
 y'all the Wu-Tang albums but at the same token, we need to make more money man. We got things that
 we gotta do and you know if somebody comes at me and offers me a situation, I gotta know that's what
 I'm here for. But I can't stop it and everytime be like, 'Nah we doin' a Wu-Tang album' it's like nah, we
never designed this family to be like that. We told y'all from the door, each n*gga is an individual. I don't
 know if everybody forgot that, but that's written facts right there. We told y'all each man can carry his
 own weight. Each man is gonna go out there and bring more sh*t to the table for all of us." (DJ Green Lantern)
Method Man recently killed rumors about his group's alleged break-up.
"We never really split up!," Mef exclaimed in an interview. "People need to stop taking sh*t out of context.
 Even Ludacris, who I respect a lot, kind of upset me with a song he had where he mentioned Wu Tang
 broke up. No, we didn't break up! There has never been an official statement that said 'We're done' or 'I'm
 out.' [Before a new group album,] there's things we've got to take care of first before anybody even starts
 to discuss that." (New York Daily News)

News: Paul Wall Talks Music Biz Gimmicks, "I've Never Tried To Build Hype"

Written by Cyrus Langhorne
Mon, 25 May 2009 16:00:00
Southern rapper Paul Wall recently spoke on his feelings towards today's record industry and the
perceived reliance on gimmicks and what's popular at the moment.
Claiming he has used the music business to build relationships, Wall also said the usage of hype could
have helped his past record sales.
"It just seems like the music industry revolves around hype, it don't seem like it revolves around music
 anymore," he said in an interview. "I've built my career around making good music, building relationships
 up, and going out there to put in real work...I've never tried to build hype, or use a gimmick, or anything
 like that. If I did, I'd probably have way more record sales, but for me to have longevity, I feel like I have
 to put out good music...You see artists like LL Cool J and Snoop Dogg] and it seems like they've been
 in the game forever. You see rock artists like ZZ Top, and they're d*mn near 70 still going on tour and
 I don't see why rappers can't do the same thing. I want to be on tour at 70 too, I love music. So hopefully
 I'll be able to do this for another 50 years." (iHipHop)
UGK 's Bun B recently said hip-hop has taken a negative hit and become less effective in today's sales
 climate.
"I wonder if people who ask Southern artists [about their past streaks also] ask West coast artists or
Midwest artists or New York artists that, because all those regions are falling off," Bun said in an interview.
 "Hip-Hop, in general, doesn't have the demand power it used to in any region. We had a good run in
 Houston, but every region's in trouble. There are really only six people making money off rap music.
 Everybody knows that...I definitely think that Z-Ro is on the brink of becoming a national superstar.
 It's pretty much up to him to decide whether he goes as far as he wants to go. The only thing holding
 Z-Ro back is Z-Ro." (Vibe)

News: Rick Ross Finds Religion In 50 Cent Feud, "I Pray For The Best"

Written by Cyrus Langhorne
Mon, 25 May 2009 12:30:00
Rick Ross recently spoke on how religion has played a role in his rap feud with 50 Cent and what
some of the underlying reasons were behind his verbal attacks on the G-Unit leader.
Speaking on the gospel-based program "Lift Every Voice," Ricky Ross described his dependence on religion.
 "If you think you making real rap, you gotta talk about God," Ross said in an interview. "That's who I
give credit or my prosperity to because I feel like I was rapping for over ten years and if nothing ever
happened for me, it was something I would have had to live with..Coming from where I come from,
]seeing what I seen to having a number one album I had told myself at one point no matter what I go through,
I'll never question God...I pray for forgiveness in a lot of these areas. When it come to the 50 Centsituation, I
pray for the best and most definitely on a serious note, it could become, uhm, physical.
 It could become life-threatening, you never know, you understand? But I keep a positive outlook on it and I
focus on the business aspect, you know, versus the negative...I'm a person that's done some wrong things in
 my time and I beg for forgiveness everyday...Sometimes you gotta be the bigger person, be the boss, a lot of
 times it could be beneficial...One of the reasons I challenged 50 Cent in the first place was to show my faith,
show the world my courage, regardless if you got $200 million and I got $2 million, it ain't about money."
Lift Every Voice)

News: Young Buck Says He's "Back On" W/ Comeback Plan, "You Can't Hold A Real N***a Down"

Written by Cyrus Langhorne
Mon, 25 May 2009 12:00:00
Former G-Unit member Young Buck recently gave fans an update on his delayed Back On My Bullsh*t mixtape
 and his aim to resist calling out rapper's names.

Along with speaking on his mixtape, Buck also explained the online attention he's generated in recent months.
"What's taking so long with the Back On My Bucksh*t mixtape," Buck asked in a video. "This what's going on right
 now, I'm riding right now. This is me, this is my life...I'm letting you see what's going on, I'm good. I go through sh*t
 just like you go through sh*t, just like everybody go through sh*t but I'm good man, ya understand? It got a n*gga
more focused, I will say that much. But I will say you can't hold a real n*gga down for too long. Streets been waiting
, Back On My Bucksh*t. And I'm giving you b*tch a** rappers h*ll. I see you h*e a** n*ggas but I ain't gonna
give you no attention, I'ma give you h*ll...I just wanna let n*ggas know and keep n*ggas focused right now.
'Cause I see this right now, they hitting this sh*t all over the Internet. A hundred thousand hits, 'When is the
Back On My Bucksh*t coming' and all that. Well, it's on the way n*gga. The mission is completed 'cause
y'all see DJ Scream and DJ Smallz right here with a n*gga. The wait is over and it's about to get even
realer than this." (Southern Smoke TV)