Author: hhns

T.I. opines on Lil Wayne’s controversial comments, and his experience taking his family camping.

Lil Wayne stirred up controversy when he stated “Flat out, I don’t like New York,” drawing the ire of many New York emcees and certain radio personalities. Fellow Southern artist T.I. spoke on the matter recently.

“When I first came in the game, it was a feat for a Southern artist, let alone an Atlanta artist, to make his way up to Hot 97 and get himself mix show play, let alone…heavy rotation,” said T.I. in an interview with Hot 97’s Angie Martinez, which naturally led to a discussion of Lil Wayne’s words.

“You gotta understand where a man coming from,” said T.I. of Weezy. “I’m not saying I support anyone not liking New York. What I’m saying is, people who haven’t gone through that process of having their freedom taken from you…you have to take all this into consideration,” explained Tip, referring to Wayne’s time spent in New York prison over a gun charge.

“I don’t think he meant nothin’ by it. I don’t think he meant any disrespect,” concluded T.I.

Watch the interview below:

RELATED: T.I. Says “Trouble Man” Has No Release Date, Hopes For 2012 Release

French Montana gives his take on Lil Wayne’s less-than-complementary commentary on the Big Apple.

Last month, Lil Wayne drew heavy criticism from New York Hip Hop heads after the Louisiana rapper told MTV that he “flat out [doesn’t] like New York.” Now, Weezy’s“Pop That” partner and Bronx native French Montanaspeaks on Wayne’s recent comments.

French told MTV’s News that he understands Wayne’s disdain of the Big Apple given his tumultuous legal history with the state and the debacle that occurred atHot 97’s Summer Jam 2012. Still, French says that he doesn’t believe Wayne meant that he hates every aspect of NYC and its people; rather, he’s just speaking from an understandably frustrated viewpoint.

“I mean if I was to go to New Orleans and catch a gun charge, I think there might be a point in time when I get sick and tired, and be like, ‘Man I hate New Orleans,’” he explained. “It might not mean I hate the people, it’s that’s what I hate. Sometimes you might be like, ‘I hate Jamaican food,’ I’m not saying I hate Jamaicans. I think it go like that and I think that’s why nobody really got at him yet for saying that.”

Check out the full interview below.

 

Manny Pacquiao speaks on his business plans with 50 Cent that reportedly caused a riff between 50 and Floyd Mayweather.

Music and boxing fans alike were shocked when news broke that 50 Cent had apparently teamed up with Manny Pacquiao – rival of Fif’s close friend Floyd Mayweather – to start a boxing promoting company. Now, in a recent interview with MTV, Pacquiao speaks on his relationship with the Queens emcee.

Pacquiao said that while the details on his and Fiddy’s business deal aren’t finalized, they are definitely looking to collaborate given their mutual interest in each others’ respective careers. Pacquiao added that this deal may also help bring Mayweather and himself one step closer to their long-touted bout. 

“I love music, and he likes boxing also,” he said. “We’re talking about that and we’re discussing. We didn’t finalize yet because I’m so busy right now and he’s busy right now…there’s a possibility to make that fight [between Pacquiao and Mayweather] happen. Maybe not this time, but some other time. Right now I’m focused on December 8.”

Pacquiao’s business advisor Michael Concz confirmed that the two had been working closely together on a possible marquee boxing match/mini-concert crossover. He also dispelled rumors that their deal had soured 50 and Mayweather’s relationship, revealing that Mayweather was initially a part of the company.

“We’ve very close to it, I’ve been talking to 50 Cent now for over a month and a half, close to two months. It’s becoming a reality, more than a possibility,” he said. “I think we’re going to end up doing something together before the year is out…I believe [50 and Mayweather] have a true friendship and all true friends have arguments periodically, but that’s not my business. Floyd is always welcome, if we put this together…[50 and Floyd] approached us, they came to us and initially it was 50 Cent, Floyd and Manny. We don’t have a problem with Floyd. Manny doesn’t have any anger or resentment.”

Pacquiao will enter the ring with another rival Juan Manuel Márquez this December 8. Check out the full interview below.

