The Hip-Hop Herald: 09.11.08

Posted by Patrick Robinson on 09.11.2008

50 Cent plans on reinventing the wheel of Hip-Hop, Ludacris plans on hanging up the mic, The Game vs. Bow Wow; Who won?, more details on Kim Osorio's book and Lil Wayne's plans for 2009!

Someone has probably told me this at Uni, but WHY do we start the financial year in July? And why do we start the paying week on a Thursday? I know there's a logical explanation for it, and yes, I probably have already been told, but if anybody reading knows and would be kind enough to say why, I would greatly appreciate not having to sift through my old textbooks.

In other news, I'm enjoying my time off work; I think I'd been working too much because I was having Pharmacy related dreams. Except the other night when I was climbing a mountain. Someone told me that it was symbolic of trying to overcome an obstacle in my life. I see it as me having watched "Moving Mountains" before I went to bed, but the other explanation sounds more poetic.

But enough rambling, on with the news!

The News

Top Story

50 Cent Newsbits


Talk to the hand, cause I'm not listening to your CD

Most interesting was 50's comment last week on his upcoming album, Before I Self Destruct. After Curtis was widely regarded as a critical and commercial (in comparison to his previous efforts) flop, he had this to say:

"[Other rappers] can take what I've done for the last five years and do their version of it and be successful with momentum. Meanwhile, I have to reinvent the wheel. I'm not really listening to anyone else's record. Now I'm in another space where I gotta make what I'm excited about"

It annoys me how he comes out with all these comments about how his music is going to change the way we see hip-hop. Actually, it may be true, because if anything, it's shown that the buying public is beginning to tire of the G-Unit antics and is looking for more satisfying music, just look at the Kanye / 50 sales battle of last year.

But as always, I think his comments are going to come up with nothing. We were promised that only one track on Curtis would be about how rich he is and that the album would be more personal and introspective. Nah, I didn't see it happening either.

So here's what I see happening. People still clinging to the G-Unit ship as if it's a flagship of hip-hop will claim that he's bringing a REAL album, as will the man himself. As we come down to D-day though, the album will change, guests will appear on the album that weren't previously there before, he'll bring about some typical thug posturing and money tracks, and the album will probably be a critical failure again.

In other news though, 50 has been granted visitation rights for his son after ongoing legal drama with his ex-girlfriend, Shaniqua Tompkins. The judge ordered that he can see his son every other weekend until October 22, when another trial in family court will take place.

Of course, he then made this comment to the press when he left the courtroom:

"I'm going to hang out with some women. Make some music, make some movies, and continue to kick it."

Don't you think he should have made a mention of his son?

Tompkins has an order of protection that prevents 50 from having direct contact with her, she will be dropping their son off at a police precinct in Queens on Friday nights where a driver will be collecting him.

Three 6 Mafia Concert Ends In Violence

According to local police, the incident started at the end of the concert, which took place in the House Of Blues in West Hollywood sent hundreds of patrons scrambling for safety. During the melee, a woman was trampled and had to be treated a local hospital for injuries to her leg.

According to reports, famed Sunset Boulevard was shut down in both directions after the brawl so police could conduct an investigation. Two men were arrested in the chaos, one for public drunkenness, the other on an outstanding warrant. It turns out that during the set, some of the concertgoers got into a fight with the security guards, which escalated into full-blown chaos.

Ludacris – Life After Hip-Hop

Ludacris is the latest rapper to talk about retiring from hip-hop in order to pursue another career path. After five albums, three Grammy wins and a couple of number one spots, Ludacris says he's preparing to leaving rap alone to focus full time on his budding acting career.

"I can see a point where acting is my full-time job, really. I will always be involved in music, but it may be more behind the scenes, as a producer, I will always do that. But when I look at 10 years from now, I don't think rapping is necessarily what I want to do when I'm in my 40s."

Good on him I say. I think it's admirable that he's actually talking about retirement after a significant career, rather than three albums like Lupe Fiasco or Game. If you've seen Ludacris in movies too, he can actually act as well (not quite on a 2Pac level though). He is planning to release at least one more album though, titled, Theater of the Mind this year. The album will feature collaborations with Good Charlotte, The Game, Lil Wayne and T.I. Interestingly, ‘featurings' are being labeled as ‘Co-starring' to tie in with the concept of the album.

