In a classic case of When Keeping It Real Goes Wrong, an Atlanta rapper shot a man twice and wrote a song bragging about it. “Ask Chad Blue, he knows how I shoot,” rapped 25-year old Rico Todriquez Wright after shooting one Chad Blue. A judge sentenced Todriquez Wright Monday to spend the next 20 years in jail.

Chad Blue, meanwhile, testified to police that he knew Wright before the shooting, but that they weren’t exactly friends. Blue claims that Rico’s friends egged him on to the shooting.

“I heard one of the men tell Rico, ‘go ahead and shoot him’,” Blue testified in August. “When he raised his gun I knew I had to run, but I knew if I ran a straight line, I was dead. So I started weaving, running between houses, trying to avoid the bullets.”

According to the Dublin Courier Herald, Rico Todriquez Wright shot his victim in the thigh and the groin in September 2006 and recorded a song about the incident. The idiot was sentenced to 20 years for two counts of aggravated assault. He will spend another 20 years on probation.

Dame Dash is playing PR games by trying to divert attention from stories about his financial woes. Dash is telling more tales about his estranged relationship with Jay-Z, claiming that Jay and Kanye had beef over the Roc-A-Fella chain.

From the Daily News:

Dash claims the simmering beef dates back to a 2003 Chicago concert, where the then-up-and-coming Kanye expected ruling Roc-A-Fella artist Jay to “knight” him by presenting him with a gleaming chain.
But, according to Dash, Jay didn’t want to fork over the chain.

“This n- [Kanye ] was like, ‘Wow. [Jay-Z] ain’t going to give me the chain,’” Dash alleges in December’s Complex magazine. “I had to take off my chain and give it to him, and I was heated. I had the real canary diamonds. That s- cost $40,000! I told Kanye, ‘Yo, you got to give that back when we get off this stage!’”

On another note, Dame owes $2.1 million to the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance. I wonder if he’s considered asking either Jay or ‘Ye for loan.

Caught in the middle of the wildfires that destroyed hundreds of homes in California, Snoop Dogg and family were asked to evacuate. We gather that the fires, to the north, north-west and south of L.A. burnt through dry forest before unleashing its wrath on suburban communities.

According to the LA Times, homeowners in Snoop’s neighborhood, “an exclusive gated-community in Diamond Bar,” were asked to evacuate. Snoop and family were among the thousands of California residents that evacuated as wildfires blazed through town. In true Snoop fashion, his family left in a caravan full of caged dogs.

Snoop’s neighborhood wasn’t the only area affected by the California fires.

“Among the 14,000 homeowners in Montecito are the talk show host, Oprah Winfrey, the film director, Steven Spielberg, and actors John Cleese, Michael Douglas, Christopher Lloyd and Steve Martin.” [via: Telegraph]

Actor Rob Lowe also described his family’s dramatic escape from an “Armageddon-like” wildfire that ravaged a celebrity-studded enclave in California. If you’re in Cali, please stay safe. We need your readership.

M.I.A. has joined the growing number of people who say they’ll flee the U.S. if John McCain wins the 2008 presidential election, even though they won’t.

She says, “If McCain gets voted in, then I’m outta here quicker than anyone can say Obama. I’m here because it’s an interesting time. It’s important to be here watching and saying to people, ‘Look, your country has been so dumb for eight years. If you f**k up one more time, that’s a whole generation of dumb people.’” [via Female First]

Say it ain’t so, Maya. Instead of bailing on the country, doggone it, let’s look ahead at all the mavericky things that lie in America’s future pending a McCain/Failin win.

Speaking of the Republican ticket, you may want to check out this Palin prank call by some Canadian comedy duo.

Related Posts:
Pregnant M.I.A. Rocks the Stage Hard
M.I.A. Sets the Record Straight: “I’m not a f*ckin’ terrorist”

Shakir Stewart, the man who replaced Jay-Z at Def Jam, has taken his own life for no apparent reason. Stewart was senior VP of A&R at Def Jam. In fact, he was the first label rep to to confirm that Jay-Z has a new album on the way.

According to Billboard, Shakir Stewart committed suicide today.

Def Jam executive vice president Shakir Stewart committed suicide today (Nov. 1) in New York, according to sources. No other details were available at deadline.

Stewart succeeded Jay-Z at the top of the Def Jam ladder in June and also retained his duties as senior VP of A&R at Island Def Jam. The Oakland, Calif., native signed such artists as Rick Ross, Young Jeezy and newcomer Karina Pasian. Stewart cut his teeth as a music executive at Hitco Music Publishing, where he was creative director and later senior VP of creative/GM and signed Beyonce Knowles.

This is the saddest story I’ve heard today. I wish Stewart’s family all the best.

[Hat tip to IllRoots for the heads up]

It’s safe to say that Obama has the hip-hop vote on lock, but one of the McCain daughters is hoping to change all that. A cursory glance at 23-year old Meghan McCain’s recent playlists reveals that she’s a hip-hop fan — perhaps a new convert. As Election Day draws nearer, her playlists tend to include more and more rap songs. Meghan, who only became a Republican in 2008, says she’s working on her “piece de resistance — the final election day playlist!” I wonder if “Black President” made the cut.

>>Beyonce’s new jawn is called “Put a Ring on It.” Go figure [zshare]

>>John McCain refuses to shake Obama’s hand after debate [YouTube]

>>Paper Trail is #1 due, in part, to T.I. being as omnipresent as possible [Prohiphop]

>> PSL: Politics As A Second Language [Smoking Section]

>>Officer Ross tells us what we already knew about his past [The Boombox]

>>10 hip-hop albums worth checking for in October [About.com]

>>Oh great, another New York hip-hop magazine [Birthplacemag]

>>Wordsmith “Park & Ride: The Sunset Edition” [Rock the Dub]

>>Hip-Hop artists respond to Johnny J’s death [Thug Life Army]

If you’re a hip-hop fan and have been hoping for a groundbreaking music-based game like Guitar Hero and Rock Band, you may be in luck. Scratch: The Ultimate DJ is a new game that incorporates a turntable controller designed by Numark.

More on Scratch: The Ultimate DJ after the cut.
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