 

 Mississippi rapper David Banner continues to push forward his 2M1 Movement (2 Million 1 Purpose), a charitable cause aimed at raising money to give back to local communities around the United States.

 

According to David Banner, his 2M1 Movement has raised over $500,000 to date, since the project was launched in May with his album Sex, Drugs and Video Games. 

 

According to Banner, he has already donated money to the Chicago-based organization, Kids Off The Block, in addition to the Central Mississippi Boys and Girls Club, to help keep urban youth off the streets.

 

“Making sure that I reached back into the communities that needed it most, I wanted to be apart of the change that is needed to help guide and bring up our youth,” David Banner told AllHipHop.com in a statement released today (September 20).

 

David Banner created the movement to harness the power of his fans and consumers, to help influence young listeners of the genre of Hip-Hop in a positive manner.

 

“I realize that although I am a work in progress, kids look up to people like me and others in the public eye. I want to help inspire and move others,” David Banner said.

 

In related news, David Banner is in the studio working on music with Lil Wayne, Ludacris and Ne-Yo, as well as preparing for roles in two major motion pictures, “7500″ and “They Die By Dawn.”

 

For more information on the 2M1 Movement, or to learn how to donate, visit

 

Kanye West releases a promotional video discussing his crew’s latest album.

 

Kanye West has been notoriously absent from promotional duties for G.O.O.D. Music’s new album Cruel Summer, leaving artists like Big Sean, Common, Teyana Taylor and Pusha T to do the work. Breaking his silence on the project, ‘Ye released a promotional clip discussing the creation of the album, stating that it spawned from his desire to create something great.

 

“I like when I get mad at music because it’s so good. It’s like, oh shit, why didn’t we think of that? Why didn’t we do that?” he said. “I’m not interested in things unless they hit me in a certain place in my heart and my gut. I get bored very easily. I’m majorly underwhelmed in general. I’m looking for some form of excitement for this music to be our outlet.”

 

Yeezy explained that he conceptualized the artwork for the LP while recording tracks for it, sometimes looking to the cover art to determine if the song fit the packaging.

 

“One track might have 30 people’s opinions on it. It’s not just about a tracklist and a name. It’s about the communal style of work,” he explained. “We spend just as much time working on the actual album packaging, the video concept, the song… Everything is equally as important. It got to a point where I had to have the artwork in front of me while I was working on the songs, and I would listen and say, ‘Does this song sound like this packaging looks?'”

 

For ‘Ye, this isn’t the end of what listeners can expect from G.O.O.D. Music. “This isn’t the beginning of the conversation, this isn’t the end of the conversation. It’s our offering as a collective of a sonic snapshot of what’s happening right now, 2012.”

 

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AASuNLtz45A]

 

 

 

Tonight (September 18), President Barack Obama is headlining Jay-Z and Beyonce’s 100-person fundraising event at Jay-Z’s 40/40 Club near Madison Square Park in the Chelsea district of New York City.

 

Tickets were reportedly $40,000 per attendee as proceeds will be benefiting the Obama Victory Fund, a fundraising account of the Obama campaign and the Democratic National Committee.

 

In addition to another event that Obama is hosting this evening, the Obama campaign expects to raise over $5 million today in support is his re-election bid.

 

Both Beyonce and Jay-Z have been outspoken supporters of the Obama administration as Beyonce penned a letter to First Lady Michelle Obama earlier this summer, and Jay-Z has made statements frequently in support of President Obama throughout the campaign.

 

 Thizz Entertainment President J Diggs is due in court today, after he and three members of his entourage were arrested in Hawaii and charged with assault and attempted murder, after a brawl in a bar on the island of Waikiki.

 

The men were arrested last weekend after they were thrown out of the Big Kahuna bar & grill. As they left the restaurant, a confrontation with security guards ensued.

 

J Diggs and his associates stood across the street from the establishment and when the security guards approached them away from the venue, a violent altercation erupted.