The Game vs. Bow Wow



The Game and Bow Wow will finally see who the better video gamer is as they prepare to go head to head in a game of Madden NFL ‘09. The showdown comes weeks after Bow Wow issued a one on one challenge for $100,000 to the Game in August, in response to claims the Compton lyricist's made on konsolekingz.com about being the top Madden player in the world.

The pair's rivalry resulted in a series of online videos that featured the rappers taking shots at one another, while hyping their skills.

For Bow Wow, the match up couldn't come any sooner.

"I can't wait to play! I've been waiting, Game's been waiting, the video game world's been waiting," Bow Wow said. "The only bad thing is Game's fans are gonna have to see him lose! I'ma play with the Bengals, Ohio all day, gotta represent for the state! Like Michael Buffer says -- let's get ready to rumble!"

Despite Bow Wow's boasts, the Game is confident he will come out on top.

"Bow Wow has no idea what he's started," The Game retorted. "He's in way over his head….I will remain the undisputed Madden king."

The Game/Bow Wow showdown will mirror a highly-anticipated boxing match as the rappers kick off the event with a weigh-in ceremony, before engaging each other on Xbox 360.

The results are in!

The Game proved that Bow Wow's bark was bigger than his bite, by outclassing his Madden rival to a decisive 55-23 victory. The light-hearted Konsole Kingz sponsored competition began with each man being introduced like professional boxers. Setting the comical mood, the Game went as far to don a football helmet and gum shield as he made his way to the gaming area.

Bow Wow picked the Cincinnati Bengals, while Game retained the New England Patriots. On random weather selection, the game (the actual game, not the man) picked snow conditions.

On the first play, Bow Wow attempted to execute a trick that allows the ball to be snapped to any player on the field. Aware of such tactics, The Game secured an immediate hit for a fumble and turnover. On offense, Game promptly scored on the third play of his drive with a play action TD pass. The Game continued the assault and amassed a 21-0 lead by the end of the first quarter.

Bow Wow's former mentor Jermaine Dupri attempted to assist in strategy during the second half, but expressed the task was hopeless, since Bow Wow picked a listless Cincinnati Bengals to match up with the powerhouse New England Patriots. What happened to picking Ohio I wonder?

In the third quarter, with the score at 42-7, Bow Wow accused Game of foul play in using an unconfirmed fumble glitch.

"This n*gga knows how to make me fumble!" Bow Wow protested to anyone that would listen. "This n***a cheated! He's had a million fumbles. He knows how to make me fumble. That's bulls**t."

"Yeah, n***a it's in the book," Game retorted. "It's called hitting n***as!"

After the lopsided victory, Game reflected on Bow Wow's ability as a player on a 10 point scale:

"Negative eight. We gotta find someone smaller for Bow Wow to play, maybe Mini Me. I dropped 55 on him as a tribute to [Patriots player] Willie McGinest," Game joked. "I heard D-Wade been talking a lot of trash. I'm ready for him and anyone after him."

As the victor, Game will donate the $100,000 grand prize to the charity of his choice.

I think its competitions like this that do keep hip-hop light-hearted and fun, and it's good that Game is donating his winnings, rather than buying something for himself.



Kim Osorio Reveals Details On Eminem – Benzino Beef

"Eminem actually released two diss records in response to Benzino's attack on him, and as corny as it was for the two of them to be battling, at least Eminem could rap. We joked and laughed about it, but inside I knew it was going to make my job a lot harder. The more Eminem kept playing into this beef, the more Ray would use the magazine against him,"

Osorio admits to Benzino's lack of accepting constructive criticism and how saying something remotely negative could cost a Source employee their job. Osorio further explains how this beef consumed Benzino and ultimately affected how relationships were handled and business was ran.

