Hats off to Snoop Dogg

-Allhiphop chops it up with my baby mama Jean Grae

-JD signs JE to Island Urban. Bow Wow bites a table.

-Diddy: “I’m the rap ring leader.”

-Young Buck covers the May issue of XXL

-Davey D has endorsed a candidate for ‘08. It’s not who you think.

-Halle Berry keeps hopes alive for young men all over the world.

-Consequence offers fans an irresistible deal.

-When Dre signed Eminem, support for Shady was Slim.

-Sway is one of my favorite new MCs, and he’s making some major moves

-Defsounds counts down the 10 highest selling rap albums of all time:
10 - 6 and 5 - 1. No.1 may surprise you.

Joe Budden - Green Lantern Freestyle
Joey stopped by Green Lantern’s studio Monday night and discussed everything from Gloria Velez to Mood Muzik 3. He also shares my opinion that Lil’ Wayne is as overrated as it gets. (Hi, haters.)

Anyhow, the highlight of the whole show was Budden’s leave-your-shoes-at-the-door “freestyle.” It’s by far the best radio drop of 2007…so far.

(In the words of the DJ, “shout out to Young Legend.”)

Apparently the word “environment” is the Dipset’s worst nightmare.

-3 Cops have been indicted in the Sean Bell shooting.

-Last year’s top-selling rapper T.I. preps T.I. vs T.I.P. I don’t remember
any other album title having so many periods.

-Ray Nagin pulls the race card…again.

-Enigmatik reviews SXSW performances by Rakim and Ghostface.

-Oprah opens second school in South Africa. Haters, grab your haterade.

-More money, less booty for BET.

-Happy birthday to the Iraq war. According to Uncle Dick, you’re doing just fine.

Timbaland ft. Sebastian & Attitude - “Kill Yourself”
The much buzzed-about feud between supa dupa producer Timbaland and Dre’s in-house sound architect Scott Storch enters its 2nd round with Tim landing another subliminal…*Yawn*

“Kill Yourself” is actually an upgrade from “Give it to Me” but that’s not saying much. Since Timbo’s too busy making beats that “sound like boom boom boom” to write 3 verses, he called up two of his weed carriers–Sebastian and Attitude.

(Head over to Spinemagazine.com for “Miscommunication,” another joint from Timbaland Presents Shock Value.)

More on Timbaland:
-Timbaland Presents Shock Value
-Video: Timbaland - Give It to Me
-Shots Fired: Scott Storch - Built Like Dat (Timbaland Diss)

Members of Jurassic 5, one of the better groups to have come along in years, have decided to part ways due to (you guessed it) creative differences.

Apparently, the exclusive breakup news was broken up by DJ Semtex over the weekend, even though Zaakir had already announced the split a month ago.

Update: According to J5’s manager, the announcement in Australia (referenced above) was that Charlie 2 Na wouldn’t be involved in the next project and not that J5 would be splitting. The group’s breakup was officially announced on BBC 1Xtra.

Despite what their manager said, Zaakir sounded bitter in that interview:

“Some might say business, some might say merchandising, whatever, there’s some really stupid s***–some really childish things–happening. [But] when it comes down to it, some people here want their own shine, their own thing. If that’s what you want, I say more power to you. I hope it works out for you–just don’t come up with lame excuses [for J5's demise].”

Too bad they couldn’t “Get It Together.”

Talib Kweli ft. Jean Grae - Say Something
Alleged first single from Ear Drum, due out on Dec. 9, 2025. Glad to see one of my favorite femcees getting some sunshine.

“I smack Internet MCs and beat bloggers.”

Related Video: Faux News Attacks Obama

I hope Erik Rush, the Double-Stuffed Oreo race-traitor (his own words) who attacked Obama on Faux News, enjoyed his own 10 seconds of fame on Hannity & Colmes because no one outside of Faux News loyalists thinks highly of him.

With all the ridiculous accusations being leveled against Obama, I find it astonishing that the same detractors fail to acknowledge the fact that America’s in a changing era. Look at all the early Presidential front-runners: Rudy Giuliani (first Italian-American president?), Hilary Clinton (first woman President?) , Mitt Romney (first Mormon President?), and Barack Obama (first Black President?). They all represent the face of a changing America. So, how come Obama has caught way more flack for his race than his fellow Presidential hopefuls? I rarely hear anyone saying Clinton doesn’t stand a chance because she’s a woman, or that Giuliani is not white enough.