 

“Me and three of my entourage got kicked out of Big Kahuna bar and grill. The security punched of my dudes in the jaw as the police were pulling up, so we went across the street and posted on the strip,” J Diggs explained. “Four large island security guards came across the street demanding us to get off the strip and that’s when it turned into an all-out brawl on Waikiki beach. I was charged with slapping and beating a 6 foot 4, 320 pound security and his friend with a board. Another dude throat is cut. And three out of the four went to the hospital with major head back and neck wounds. The dudes wrote statements against us and we were all charged.”

 

According to reps for J Diggs, the rapper has security footage that will prove the security guards were the aggressors.

 

J Diggs was released on $150,000 bond.

 

 Rapper Soulja Boy has been hit with a lawsuit from a Miami producer, who claims the rapper stole the track for his single “Swag Daddy.”

 

Hip-Hop Frat House and Michael J. Garcia filed the lawsuit against Soulja Boy and his label S.O.D. Money Gang Entertainment Inc.

 

The lawsuit, which was filed on September 14, claims that Hip-Hop Frat House and Garcia attempted to develop a relationship with Soulja Boy.

 

A representative for Hip-Hop Frat House submitted the copyrighted track “Racks,” which was produced by Michael J. Garcia, for Soulja Boy to consider.

 

A copy of the song was submitted to Soulja Boy’s email address, Souljaboymp3@gmail.com.

 

Despite attempts to follow-up, a representative for Hip-Hop Frat House received no reply from the rapper or his representatives.

 

They were shocked when they heard Soulja Boy rapping over the track “Swag Daddy,” several months after submitting the musical composition.

 

“Swag Daddy” was released for commercial sale on the album “21:EP.”

 

The lawsuit claims that Soulja Boy has created a new brand called “Swag Daddy,” based on the musical composition Hip-Hop Frat House and Garcia own.

 

They are suing the rapper for damages and attorney fees, to be determined by a jury.

 

Check out copies of the lawsuit below:

 

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yl64GRNgdIs?version=3&rel=1&fs=1&showsearch=0&showinfo=1&iv_load_policy=1&wmode=transparent]

 

It looks like Game got his Good Samaritan on when he called the police for an injured cyclist.

Compton native Game is a platinum-selling rapper and actor, but apparently, he can now add live saver to his resume. In a recent interview with Vibe TV, the Interscope emcee helped save an injured cyclist’s life.

Game recalled that one night on the way back from the studio, he encountered a bicyclist who had been hit by a car and lay unresponsive on the road. Concerned for the man’s life, Game stopped and called the police for the man, a first for the rapper, who said it was “kinda awkward” calling 911.

“I was just driving home from the studio at like 5 o’clock in the morning two nights ago, and there was a cyclist that got hit by a car,” he recalled. “He was laying out there and thought he was dead because he wasn’t moving, he was responsive. I ended up calling 911, first time I ever called 911 in my life, kinda awkward, but I had to do it. I called 911, they came and in 10-15 minutes, if I hadn’t done that he probably would’ve died.”

Check out the full interview below.

 

Producer Kenoe says that it was him, not Just Blaze, that Fabolous’s “I’m So NY.”

 

Last Friday, Fabolous released a Just Blaze-produced track titled “I’m So NY,” featuring the hook, “I’m so NY that Weezy probably hates me.” Now, in an exclusive interview with HipHopWired, producer Kenoe disputes the claim that Just Blaze made the beat.

 

Kenoe says that he originally made the beat, but told Fab’s people that he didn’t want anything to do with the song after hearing Fab’s hook, which references Lil Wayne’s dislike of New York. Later, however, the “Beez in the Trap” producer heard the final version of the song credited to Just Blaze featuring the same the same drum pattern and musical elements that he had contributed to it.

 

“Fab hit me on the phone and was like, ‘Yo I got this record and I want to drop it,'” he said. “He was like, ‘I had the beat for a minute,’ and he called Just Blaze ’cause he had been working with him to see if he made the beat. Just Blaze said no, it wasn’t his beat. So then he told me how he had Wayne in the intro, etc. After I heard it, I told his people I didn’t want no part of it because Wayne is my people. If he want to use the beat take, Wayne off the intro and change the hook cause I felt like it could be a big record if he put the real hook on it.”

