Talib Kweli Shuts Down Beer Sponsors.

Talib Kweli shutting it down -- photo courtesy of eachnotesecure.com

Talib Kweli loves his fans and we love him. Coming straight out of Lawrence, Kansas comes this piece of news. On April 20th, Talib Kweli was set to perform at the Granada Theater in Lawrence…until he found out the venue’s promoters teamed up with malt liquor brand Colt 45 to promote his show. He then proceeded to take matters into his own hands on his twitter account. “To my fans in Lawrence Kansas the Granada Theater has partnered with Colt 45 without my knowledge to promote the show,” he tweeted on April 12th. ”We shut that down. So on 4-20 I will be at the Granada inLawrence Kansas but Colt45 is no longer involved in the show promo. Thank yall (fans) for alerting me.” It’s nice to see an artist with strong convictions stand up for what he feels is right. Good job, Talib!

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“3 Feet High and Rising” Added To Library of Congress.

De La Soul, youve done us proud! -- photo courtesy of macobserver.com

Ever have one of those moments when you knew everything was all right in the world? It is now. The Library of Congress has added De La Soul’s classic album “3 Feet High and Rising” to its 2010 National Recording Registry. This prestigious honor means that De La joins an elite list of 325 recordings selected by the National Recording Preservation Board for preservation. The Amityville based group established in the late 80’s joins Grandmaster Flash and The Furious 5, Public Enemy, and 2pac who were rewarded with the recognition in previous years. Released over 20 years ago, the album which brought about the debut of De La Soul is remarked as a true hip-hop classic and is notable for its list of sample in its songs. To a fan such as myself, this is a truly great piece of news for De La Soul.

The F.B.I. Releases Documents Pertaining to Biggie’s Murder.

14 years later and they still cant find the killer -- photo courtesy of yorapper.com

It’s been about 14 years now since the murder of Christopher “Notorious B.I.G” Wallace took place in Los Angeles. This has become one of rap’s most unsolved mysteries that has chilling ties to the murder of rival rapper Tupac Shakur six months earlier. Nobody seems to know nothing about either event…until now. The Federal Bureau of Investigation has just released a 369 page document relating to the death of Notorious B.I.G. 369 pages? That’s one hell of a read.

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Former Employees Lash Out At Flavor Flav’s Restaurant.

Flavor Flav on the up and up -- photo courtesy of straightfromthea.com

What’s been good with Flavor Flav as of late? His new restaurant venture “Flavor Flav’s Chicken” is reportedly in some hot water after former employees are claiming their paychecks have allegedly bounced. New York’s Daily News reports that a lot of employees have received bad paychecks from the Clinton, Iowa restaurant. Employees Kelly Butler and Kim Kostka told an Iowa Television station (WQAD) that they’re owed three weeks of pay after several banks turned down their checks due to insufficient funds. Restaurant manager Nick Cimino dismissed the claims as retaliation by employees who were terminated. Cimino later admitted that the restaurant’s credit cards had recently experienced a “gltich”. Flavor Flav went on record saying “It’s not rue information first of all, and second of all maybe these are people that’s just jealous of me being here and probably want to see me out. Yes, we do have money in our accounts.” Good to see Flav respond to this static. Bad to see haters attack out of jealousy.

Mister Cee Arrested For Lewd Sex Act.

Shaking my head at Mister Cee -- photo courtesy of gossiponthis.com

A spokesperson from the NYPD has confirmed to XXL that Hot 97 DJ Mister Cee has been arrested and charged for being caught in a lewd sex act. A rep for the NYPD  confirmed the arrest to XXLmag.com that Mister Cee was busted on Wednesday at 4 a.m. within the area of the First Police Precinct. He was charged with public lewdness and exposure. Longtime friend Funkmaster Flex came to the defense of his friend on his blog, inflexwetrust.com denying these allegations. “Please be advised, this rumor is not true”, he wrote. “Stating false allegations about somebody and presenting it as valid information is unethical”, said Funkmaster Flex. Mister Cee took some time and addressed his twitter account to deny these claims saying “Time to get this s**t cleared up so make it quick cause i aint feelin this twitter s**t NYPD has a detective squad after all rappers and DJ’s”. Shaking my head at Mister Cee and Funk Flex and this news.