"Ray never ever left the beef alone. The rest of my career at the Source was dedicated to the destruction of Eminem, Interscope, Shady/Aftermath, 50, whatever and whoever were affiliated. If Russell Simmons made a comment in support of Em, the mandate was to bash Russell Simmons. If someone had a problem or beef with 50 or Eminem, they automatically got to be on the cover. Everything was somehow connected to Marshall Mathers thereafter. But Dave (Mays) knew how to disguise it. After years of dealing with Ray, Dave had acquired a special talent. The art was to take Ray's self serving agenda and repackage it into a hip-hop emergency that the magazine needed to cover. This time, Dave defined it as destroying the "machine." The machine that had taken hip-hop and turned it into a multi-billion dollar business, forgetting where it came from. The machine that capitalized off 50 Cent's thuggery and was poisoning our culture. The machine is what was keeping Eminem going. Machine, bad. Eminem, bad. 50, bad. Ja Rule, good. Benzino, good. Russell Simmons, uh, what did he say? He likes Eminem? Bad."

Kind of hypocritical given that The Source truly began its downfall with the Eminem beef, forgetting where it had come from in the process. Having read some more recent editions, it IS nice to see the magazine slowly returning to an actual hip-hop focus.

With Benzino and Mays looking at running a new magazine soon:



Kim Osorio's book is actually out now called Straight From The Source: An Expose from the Former Editor In Chief of the Hip-Hop Bible

Lil Wayne Makes Plans For 2009



Lil Wayne is already brainstorming plans for the upcoming year. In an exclusive interview with BBC's 1Xtra's DJ Semtex, Wayne first reflected on his phenomenal 2008 year, starting with his favorite freestyle over his signature song "A Milli."

"I'm not gonna front, everyone killed it. I haven't heard a wack [freestyle] yet," Wayne disclosed. "[But] I got to say that Jay-Z's in the best version next to Lil Mama, she murdered it. And I got the opportunity to watch her do that live."

Wayne also detailed that the beat for "Dr. Carter" was originally created for Jay-Z, but was then switched to him after his verses impressed producer Swizz Beatz.

"He had it for Jay, and he told me ‘listen, I got this record for Jay, but I just want to see what you can do to it,'" Wayne revealed. "After he heard what I done to it, the record was for me. It wasn't no ‘I beat Jay out,' I just did enough where I kept the record. That's real, ask Swizz."

Seeking to grow his ever-expanding collaboration catalogue, Wayne has his aim set on two MCs: underground sensation Jay Electronica and dormant superstar Eminem.

"Jay [Electronica] is crazy," Wayne stated. "He probably don't even know that I know his s**t, but that boy, he's cold."

Wayne reviewed that he had reached out to Eminem before Tha Carter III dropped in hopes of a joint song, but received no response from the Detroit native's management. Now 2 million record sales later, Wayne is more forceful and direct with his request to Slim Shady.

"I'm aight with the raps, it's ok to get on a song. I'm calling you out!" Wayne said. "Come on out. I'm not calling you out to diss me because I can't f*ck with you. But come do a song. Please…with three e's."

Moving forward to 2009, Wayne is excited about his upstart label Young Money Entertainment and his young, hungry roster of artists.

"I'm so happy about my label. I feel like a basketball team right before the season and I'm glad about all of my players. We ready [I have] Tyga, Jae Millz, Nicki Minaj, Bobby Valentino, maybe Lil Scrappy in a minute. We doing it big."

Confirming his work on a new album entitled Tha Carter IV, Wayne promises that he'll continue to improve as an artist.

"Carter IV? It's gonna be crazy because you know, I'm only getting better. Even though I'm getting older, I'm only getting better. I'm in my prime right now and my light is shining very bright right now and I know that. So I'm gonna take advantage of that. And I promise you, I will never fail you."

MF DOOM Comes With New Album

Now simply called DOOM, he will release his first new album in over three years, titled Born Into This, according to Prefix Magazine. The effort will be released on Lex Records, the label responsible for Danger DOOM's Mask & The Mouse album in 2005. Born Into This will feature production from Dangermouse and J Dilla, as well as appearances from frequent collaborator Ghostface and now Raekwon. The album is presently intended to be released on October 21.

Between 2002 and 2005, DOOM released nearly a half-dozen projects, including duo albums, instrumental series and various alias-titled projects for labels included Rhymesayers, Stones Throw, Big Dada, Nature Sounds and others. In related news, next month will also feature the re-release of DOOM's critically acclaimed solo debut, Operation Doomsday, on his own Metal Face Records. Initially released on Fondle 'Em Records, the release was re-released in 2001 on Doom's imprint, and has been heavily bootlegged by other manufacturers.

