Hip Hop News

Untitled from DERICK G on Vimeo.

HipHopDX Reports: VIBE Magazine, which was recently bought by InterMedia Partners after initially folding in July, has named Jermaine Hall as the new editor-in-chief, according to the New York Times. Hall’s work resume includes positions as The Source’s music editor and King’s editor-in-chief. Along with EIC duties for Vibe, he will also handle the re-launch of Vibe.com. VIBE, which will now be released on a quarterly basis, will make its return on newsstands come late fall with a November/December issue. Brett Wright, chief creative officer for Uptown Media Group and now co-chief executive of the VIBE Lifestyle Network, stated that although VIBE will continue to focus on the “Hip Hop generation” through its music coverage, he expects the magazine to put more effort into the areas of fashion and sports. Wright also described Vibe.com as providing “regular, daily, hourly, by-minute basis” content of urban entertainment for its subscribers. Despite early reports of Quincy Jones’ intentions to buy back VIBE last month, it is still unknown whether he will contribute to the magazine’s future endeavors as Wright explained, “We haven’t spoken to Quincy. I’m sure at some point we’ll speak and figure it out from there.”

Lil Boosie is the latest rapper added to a police lineup. A Louisiana judge ruled Monday that Sheriff Deputies used proper protocol when seizing a bag of marijuana, a gun and a cigar filled with marijuana from the rapper. Real name, Torrence Hatch, Boosie is charged with his third offense of marijuana possession and possession of a firearm with a controlled dangerous substance. The first charge is punishable by up to 20 years in prison; the second carries a mandatory minimum sentence of five years. On top of the possession charges, an officer testified Monday in a pre-trial that the MC tried to bribe him. East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff's Deputy Nicholas Locicero said that after he pulled him over, Boosie told him, “I'm Boosie, how much do you want?” When Deputy Locicero was asked how he interpreted the statement, he said he believed he was being offered a bribe. His trial is set for September 28. In spite of his upcoming trial, his album Superbad:
Find more videos like this on ThisIs50.com : IF IT'S HOT IT'S HERE!

http://lukescorner.ning.com/?xgi=4vpWSBY Since announcing a new record deal with Cash Money Records, rapper Bow Wow hit the ground running, releasing a candid new song. On his latest, 'Regrets,' the 22-year-old talks about some of his bad decisions, and why he left his previous label. "I can't lie man its some stuff that I regret/ Like letting my fans down and cheating on my ex right/ but I'm young so what?/ Yeah I'mma make mistakes/ And besides nobody's perfect any f---in' way," he raps. "I swear to God man the press be all on me/ Oscar Meyer bloggers everything they write's bologna/ and when I feel like I got the whole world on me/ got all the money in the world but yet I'm still lonely/ and why the f--- my best friend had to steal from me/ Couldn't keep it real so for that I had to leave Sony/ Sometimes I wanna' quit rap like 'I'm through with it'/ Why I don't get my respect?" Bow goes on to address an infamous altercation with an interviewer, in which he became livid over some of the questions that he was asked. "When I did that show with Omarion, man I was losing it/ I'm on BET acting a a--hole, fighting with the interviewers man why I do that fo'/I can't lie I was drugged out sippin' syrup smokin' weed..s--- had me bugged out."

http://saynow.com/flash/sentplayer3.swf' quality='high' FlashVars='itemId=VGxRbTlGZXhibnI2SlZqNFNJb0xpdz09' bgcolor='#999999' width='320' height='65' name='player' align='middle' allowScriptAccess='sameDomain' type='application/x-shockwave-flash' pluginspage='http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer' />