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Common Honors Dr. Maya Angelou.

Common continues the good fight with his humanitarian efforts. -- photo courtesy of last.fm

Chicago rapper and all around favorite, Common and his Common Ground Foundation will celebrate women of excellence and leadership. The featured honoree will be poet and humanitarian, Dr. Maya Angelou in Chicago, Il later this month. Other honorees will include actress Keke Palmer, businesswoman Dee Robinson Reid, and TV host Sherri Shepard. The event is being held on April 16th at The InterContinental Hotel and will include a silent auction, dinner, and entertainment. The Common Ground Foundation serves underprivileged youths throughout Chicago. Common continues well with his rapping and acting skills and with his humanitarian efforts as well.

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Lil’ Wayne Makes Early Retirement Plans.

Do us all a favor and retire NOW!!! - photo courtesy of weeklydrop.com

Ever since Lil’ Wayne got out of prison for a gun charge a while ago, his schedule has been on overdrive for a minute or so. During an interview with the oh-so lovely Angie Martinez on Hot 97 in NYC, the Young Money general has revealed that he plans to retire early at the age of 35. Citing an intense work schedule as one of the main reasons for his plans for early retirement as well as being a central figure in his kids’ lives are what his reasons for wanting to leave the rap game early. He has also revealed that he has been hard at work on “The Carter IV” set for release on May 16th. Every rapper has to know when their expiration date occurs, they all can’t be successful forever…well except for Eminem.

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Rick Ross Hit With Marijuana Charge.

No pass go, Officer Ricky. Straight to jail!! - photo courtesy of rapflavor.com

Officer Ricky has been doing good as of late. He’s aquired Wale for his Maybach Music label and is being featured of Lil Wayne’s nationwide “I Am Music II” tour. Things have been looking on the up and up for Rick Ross…until now. Rick Ross got busted during his stay in Louisiana while on tour for possession of one gram of marijuana. According to nbcmiami.com, Ross was arrested at 11 p.m. on March 25th for first offense of drug possesion. The police report says that officers entered the hotel room and detected a strong odor of marijuna smoke. The Miami rapper was quickly booked and released on a misdemeanor summons. If Rozay wants to keep his success going, he’s going to have to man up and stay out of legal trouble. Going to jail over some petty stuff is definitely not cool at all.

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MF Doom and Thom Yorke Together On A Collaboration?

Doom is still killin' it!! -- photo courtesy of cratekings.com

Masked rapper and Indie-stalwart MF Doom revealed just recently that he is in talks to with Radiohead’s Thom Yorke to collaborate on an album. In a recent interview, Doom revealed “[I’m] doing some stuff with Thom Yorke. [W]e’re working on some duets.” The “masked supervillain” who teamed up with Yorke in 2009 for a remix of “Gazillionth Ear” told XXLmag.com that the singer initially called him to record music together. Seeing as how Thom Yorke is highly sought after for collaboraton work by various rap artists and he hardly yields to such requests, this signals great news for fans of MF Doom. Next up for Doom is the highly anticipated sequel to him and Madlib’s collaborative effort “Madvillainy” which is scheduled to hit shelves later this year.

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The Official Cause of Nate Dogg’s Demise.

Rest in Peace, Nate Dogg - photo courtesy of buzzbo.com

Back in March 16th of 2011, the world of hip-hop and R&B was dealt a vicious blow when news of the passing of Nate Dogg hit the public. The singer born Nathaniel Hale and whose voice had laced countless hit songs from artists like Snoop Dogg, 50 Cent, and Warren G. The latter’s collaboration which lead to his most well known hit entitled “Regulate”. His declining health had been a cause for concern in recent years and news of his demise came as no surprise to fans of the hip-hop community. No word had been given about his official cause of death until now. According to Hale’s lawyer, Mark Geragos, Hale succumbed to complications due to multiple strokes in the recent years. This came as a surprise to some people close to Nate Dogg who knew that the singer was making excellent strides in his health and recovery. Nathaniel “Nate Dogg” Hale will be missed by millions.

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