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Hype Williams Directing Jay-Z Comeback Video

Hype Williams has been tapped to direct the first music video for Jay-Z's rumored comeback album, the director tells Billboard.com. "He's obviously someone who I've admired my whole career and he's one of my favorites to work with because he's such a perfectionist," Williams says...

Producers Pharrell Williams and Kanye West are also said to be working on the album, but no official details have been confirmed by Def Jam.

Williams' most recent directing credits include Pharrell's "Number 1" featuring West, Janet Jackson's "Call on Me" featuring Nelly and Mary J. Blige's "Enough Cryin'." The director will receive the Video Vanguard Award at this year's MTV Video Music Awards, which takes place tonight (Aug. 31) in New York.

"I feel like I've accomplished a lot in music videos and I've accomplished a lot this past year in just jumping back out there with Kanye," he says.

Ice Cube hat jetzt auch Gold. Korrekt, erst E-40 und dann Ice Cube

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www.myspace.com/sichill
www.sichill-music.blogspot.com

Bay Area Hip-Hop veterans Zion I have teamed up again with The Grouch of Living Legends to release a new collaboration album entitled "Heroes In The City Of Dope". The project is set to drop October 10th 2006 through OM Records, and features Chali 2na, Esthero, Mistah F.A.B. amongst others.

The single is called "Hit Em" and features Mistah F.A.B.. Produced by Amplive, this is a real club banger. But don't think they forgot about the real Hip-Hop, cause that's what the CD is filled with. On the B-Side to "Hit 'Em", we have another Amplive produced track called "Trains & Plains", and this is some real authentic Hip-Hop. I have both tracks available for ya'll to preview:

01. Intro
02. Hit Em
03. Lift Me Up
04. Trains, Planes
05. Say Sumthin
06. Too Much
07. Faint of Heart
08. Make You Fly
09. Smack
10. Open The Door
11. Trigger
12. Digital Dirt
13. 10 Fingers, 10 Toes, 10 lbs, 10 oz
14. Break
15. Bad Lands

http://www.dubcnm.com/audio/2006/septem ... em-(dubcnn).mp3

http://www.dubcnm.com/audio/2006/septem ... es-(dubcnn).mp3

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Former No Limit Soldier Court Dog Is Back


Kansas City gangsta rapper Court Dog (ne Courtney Richardson II) is back with a vengeance with the release of his fourth album, appropriately titled Steel Here, set to hit stores on October 17...


The gangsta rapper took some time off to dabble in filmmaking, and work on his pet project, STEEL HERE, an independent film he wrote, produced and scored. The film stars Lawrence Hilton Jacobs, comedian Katt Williams, and Mopreme Shakur, the brother of the late Tupac Shakur. Currently, preparations are being made for the film to make the rounds on the film festival circuit.


Im trying to follow the likes of Tupac, Will Smith and Ice Cube, Court Dog said. The music is still my passion, but theres nothing wrong with diversifying the hustle, he added.


And more about the music: Court Dog certainly got a little help from friends on his latest release. He tapped some of the most popular and prolific rappers in the industry to create a soundtrack that resonates the voice of the film.


Released on the rappers record label -- D-Boy Records -- "Steel Here," a movie soundtrack, features 19 tracks, including the single and video "Steel Here," performed by the rapper-turned-actor. The album contains new music from Bizzy Bone of the multi-platinum rap quintet, Bone Thugs-n-Harmony as well as Bushwick Bill from the legendary rap group The Geto Boys. Steel Here also features several prominent underground artists, including Suga Free, Brotha Lynch Hung, Gangsta Pat, S2theB, C.O. tha Bad Black, and Mopreme Shakur, the brother of the late Tupac Shakurs. Also, rapper and Atlantic Recording artist Guerilla Black makes his presence known on the soundtrack.


Interestingly, the soundtrack mixes it up with some of the most beautiful love songs R&B has to offer thanks to neo soul artists Scripture "So Crazy" and Homemade Soul "So Beautiful," along with up-and coming-songbirds, Jackie Rae "Freaky" and Katrina "Keep Quiet."


Visit www.themidwestdboys.com or the official myspace page: www.myspace.com/courtdog816 .


More about gangsta rapper Court Dog
Taking a page from other rap artists, the multi-talented recording artist-turned-actor-turned-film producer first gained nationwide recognition signed to music mogul, Master P's No Limit Records. Recording under the rap moniker "Court Dog," he earned a RIAA certified gold plaque for his work on Master P's "Down South Hustlers" compilation.


