UG Rap Community

Joell Ortiz Confirms Release From Dr. Dre's Aftermath

It's official. Joell Ortiz has been official released from Aftermath Entertainment, and has been for some time now.

The rapper recently sat down with Hot 97 gossip queen, Miss Info, to clear the air and confirmed the rumors of him being a free agent, following a recent interview with labelmate Bishop Lamont who revealed the news during a recent interview with HoodHype.com...


"This is old to me. Me talking about it now feels funny, because this is old. It's just new to everybody else because somebody spoke on something that they didn't know about," Ortiz told Miss Info.

The New York rapper said he hadn't spoken out about being released because he had a thought out plan of how he wanted to present it -- that plan was to reveal it in the music video for his street banger "Ups & Downs" in which a release form from Aftermath is shown at the end.

Before he could do so, the news leaked and now he's come out to speak about. But despite his plans being spoiled, he's moving on, which is the reason why he asked for a release from his contract in the first place.

"I'm not currently on that label," the rapper said. "I can't afford to wait. That would be the most selfish thing for me to do -- to sit there and wait for someone else to call my life. I got a million people depending on me to come out. People wanna hear Joell Ortiz.

"I would of been cheating myself to sit there and wait. I have momentum now. I gotta move with the cheese. I don't know when my window of opportunity is gonna open again. I gotta take advantage of it now," Ortiz continued.

According to Joell, with the recording of Dre's Detox and Eminem working on a new solo release, there wasn't immediate plans to drop his solo debut. But, he didn't leave with nothing.

In fact, Joell says his relationship with the super producer remains intact. He revealed he's still working with Dre, will have Dr. Dre beats on his next album, and is currently in the mist of a bidding war.

Things seem to be good for the Puerto Rican MC.

"As of right now, I'm still doing business with Dr. Dre and stuff like that," revealed Ortiz. "... I got money in my bank account. I'm working with Dr. Dre. I'm a free agent with a mixtape that's about to come out... that's ridiculous.

"You wouldn't believe who's calling me. I got a bidding war going on without trying to create one. I'm feeling good," he exclaimed.

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Numskull Locked Up

Numskull (of the Luniz) is right now spending time in Santa Rita County Jail for possession of firearms. Bounty hunters came and took him away the other day in Sacramento.

WWC was lucky enough to conduct an interview with Numskull before he was taken away. The interview will be up early next week.

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KOCH Records To Release New Album From Big Moe

KOCH Records and Wreckshop Records announce the release of a brand new album from Houston rap legend Big Moe. The album, titled "Unfinished Business," will be released on March 18th, 2008. It is the first posthumous release of music by Big Moe and features all brand new songs.
The first single will be "Pint To the Head" feat. Lil Flip, A-3, and Click Clack...



Rapper and singer Big Moe is a legend in the Texas/Southern hip-hop scene. As a member of the infamous collective Screwed Up Click (named after the late great DJ Screw), Moe's southern rap twang and melodic singing rhythms have made him a staple in Southern rap music. His previous release, "Purple World," scanned over 34,844 units its first week, charting at No 2 on the Billboard Rap Chart and No 3 on the Billboard R&B chart. He has sold over 400,000 units to date commercially. His tragic death last year was a major loss to the hip-hop community but his legend lives on in his first posthumous album, "Unfinished Business."


Armed with all brand new unreleased tracks, and featuring Screwed Up Click members Lil' Flip, Big Pokey, A-3, C-Note, and many others, this album is sure to be a collector's item for hip-hop fans everywhere.
For more information, go to: WWW.MYSPACE.COM/SUCBIGMOE or WWW.MYSPACE.COM/KOCHRECORDS

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Coolio Cooks Up A Comeback


It's been about a decade since fans last heard from Coolio. SOHH recently caught up with the West Coast rapper to find out what he's been up to. In this exclusive interview we talk to Coolio about his upcoming reality TV venture, his new album and his online cooking show.


The rapper has new show debuting tomorrow (Feb. 11) appropriately called "Cooking with Coolio," which puts him in the kitchen with his assistant chef and cousin, Jarez.


"Anybody can cook," Coolio told SOHH. "Didn't you see Ratatouille?"


The animated film tells a story of an ambitious rat who desperately wants to become a chef. While Coolio says his culinary skills aren't as unlikely, he says his specialty is chicken...




"I make finger licking rib sticking, fall off the bone and into your mouth chicken," he said. "I really like my chicken deep fried like you deep fry turkey."


But he said he can cook just about anything.


"Steak, chicken, vegetables, fish, shellfish, whatever. Everything ... turkey eggrolls ... we don't call call them egg rolls though, we call them soul rolls."