XXL reports: The Drama King is back. Mixtape DJ and New York radio personality DJ Kay Slay is prepping the release of his new album, More Than Just a DJ, and the Harlem native has called in the big guns. 50 Cent, Busta Rhymes, Plies, Cam’ron, Jim Jones, Bun B, OJ Da Juiceman, Drake, Juelz Santana and Joell Ortiz are among the slew of rap heavyweights slated to make appearances on the disc. Slay recently released the LP’s first single, “Blockstars,” featuring Plies, Jones, Busta and Ray J and another single, “Thug Luv” featuring Papoose, Maino, Red Café and Ray J is soon to follow. “There is a lot of talk about bringing New York hip hop back,” Kay Slay said in a press release. “I was a part of the birth of our culture, and my new album does not disappoint. More Than Just a DJ is bringing real hip hop back!!” More Than Just a DJ is set to hit shelves on October 13 via E1 Music. MTV Reports: We came across an ill rumor yesterday. If 50 Cent were to perform at his "40 Day" neighborhood gathering in Southside Queens on August 30, he would have brought Cam'ron onstage with him. Wow. A real dope moment for the fans, but it would be very shocking — hypothetically speaking, since the two exchanged a myriad of disses years ago. But hey, if G-Unit are now doing records with D-Block, anything is possible. As luck would have it, we ran into Killa Cam recently in Harlem. We set up a joint interview with Cam, Vado and DJ Drama while they filmed a video for the mixtape track "Ric Flair," and during a break in filming, Killa addressed the rumors. "Nah, I'm not going to no show in Queens," Cam said. "I don't know how true it is ... a few of my people — associates — said [some of 50's associates] was trying to reach out. But I ain't going to no concert in Queens. Come up to Harlem Week. We could sit down and have the roundtable meeting if you really wanna be serious. Or meet anywhere ... we can meet in Benihana's if you wanna be serious. It don't matter. I'm not squashing a problem we had in Queens at your event. That's the same way he got other artists to come to his shows, whether they was down with Dipset or D-Block or T.S., or whatever the case may be. It ain't no real beef, but we ain't gonna squash what we had at a Queens event. We'll meet halfway — Triborough Bridge or something. But I ain't going to no show in Queens. I'll be at Harlem Week." One day the bosses may sit down, but in the meantime, Killa is focusing on his new crew, the U.N., and lead artist Vado. "We work every day. I got the U.N., Charlie Clipse, Bird Lady, Dipset West. It's like two different record labels under one umbrella. As far as the U.N. album, how deep we are? We got like 60, 70 songs done. That's why we knock the mixtapes out because if it don't come out, the music starts getting old. I wanna put it out before I start saying, 'Dag, remember that joint we did last January?' But we're done [recording] — we could put an album out tomorrow if we needed to." n early September, Cam is dropping the Boss of All Bosses Part 2 mixtape. That will be followed by the U.N. album, Vado's solo debut and Cam's next solo opus. "It's flooded — the schedule's crazy."

XXL Reports: Despite a huge, loyal fanbase and intense presence on the Internet, lyrical supergroup Slaughterhouse failed to live up to their HitsDailyDouble projections on their Billboard 200 debut. Last week, the industry website estimated that the group, consisting of Joe Budden, Joell Ortiz, Crooked I and Royce Da 5’9”, would sell between 23 and 25K CDs in its first week on the shelves. On the contrary, the crew’s self-titled disc ended up selling 18, 000 units, securing a no. 26 debut according to the Nielsen SoundScan. At the top of the charts for the 10th week in a row is the Black Eyed Peas’s The E.N.D. Notching up one spot to no. 3 this go-round the Peas bagged up another 45,300 discs this week, making their overall sales figure stand at 917,400. Sliding down six more spots this week to no. 16 is Brooklyn MC Fabolous. Fans of the Def Jam rapper picked up 23,700 copies of his latest album, Loso’s Way, this week— bringing his three week total to 159,600. Four spots down is rap heavyweight Eminem at no. 20. In its 13th week on the charts Relapse was been scanned 20,600 times— making the Detroit lyricist’s overall tally 1,361,700. Failing to make it onto The Billboard 200 was New Jersey rep Joe Budden. With little promotion, the self-proclaimed “best rapper on the world wide web”’s new solo set, The Escape Route, sold 1,700 units this week. On the R&B side, Maxwell sits tight this week at no. 7. The Brooklyn soulster’s latest, Blacksummer’snight, moved 38,000 units, making its total stats 631,100 after six weeks. In his second week on the charts Universal Republic artist K-Jon slid down to the no. 36 spot— selling 13,400 copies of I Get Around. The disc now has a total tally of 47,000. Next week look for the Black Eyed Peas to continue their dominance on the charts.