 

He added, “I check back with [Fab’s people] and he told me they decided to not use the beat. Then I get a call today from my people and they like ‘Fab drop[ped] this record,’ and they sent it to me and when I heard [it] I hear[d] the same elements and exact same drum pattern. I’m like, damn. Just Blaze [is] supposed to be a big-time producer but he is not creative enough to make a whole new beat on his own?”

 

Diggy Simmons fires back at J. Cole on a new diss song.

 

J. Cole and Diggy Simmons have been throwing shots at one another over a reported romance between Cole and Vanessa Simmons. After they allegedly squashed the beef at a concert, the young rapper has fired back at Cole over recent remarks aimed in his direction.

 

On “Fall Down,” which premiered on Power 105’s The Breakfast Club earlier today, Simmons begins by putting offensive emcees in the crosshairs. “These fake ass niggas, they aint who they pretend to be / These shake weight niggas out here ruining the industry / Either you a copy or a clone / You ratchet or you trappin’ or you tryna watch the throne,” he raps.

 

He then turns his attention directly to Cole, branding him a “snaggletooth” and claiming that he’s using the beef to keep himself relevant.

 

“I guess I rattled you, snaggletooth / You know better / Thought J stood for Jermaine, not Jet Setter / You seen me and shook my hand, coppin’ pleas in person / Now you wack, less than a man, mention me in verses,” he raps. “Sneak disses and jabs, I don’t really see the benefit / But I guess you lame enough, probably keep you relevant.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nas expands his business ventures with a new commercial lifestyle website 12Society.

 

With record sales continuing to plummet partly as a result of illegal downloading, it’s become increasingly difficult for artists to promote their brand to a buying audience. Now, in a recent interview with Tech Crunch, Queensbridge legend Nas discusses his new avenue to success.

 

Nas talked about his new business endeavour 12Society, a lifestyle website that will provide buyers with a number of hand-picked items from a host of celebrities every month for the cost of $39.99. The Def Jam rapper explained that 12Society is a new means for artists and athletes to expand their personal brands. He added that the website is partly inspired by comedian Louis C.K.’s decision to sell his comedy specialLive at the Beacon Theater exclusively online through his personal website.

 

“I started 12Society in June with the hopes of bringing this generation the new wave of commerce. Providing my fans with access to products, brands, and technology that they haven’t seen before,” he said. “Increased accessibility and visibility has always been the future, and finally, that time is now…entertainment is about self-promotion — using the power of your fans through social media to market live shows and new business ventures and move a few records. The direct connection to the fans is not just freeing artists from the old corporate structure; it’s redefining the relationship between creator and audience.”

 

He added, “Artists everywhere took notice when Louis C.K. sold his stand-up special and show tickets without a network backing him on the promotion and distribution. That truly was innovation at its best. To me, that’s inspirational. That’s bringing things full circle and is the kind of independent triumph that will allow artists to create freely and reap the full benefit of their craft.”

 

DMX calls Drake “disrespectful” for his work on the upcoming Aaliyah project and Chris Brown’s tattoo makes the headlines.

 

This week, DMX shared some unkind words aimed towards Drake while talking about the Canadian emcee’s ties to the Aaliyah project. President Barack Obamaresponded to Nicki Minaj’s rhyme on “Mercy” and Chris Brown made headlines with his controversial new tattoo. Additionally, Prince Paul spoke with HipHopDX about the likelihood of a De La Soul reunion, Chino XL shared personal struggles and Mac Miller announced that TDEwill play “a big part” in his next album. 

 

DMX Calls Drake “Disrespectful,” Says He’d Beat Him Up If This Was 2002

 

During an interview with Power 105, DMX said he finds Drake’s work on an upcoming Aaliyah project to be “disrespectful.” He also said he’d beat the emcee up if this was ten years ago. 