Coolio and his cousin have been cooking together since before the cameras came into the kitchen. It's where the family hangs out.


"Me and my cousin used to sit in the kitchen and cook and one day I said, 'damn, what if we had a cooking show?' I said, 'it'd be like this ...' And I started doin something and he said, 'I would do this ...'" Coolio recalled. "People would come over for dinner and whatever and we would pretend like we had a cooking show just to f*ck around."


Then the two hooked up with a writer, Elan Gale and began seriously shopping around the idea. But the rapper said interested networks wanted to water down the show's flavor.


"They just wanted a cooking show, they didn't want a cooking show with comedy," Coolio said.


So they went the internet route instead. Though produced on a small budget, the show has already taped 11 episodes for this season. And Coolio has bigger plans for next season, including a live audience and a DJ.


When he's not in the kitchen, Coolio's still in the studio working on his upcoming release Steal Hear.


"I'm still here but I will Steal Hear. I'm here to steal your ear," Coolio explained. "You been listening to bullsh*t for so long that you forgot what's real.


Fans can see the real, unscripted Coolio on an upcoming Oxygen channel reality show set to air later this year. No title as of yet, but he said the show will follow him around in his daily life as he launches a business. Coolio was tight lipped about what that business is.


"Cooking with Coolio" produced by Dead Crow Pictures debuts tomorrow on mydamnchannel.com, streaming at 1 p.m. EST. A new episode will air every Wednesday.

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KOCH Signs New Deal With Bubba Sparxxx

KOCH Records is proud to announce the signing of Bubba Sparxxx and his New South Entertainment label.
One of the most forward-thinking rappers to bless the game, Bubba will release his fourth studio album in the summer of 2008. He's been actively working on new material that will blow away his longtime fans and make believers out of new ones.


In addition to Sparxxx's new album, he will also release a new Mixtape in 2008 and will introduce new artists signed to New South Entertainment...




First bursting upon the scene in 2001 with his Gold certified album, "Dark Days, Bright Nights" (which yielded the monster hit "Ugly"), Sparxxx followed up with his genre-bending "Deliverance"; an album that took many fans by surprise and earned the rapper much critical acclaim for being well ahead of his time thanks to its ground-breaking production. Bubba's last album, "The Charm" (released in 2006), spawned the massive hit "Ms. New Booty" which became one of the biggest Ringtones of all time and hit well over 11,000 spins at Radio.


Together, Sparxxx' 3 albums have collectively sold over 1.3 million albums in the U.S. alone.


Alan Grunblatt, General Manager of KOCH Records, says, "Bubba Sparxxx is the rapper's rapper. He continually surprises his fans with his diversity and comes out with hit after hit. We're thrilled to be working with him."


To hear new music visit: http://www.MySpace.com/BubbaSparxxx

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Gähn, bei dem Line-up klingt das eher nach Alibi-Projekt...

^ Dazu gibt's schon Videos bei YouTube, ist ja schon vergangen.

Shyne Scheduled For Early Prison Release?

After nearly 7 years, former Bad Boy artist Shyne is expected to be released from prison this year on good behavior.

According to the New York Post's Page Six, the Brooklyn rapper (born Jamal Barrow), who has been incarcerated since 2001, will exit the jail confines a year earlier than his expected 2009 release date. He is currently serving a 10-year jail sentence at Woodbourne Correctional Facility stemming from a 1999 New York club shooting...


The rapper was part of a crew accompanying Sean "Diddy" Combs, his then girlfriend, Jennifer Lopez, and bodyguard Anthony "Wolf" Jones when Diddy got into a beef with another club goer, Mathew "Scar" Allen. Three people were struck when shots rang out and while Diddy, Shyne and J-Lo were all arrested after leading police on a short chase, the charges only stuck to Shyne. Combs and Lopez were free and clear.

The Puffy protege was convicted after witness Cerise Myers testified that she saw him pull his gun and begin firing. The rapper spoke out to media outlets shortly after his conviction alleging that Diddy had convinced Myers to lie on the stand.

Shyne inked a $3 million dollar deal with Def Jam from behind bars in 2004 and released the album Godfather Buried Alive under the label but album sales were disappointing. No word on whether Shyne plans to return to rapping after his release.

Though slated to be released for good behavior, Shyne hasn't always been the model prisoner. In '05 he was thrown in the hole for two months after getting into an altercation with another inmate.

In related news, Shyne's father Dean Barrow was elected prime minister of Belize earlier this month, the first black person to hold that office, according to USA Today.

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