KeepitTrill reports: A Friday afternoon in Miami rang off abruptly as the sound of bullets left a man dead. Sam Ferguson, President of Don Diva Magazine, was the victim as shots were fired upon his car while he was driving. Ferguson, 47, was driving north near Griffin Road when bullets rang off onto his vehicle. He then crashed his car into the highway median, where he was pronounced dead at the scene. Authorities are currently on the search for suspects connected with the crime as their only clue has lead them on the hunt for a black car with clear tail-light lenses. This, however, is the only trail as there are no suspects in the shooting. No additional information has been released as it pertains to the death and an autopsy will discover whether the man was indeed killed by the bullets that stained his car or the actual blunt trauma that could have been caused by the crash. Tiffany Chiles, editor-in-chief of Don Diva Magazine stated that Ferguson was involved in all aspects of the operation in relation to their publication. She had brought him in close to nine months ago in order to help leave a lasting influence on the Southern Florida region as he was musically and socially connected. Having a troubled past, Chiles added that the magazine was meant to bring something positive into his life and help direct him into a better future. Ferguson was also a Miami Hip-Hop pioneer and helped bring the bass scene to the forefront. Ferguson, also known as P-Man Sam, received some heat last year from rapper Rick Ross after interviewing him once it was discovered he was a correctional officer prior to becoming a rapper. Ross brought Ferguson with him into his neighborhood for an interview as they were associated before him joining the magazine. Ross became infuriated with Ferguson after seeing an interview with Hip-Hop Weekly as well as a Q & A that was issued in the magazine that was entitled, “Would The Real Rick Ross Stand Up.” Ross was cited as saying that he was offended by what was written and issued a challenge for him to meet him in the streets as it would become deeper than rap.

50 Cent made a surprise appearance during the Lil Wayne -headlined America’s Most Wanted Tour last night (August 14) in Anaheim, California. 50 Cent took to the stage as a guest performer during a performance with Atlanta rapper Soulja Boy during the stop at the Honda Center. Thisis50 got the pictures! Normally, Drake makes headlines with his music, which has led him to become one of the most buzzed-about MCs in recent years. But this week the Toronto rapper's unexpectedly candid comments about Universal Motown head Sylvia Rhone have further stirred blog fodder that began with his dismissive line about the executive on a track titled "Say What's Real," from his breakthrough mixtape So Far Gone. In an interview with MTV News this week, Drake apologized to Rhone, saying his comments — both in the song and in a recent interview — were "emotionally charged" and "very brazen." "I can definitely say for me, for furthering the negativity, I can definitely say I apologize," Drake told MTV News. "I don't know her personally to discredit her character. It's not the right thing to do." The tension seemed to reach a high point between the parties this past week. First, when Drake's comments in the upcoming issue of the Fader magazine got out, he reportedly said, "I don't f--- with Motown at all." Drake has maintained he signed a deal directly to his management company and secured distribution through Universal Republic, rather than signing with the major label directly. However, on Thursday (August 13), Billboard suggested that Universal Motown execs have put their foot down and demanded that all work from Drake be stamped with the Motown logo. Although Drake did not get into specific details, he explained the issue to MTV News, saying that as an aspiring artist a few years ago he was set to have a meeting with Universal before it was called off. He admits it's common, yet at that point in his career, he was hurt. He described it as the first time he was hurt by the music industry. "There's a lot of people with schedules beyond the average person's comprehension," Drake said. "And at times they prioritize. And a new artist that has made this long journey [to meet] from another country, they may not be their biggest priority, so they may get pushed to the side. The situation, I don't want to get into too many details. It was basically [me] feeling trapped. I was courted by somebody and then they just axed everything. I was stuck. They disappeared. And I couldn't find anybody to talk to about the situation. And then to meet again a year later and to have this person forget they ever met me and say that I should go meet at their office so we can talk about signing me. I was kind of in one of those moments like, For real? [But] everybody has those moments where things aren't gonna go perfect." With so much attention being paid to the rift, Drake said he wanted to say sorry to calm the brewing dispute. "I was looking for an opportunity recently to apologize for how vicious I've been," he said. "Not to say I negate my feelings — I still feel strongly about it. But I'm a person that usually handles things with much more tact." Milestone after milestone. Jay-Z is celebrating another high point in his career: a decade in the fashion game. Besides big parties, Hov has new apparel and a commercial to trumpet his business landmark. "It's a 10-year anniversary for Rocawear this year," said Hov, sitting in a throne-like seat in Brooklyn, New York. He was taking a break from filming with fellow Brooklynite Spike Lee. "We're shooting the commercial. The commercial is about Rocawear, what we meant to the culture. The aspiration to maintain and be around for 10 years." Jay explained the ad's fantasy concept. "So this guy, he's in advertisement, and he's in Rocawear, and he goes through the day as if he's Jay-Z," Hov said of the concept. "He looks out the window, in his mind — because he's aspiring to make his own Rocawear — there's a group of people outside and they're waving to him. As he walks away, realty sets in. Someone looks out the window, and no one's out there. He gets on the elevator, and he's thinking people are asking him for autographs; no one's there. He's on his way to building his empire, but he has Rocawear on, and that's a start. So he feels as if he's successful already." After shooting in the clock tower, Jay and Spike hit the street, where surprised fans broke out camera phones to capture the moment. "Spike Lee is one of the most important directors of our time," Jigga said of the Oscar-nominated filmmaker. "He gave us a voice and perspective in 'Do the Right Thing' that touched on racial relations in Brooklyn and all these movies we grew up on that were so important to our growth. To work with him on a commercial, I think we stole one. That's how I feel. We're more than honored. That's Spike Lee." And you, sir, are Jay-Z — a decade later and still standing in fashion. "[I'm] really excited," he said. "It started in rap. They said rap was a fad and it never would last. Here we are, 30-something years later, the most dominant force in music. They said that sector in fashion — street-urban-apparel sector — they said that's dead the last seven years, and here we are still." Jay-Z is thriving in music as well. In 2006, he celebrated 10 years since the release of his debut, Reasonable Doubt, and his career has no end in sight. On September 11, he puts out The Blueprint 3, and on September 13, he'll perform at the Video Music Awards.