After a stint with No Limit Records, Court Dog started his own independent record company D-Boy Records and nationally distributed his projects through Select-O-Hits, which is also the home to the Oscar-winning rap group, Three 6 Mafia.


Hes released three independent solo albums -- "Thugz Diary," "Pullin Rank, and "The Kansas City Chief," which have sold more than 75,000 units collectively. Hes been featured in several national rap magazines, and performed on more than a dozen compilations and movie soundtracks with record sales, totaling more than $1 million


A Triple Threat
With his fingers in music and entertainment Court Dog is a triple threat a rapper, actor and businessman. Court Dog has been featured on several releases, including the soundtrack to the movie Now Eat by Brotha Lynch Hung, The Playa Rich Project by Spice 1 and War Is Me by Mr. Serv-On just to name a few.


He relocated to Los Angeles in xxx to expand his musical talents and pursue a career in acting. As an actor, Court Dogg has guest starred in a variety of projects, including THE PAINTING, starring Stacy Dash; GETT'N PLAYED, starring Vivica A. Fox, Bill Bellamy, and Carmen Electra; and SHATTERED DAY, LOVE ON THE ROCKS, DONT TOUCH IF YOU AINT PRAYED, starring Ce Ce Penniston. Hes also in the comedy RIB SHACK, which won a plethora of awards on the film festival circuit.

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DMX Calls Jay-Z a "Sucka for Love"


DMX - the oft-arrested hip-hop star - says real men don't wear sandals. And he blames Beyoncé for Jay-Z's flip-flop fetish...

"The flip-flops - he's just not the same," DMX complains in Vibe magazine. "It's Beyoncé. He's a sucker for love. Thugs don't do flip-flops. Yo, no matter how much vacation I'm on - we been to St. Thomas, Bahamas, all the little islands - I don't wear no flip-flops. I'm never that comfortable, not even in my own house."

Ras Kass, The Game Fight In Los Angeles Nightclub



West coast rappers Ras Kass and The Game squared off in a physical confrontation last night (Sept. 14) at a Los Angeles club.

Ras Kass is on a nationwide tour with Rakim and Kid Capri.

Both of the internationally respected West coast rappers were in club Element, when Game confronted Ras Kass over the lyrics to the song "Caution," a song Ras Kass recorded over a year ago.

Get a thousand tattoos and won't raise ya gun / so when you get merked I'ma raise ya son /

The lyrics to the song sparked the confrontation between the two men.

"The ni**a tried to jump me 30 to 2, yet I'm alive and chillin' my sweater is still white and all my jewelry intact," Ras Kass told AllHipHop.com in a statement. "Game is a 'Change of Heart,' stripping, fake-ass blood who sold some records riding Dr Dre's shirt tails. I guess he thought this would help him sell some more records. I was so unfazed by it all that I went up to his car afterwards and challenged him right there. Game is no match for me physically or lyrically."

Game told AllHipHop.com that he never had a problem with Ras Kass until the rapper dissed him on the track.

He also disputed Ras Kass' account of the confrontation.

"Aint nobody hit that dude but me, he's crazy talking about 30 people," Game told AllHipHop.com. "I never had beef and never met Ras Kass, unless it was a quick exhange saying hello. He talked about my son by name. You can say what you want about me, but what does my son got to do with it? I seen the n***a in the club. I walked up to him in the club and it was my mans birthday, so I didn't want to mess up his party. When the lights came on, at the end I asked him about the freestyle. He said it wasn't nothing, but he started in on that 'it's whatever I'm Ras Kass and punched him in the face before he could finish."

According to representatives for Ras Kass, he has no intentions on continuing the feud.

"He can sell records on his own dime," Ras Kass said alluding to Game's upcoming album The Doctor's Advocate.

"I don't benefit me to mess with these kinds of small cats," Game said, adding that he would not be responding to Ras Kass lyrically either.

"Ras Kass' career is over," Game said. "I ended it with that one punch last night."

The Doctors Advocate was scheduled to hit stores Nov. 7, but the album release date has been pushed back one week, until Nov. 14.

Beanie Sigel "I Am No Longer Under Def Jam"


In a recent interview with The Fader magazine, Beanie Sigel revealed that he is no longer with Def Jam or Roc-A-Fella Records. He also outlined his plans to release a new, as-yet untitled mixtape, his first since releasing 2005's The B. Coming


The mixtape, which will be officially released through Def Jam, will be Beans' last project for the label. Citing his unwillingness to choose between mutual friends Jay-Z and Damon Dash after the initial Roc-a-Fella split and what he feels was poor promotion for his album The B. Coming, Beans has decided to part ways with his former recording home.