No.

Pundits are quick to make references to Hilary’s pro-war vote, Giuliani’s support for civil unions, Romney’s support for “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy in the military. But no one’s making an argument about Obama’s position (or lack thereof) on social issues.

Oh, never mind. That’s not important. Who cares? He’s not black enough. He’s too black. That’s the bottom line.

With the exception of his troop pull-out proposal, Obama has been remarkably non-committal to most issues. (A political tactic, perhaps.) Many of his supporters don’t even know why they’re so drawn to him. They don’t know much beyond his palpable charisma and Bill Clinton-esque eloquence. Unfortunately, his detractors don’t know much about him either. So they resort to bigger issues like…

*drumroll* “He’s a cigarette smoker!”

*drumroll* “He’s avoiding Louis Farrakhan!”

*drumroll* “He’s articulate!!”

Next time conservative talking-head Erik Rush decides to rail against Obama for being a “separatist,” he needs to look in the mirror and ask himself whether his own views might, in fact, polarize an already-isolated Black community.

-Devin the Dude lights up. (via Complex)

-The Roots show you how to do this, son.

-XXL’s Q&A with Slim Thugga.

-If you watch nothing else today, check out Confessions of a BET Producer.

-Good news for G-Unit stans. 50 Cent says he’ll drop Before I Self Destruct on June 19. Which means there’ll be lotsa beefing around May or so. Also, check out Kanye’s interview while you’re at it.

-If you’re happy and you know it, say hip-hop. G-rated hip-hop DVDS for kids.

-Davey D says women are pushing a revolution of sorts in hip-hop. I say, “Who? What? Where?”

-He can’t be stopped. Busta still shoots his movie.

-G.A.G.E. (whoever he is) leaves Aftermath. I wonder if Dre signs all these folks just so he can brag about having the largest roster or something. Quite amazing.

(More clips at BGDB)

-A taste of what to expect from Devin’s Waitin’ to Inhale, due out yesterday.

-Congress weighs in on the DJ Drama incident.

-The Big Squeeze - starring Snoop Dogg as Niggaraci.

-Hip-hop dominates Springfest. SMH at “Def Jam Recording artist Lupe Fiasco.”

-Is this the first time “Lupe Fiasco” and “drug trial” have been used in the same sentence?

-Eskay has some fresh audios from the Internet’s 2 favorite rappers. Hey, I thought that title belonged to Paul Wall.

-Video: Fabolous ft Jeezy - “Diamonds”

As I pointed out in the Red Gone Wild: Thee Interview, it took Red over four minutes to decide on his all-star team of MCs. I ended up having to compress his answer for the sake of space and presentation. What follows is one of the most hilarious responses I’ve ever witnessed in an interview. Here’s his full, unedited response to that one question:

Rizoh: If you could pick 5 MCs on a starter team, who would you pick?

Redman: What, 5 MCs? Haha! My boy Runt Dog from Jersey…I mean, I gotta pick rappers that’s known, right?

Rizoh: Doesn’t matter as long as you deem them competent enough to be on your team.

Redman: Ok, it’ll be me, my boy Runt Dog, Ready Roc. [Pauses] No, it’ll be me, Runt Dog, Supernatural, Erick Sermon…You know what, I ain’t gon’ say names y’all don’t know, cause nobody knows my boy Runt Dog yet, but he’s hot. It’ll be me, Supernatural, uh…Erick Sermon…uh, um. Aw man, this is a good f**kin question. Damn I love f**kin good questions. Me, Supernatural, Erick Sermon

Rizoh: Ready Roc?

Redman: It’ll be my n***as, but see I wanna make it interesting. If I say Ready Rock, then I gotta say Icadon, I gotta say my whole crew. I can’t do that, I’m a boss.

That would be me, Supernatural, Erick Sermon, I think…Eminem, then [Pauses again]. Oh you stinking muthaf**ker you! [Laughter] Oh My God! What a good f**kin question.
[More laughter]

Rizoh: I’ll let you get off the hook with four.

Redman: Me, Supernatural, Erick Sermon, Eminem, and–oh sh*t

Rizoh: Rakim?

Redman: *Whispers* No I can’t say Rakim.

Rizoh: Keith–

Redman: Forget about it. KRS-One! Me, Supernatural, Erick Sermon, Eminem, and KRS-One.

Now, let me ask you this: If you had to form a team of 5 MCs for a contest, who would be on your team?