Seen here in the green shorts, Charlie Baltimore has obviously gotten tired of being shelved by record labels and has decided to earn a few dollars. It could be for charity or it could be to have the lights turned back on at the house..who knows?

Before the world-famous hip hop performer moved to Marin City, he was known in Baltimore as MC New York Tupac Shakur may have started his professional career in show business in the Bay Area, but a new album will feature rhymes from his old school days in the Bay City, Baltimore. Shakur got his first job in show business performing as a dancer with local legends Digital Underground before eventually becoming a worldwide phenomenon with the release of multi-platinum album Me Against the World. Titled Shakurspeare, the album is the work of Born Busy Record's Darrin Keith Bastfield, who named his label after the group he and Shakur briefly formed while attending the Baltimore School for the Arts together as teenagers. Even then, Shakur had lofty ambitions -- the title of the new album is based on the desire to become known as a Shakespearean actor he expressed to Bastfield. It's not a far a stretch as you might think, as both Shakur and Shakespeare traded in couplets. Shortly after, Shakur and his mother moved to Marin City, Calif. where he was discovered at a Tamalpais High School talent show by Digital Underground's Atron Gregory. While his earliest, but probably not best, work -- and can be easily criticized as another attempt to cash in on the artist's legacy -- the album will probably be a must-have for fans of Bay Area Hip Hop and completist collectors of Shakur's ouvre. Jackson West was never a huge Shakur fan, but respects and recognizes his contributions to the hip-hop arts. \ Young Money, baby! The Young Money album is slated for November 24, as is Lil Wayne's Rebirth LP, according to a source in his camp. No doubt about it, the New Orleans Fireman is loaded. Rap's most popular mic king just kicked off Young Money Presents: The America's Most Wanted Music Festival, and one of Weezy's main goals on the tour is to make sure his Young Money artists get shine. While you know all about Drake (he's a Fire Starter alum), Nicki Minaj and newest member Omarion, we thought we'd put you onto game about the rest of the clique. "Gudda, he's got this aggression about him," Wayne told us about the artist who's been with him the longest. Gudda Gudda has been riding with Wayne since he was a teenager on Cash Money. "What people don't know, Gudda started rapping several years ago," Weezy added. "He started rapping because I said, 'I like your look. You should rap.' I wrote his first rap for him, and I never written another rap for him ever since that day I told him he should be a rapper." Representing the younger faction are Lil Twist, who's on the tour riding his Segway scooter around, and Lil Chuckee, who uses his feet to cover ground backstage. "His energy, he's a pure entertainer," Weezy said of Chuckee. Wayne is also a fan of Chuck's swag. "I know that kid is gonna make it. It's like in sports when you got that Kobe Bryant. You don't know what to do with him, whether to play him the guard, center, small forward — you just know we're gonna win with him." Rounding out the clique are mostly names you've heard of: Mack Maine, Tyga, Jae Millz, D. Woods' sister Shanell (also known as SNL) and T-Streets. "He's more like my brother," Wayne said of Streets. "He's been with me since Gudda. He's like my protector. Anybody wanna play games, T-Streets is right there. So I make sure T-Streets is on everything I do, always around." CORY ">