 

“Disrespectful, like that don’t even make sense. See that’s what I’m saying, you can’t do shit like that,” X explained. “I wish it was like maybe seven years ago or maybe like 10 years ago where you know, catch him in the elevator, beat him up. Just to let ‘em know. It’s real son.”

 

President Barack Obama Responds To Nicki Minaj’s Verse On “Mercy”

 

While on the radio with Power 95.3, President Barack Obama was asked aboutNicki Minaj’s endorsement of Mitt Romney on “Mercy.” President Obama then responded by saying that Minaj may have been rhyming as a character and not as herself. 

 

“Yeah, I’m not sure that’s actually what happened,” President Obama shared. “I think she had a song on there, a little rap that said that. But she likes to play different characters. So I don’t know what’s going on there.”

 

Hearing this, Minaj tweeted that she was pleased to hear President Obama understood her work. She added, “Awesome! Now I can tell my grandchildren that the [first] Black President of the United States took the time to address a Nicki Minaj question.”

 

Pusha T responds to Drake’s jab about 2 Chainz during the “Made in America” festival.

 

Even though fan response was overwhelmingly positive, it turns out the G.O.O.D. Music crew ran into a bit of snag while performing “Mercy” at Jay-Z’s “Made in America” festival when 2 Chainz missed his cue to enter the stage. Now, in a recent interview with Rolling Stone, group member Pusha T explains the incident and responds to the insult lobbed their way by Drake.

 

According to Pusha, Kanye West decided to cut his verse from their performance, which led to 2 Chainz missing his entrance. Then, on the following day, Drake brought out 2 Chainz to perform their single “No Lie,” prompting him to say, “Now, that’s how you bring out 2 Chainz!” when 2 Chainz made his entrance on time. Pusha said that Drizzy’s crack didn’t faze him or any of the members of the G.O.O.D. Music team, and added that these kind of mistakes happen frequently.

 

“We don’t give a fuck what Drake says,” he said. “In regards to us, that shit doesn’t matter. Like, if you want to talk about the G.O.O.D. Music today and 2 Chainz, we had a mishap, because we have a record that is performed by four different people every night of the week and everybody has different edits of it. Ye’s verse – where the beat switches up and it’s really chant-y – gets edited out of a lot of people’s sets. Just to keep the momentum of the song going and just keeping the show clean and concise. None of us was told, but Chainz wasn’t told that Ye wasn’t doing his portion of the record [at Made in America]. It was a mishap, man! I mean, fuck! People have mishaps…we talked about it in the back. Chainz wasn’t bitter about it. He was just like, ‘I could’ve knocked it out. It could’ve been crazier had I been on time with it or had I known we were doing that edit.'”

 

He added, “That’s what the fuck we do – we don’t give a fuck. So, if that was the way you should’ve brought 2 Chainz out, then I’m glad Drake got to do it, and I’m glad that Chainz got the look, and I’m sure people were happy. Other than the shot thing, we don’t give a fuck. We definitely ain’t thinking about no shots.”

 

Sauce Money takes issue with Ma$e’s past as a preacher and calls him “a scumbag.”

 

Brooklyn rapper Sauce Money recently sat down withForbez DVD Live’s Doggie Diamonds. During the interview, the “Reservoir Dogs” emcee spoke on Harlem rapper Ma$e and why he takes issue with Ma$e’s past as a preacher.

 

Sauce called Ma$e “a scumbag,” saying that he doesn’t believe the Harlem World rapper became a preacher for anything other than money. Sauce added that while he even used to like Ma$e as an emcee, he can’t respect him as a person.

 

“I don’t really give a fuck what niggas do, so I really don’t have a problem with [artists] coming and going,” he explained. “What I do have a problem with – and we was talking about Ma$e I believe – I do have a problem when you step into that arena [of religion] and now you’ve got people following you and people looking up to you and this, that and the third, and people giving you money for what you’re doing because you’re giving a message, it’s almost like you’re leading them astray. You’re fooling them. Them uptown niggas is known for that hustling shit…I don’t respect that, I can’t respect that…I used to like Ma$e [as a rapper], I don’t respect how he moves in that arena…you’re a scumbag.”

Check out the full interview below.