Immortal Technique Off To Europe

Immortal Technique is taking his revolutionary style of Hip-Hop overseas as he gears up for an upcoming European tour. The outing, which kicks off Sunday (Sept. 14) in Amsterdam , is in support of Immortal Technique's latest album The 3rd World.

In addition to showcasing his music, the rapper will utilize the tour to highlight local support in an effort to build strength in the Hip-Hop communities across Europe:

"Hip-Hop is not dead, it just lives under occupation," said Immortal Technique, who will be joined on the tour by Viper Record label mates Diabolic and DJ GI Joe.

"But there is a guerrilla force out there fighting and it is not just rappers but the people who make up these communities and support real music, especially independent street music."

Immortal Technique's European trek comes as the rapper recently finished a US national tour that included appearances on the Rock the Bells tour and performances at various sized venues in front of thousands. Since it's release on June 24, The 3rd World has moved more than 45,000 units independently.

The critically acclaimed release features appearances from Chino XL, Crooked I and Ras Kass as well as production from DJ Green Lantern, Bronze Nazareth and Toure "Southpaw" Harris.

The following is a listing of Immortal Technique European tour dates, with more dates announced in the coming weeks.

The outing will precede an international tour schedule.

Sept. 14 – Melkweg – 1017 PH, Amsterdam
Sept. 16 – Vega - Copenhagen
Sept. 17 – Nosturi – Helsinki, FIN
Sept. 18 – Stadtgarten – Cologne, GER
Sept. 20 – Coronet Theatre – London, UK
Sept. 22 – Arena – Vienna, Austria
Sept. 24 – John Dee – Oslo, Norway
Sept. 25 – Mejeret – Lund, Sweden
Sept. 26 – Rote Fabrik – Zurich, SWI
Sept. 28 – Andrew's Lane Theatre – Dublin 2, Ireland
Sept. 29 – TBA – Belfast, Northern Ireland

Kanye's New Album Title

Kanye West will entitle his new album 808's and Heartbreak. The LP has a working release date of December 16, according to Young Legend, who originally reported the news via OnSmash.com. Amazon.com and retail giant Target have quickly followed suit and are already allowing customers to pre-order the album.

West is rumored to make frequent use of auto-tune vocals, as he has during guest spots on Lil Wayne's "Lollipop," remix and Young Jeezy's "Put On." It has been speculated that the album will feature a significant amount of sung vocals much like Kanye's recently leaked song "Love Lockdown." The recent death of West's mother and the end of his engagement are also rumored to be subject matter. Having taken to only giving updates via his blog at KanyeUniversecity.com as opposed to press interviews, neither Kanye nor any representatives at Def Jam have confirmed the rumor. The album was rumored to be called Good Ass Job, according to Kanye's five-year plan of progressing album through the College Dropout saga.

Sales Figures

Young Jeezy takes out the Number 1 spot this week, selling 259,700 copies of The Recession. The Game drops to Number 3, selling 88,700 copies of L.A.X. this week. Lil Wayne clings to the Top 10 with 46,500 copies of Tha Carter III sold bringing his total to 2,362,600.

Rihanna finally bows out of the Top 10, coming in at Number 13 with 32,000 copies of Good Girl Gone Bad sold this week. Her total is currently at 1,745,500. One of Diddy's artists, Donnie Klang debuts as well this week, selling 22,000 copies of his album, Just A Rolling Stone.

Ice Cube sells 18,500 copies this week, bringing his total for Raw Footage up to 119,000 (go buy the album!). Shwayze's self-titled album continues to perform well for an Independent release, selling 12,000 copies this week, with a total of 77,100. M.I.A. also does well, moving up five spots to Number 43 this week, selling 10,700 copies of Kala, with a grand total of 303,000.

Nas continues a long trek towards Gold status with 10,100 copies of Untitled sold this week, bringing his total to 372,600. Finally, Slim Thug's group, the Boss Hog Outlawz sell 9,700 copies of their sophomore album Back By Blockular Demand, landing them the Number 48 spot.

Before We Go…

Yet another week passes us by, there's a BIG SURPRISE next week! Well, maybe not that big, but it's a significant landmark anyway.

Catch you then!