"That's like a gift from me for leaving them," says the Philly MC about the project. "The deal with the mixtape is just me trying to build my brand up again. Because I am no longer under Def Jam, signed with Def Jam, or dealing with Def Jam or Roc-a-fella at all. I got out of my contract..."




Beanie also revealed that he is searching for distribution for a new album which he is currently in the process of recording with R&B producers Dre and Vidal. Sigel hooked up with the production duo, who may be best known for their work with fellow Philly artists like Jill Scott and Floetry, in an attempt to bring back the feeling that the MC got from classic albums like Ready To Die.


"I'm using Dre and Vidal to play the album because they don't sample. Everything gets played live, and even if there's something that I hear that I might want them to sample, they play it over," he says. "I'm like, 'Do what y'all do and let me worry about the hip-hop part.'"


Ideally looking for a New Year's release for the album, the Broad Street Bully also said that he would be going on a tour to support the record, accompanied by a live band. "Even with the beats and the music I want everything so real, to the point where I need all live instruments. I need real music. I'm on some music shit right now."

Eminem Presents: The Re-Up' Officially Dropping December 5th

No longer a mixtape, Eminem's highly anticipated "The Re-Up" will officially drop on Dec. 5 as...get this...a retail album.

"Instead of putting it out there rough and unfinished, I thought we should add some other new tracks, make it a real album and put it in the record stores to give these new artists a real boost"

Mainly featuring production by Eminem & The Alchemist, "Eminem Presents: The Re-Up" will serve as a intro to new Shady records recording artists.

The first single and video is "You Don't Know," which features Eminem, 50 Cent, Lloyd Banks and Ca$his.

Fabolous' New Album Pushed Back To Feb, Rapper Gives New Producers A Chance

Fabolous' Def Jam debut, tentatively titled From the Bottom to the Top, has been pushed back until February 2007, according to the Brooklyn, N.Y., rapper.
Due to conflicts with the original October release date, Fabolous said the album was pushed back to December and is now slated to hit stores next year, featuring production by Just Blaze, Jazze Pha, and Kanye West, among others.

While Fabolous remained tightlipped about the cameos on the album, he revealed that many of the tracks were crafted by up-and-coming producers.
"We got a lot of new producers, because it's not really about names," the rapper told AllHipHop.com. "Some of joints on the album that are dope are by guys you may not have heard of, or heard them on a smaller scale. I took joints from everybody."

Fabolous also took advantage of new technology, by auditioning producers using popular Internet sites to find new and untapped talent.
"I set up a MySpace page and put a Gmail [Google mail] account where anyone could send beats and I checked them out," he said. "Of course it got to be too much to handle, but at first I got to listen to a lot of the beats on there. It was definitely helpful, even if I didn't get to use them on the album. I will, for future mixtape stuff as long as they are cool with that."

Fabolous' most recent effort, Real Talk, spawned the single "Breathe," his highest-charting single to date as a solo artist, but failed to match his previous successes, selling only 500,000 units.
His platinum-selling 2001 debut Ghetto Fabolous generated the hit singles "You Can't Deny It," featuring Nate Dogg, and "Young'n," while 2003's Street Dreams has also sold over a million copies.

Slow sales of Real Talk and a rift in his relationship with Atlantic prompted Fabolous to leave the label last spring and sign a deal with Def Jam, which is headed by fellow Brooklyn MC Jay-Z.
"There are no hard feelings. Our business relationship over there [at Atlantic] went sour," Fabolous told AllHipHop.com. "I moved on and it's time to do some new deals."

Fabolous plans to precede his Def Jam release with the second installment of his mixtape Loso's Way, which will arrive in December.
"I wanted to do it during December when people are home from work and school," Fabolous said. "Give them [fans] a chance to zone out, to get them hype for the February release."

Joseph "Run" Simmons and Wife Suffer Tragic Loss of Newborn

Tragedy has struck the household of Joseph "Run" Simmons and his wife Justine after the couple's newborn child was pronounced dead shortly after its birth last Thursday.

The legendary rapper of Run DMC fame was present at a Ridgewood, New Jersey hospital on Tuesday (Sept. 19) for the child's anticipated delivery. Both Simmons and Justine are popular figures on the family-oriented MTV reality show "Run's House," which also stars their children. The pregnancy was initially made public via the show and MTV cameras were filming at the hospital, according to TMZ.com.

A C-section operation was performed on Justine to deliver the child, but the baby girl was reportedly born with organs on the outside of its body. The baby died shortly after being delivered.

Representatives for The Simmons' were unavailable at press time.