1. TIA TOLD ME-50 CENT 2.ON A MISSION-HAVOV FT PRODIGY 3.THATS WHAT THEY CALL ME-GRAFH 4.NUMBER 1- BUSTA FT T.I AKON 5.HARD TIMES-JADAKISS FT BARINGTON LEVY 6.REAL LIFE-5 POINTS GANG 7.FLOWING-VIC DAMONE 8.AROUND THE CORNER-SMITTY FT SLIM THUG 9.SILLY BOY-ASHER ROTH 10.CIGAR MUSIC-RICK ROSS 11.IN MY SLEEP-JOE BUDDEN 12.CAN'T BE DEFINED-MEMPHIS BLEEK FT TRU LIFE 13.MAGIC CITY-JADAKISS 14.SMILE-ALCHAMIST FT MAXWELL & TWISTA 15. TALK GOES THRU US-LIL CEASE FT FABOLOUS 16.KEEP FOCUSED-WHYTEOUT 17.HEART OF THE GRIND-HAVOC 18.THAT AIN'T IT-JEEZY 19.GET IT IN FREESTYLE-JOE BUDDEN 20.I'M NICE-E.NESS 21.SYMPHONY 2010-5 POINTS GANG FT DC 22.GET IT IN- NORE FT TRU LIFE SpReE (SLIP N SLIDE DJ) www.myspace.com/djspree www.myspace.com/slipnslidedjs www.myspace.com/slipnslidedjsmixtape http://slipnslidedjs.podomatic.com/ www.myspace.com/streetpoetsmusic www.imixtape.com www.mixtapesusa.com www.datpiff.com

SUPERSTAR JAY DJ DON DEMARCO 1 TRUE STORY FEAT. ENJ & VES DOT 2 KAN IT BE - FEAT LADY LAWLESS,ENJ,VES DOT,RJ REED,KILLA B, DC 3 5 POINT FRESH - RJ REED,VES DOT,KILLA B ,ENJ,LADY LAWLESS 4 2010 SYMPHONY -ENJ,LADY LAWLESS,KILLA B ,RJ REED,VES DOT,DC 5 MAX OUT - ENJ,LADY LAWLESS,RJ REED,KILLA B , VES DOT, DC 6 ROYALTY - LADY LAWLESS & ENJ 7 LIFE'S PAIN - KILLA B , RJ REED , BIGGA DON 8 GET DIS MONEY - VES DOT ,ENJ , BIGGA DON 9 THE PLAGUE -ENJ,KILLA B,RJ REED,VES DOT,LADY LAWLESS,DC 10 REAL LIFE - ENJ,LADY LAWLESS,RJ REED,KILLA B,VES DOT 11 N DA HOOD - ENJ 12 REDRUM - LADY LAWLESS 13 HUSTLER NIGHTMARE - VES DOT 14 TONITE - RJ REED & BIGGA DON 15 DESTINE TO SHINE - KILLA B & DC FOR ALL BOOKINGS CENTRALSTATIONNEWYORK96@YAHOO.COM ENJ - WWW.MYSPACE.COM/ENJDALIKING LADY LAWLESS - www.myspace.com/ladylawlessintl RJ REED - www.myspace.com/rjreed VES DOT - www.myspace.com/handzoneverything KILLA B -www.myspace.com/datblokknigga DC CENTRAL STATION - www.myspace.com/dccentralstation2 WWW.CENTRALSTATIONLOVESYOU.COM SUPERSTAR JAY DJ DON DEMARCO 1 TRUE STORY FEAT. ENJ & VES DOT 2 KAN IT BE - FEAT LADY LAWLESS,ENJ,VES DOT,RJ REED,KILLA B, DC 3 5 POINT FRESH - RJ REED,VES DOT,KILLA B ,ENJ,LADY LAWLESS 4 2010 SYMPHONY -ENJ,LADY LAWLESS,KILLA B ,RJ REED,VES DOT,DC 5 MAX OUT - ENJ,LADY LAWLESS,RJ REED,KILLA B , VES DOT, DC 6 ROYALTY - LADY LAWLESS & ENJ 7 LIFE'S PAIN - KILLA B , RJ REED , BIGGA DON 8 GET DIS MONEY - VES DOT ,ENJ , BIGGA DON 9 THE PLAGUE -ENJ,KILLA B,RJ REED,VES DOT,LADY LAWLESS,DC 10 REAL LIFE - ENJ,LADY LAWLESS,RJ REED,KILLA B,VES DOT 11 N DA HOOD - ENJ 12 REDRUM - LADY LAWLESS 13 HUSTLER NIGHTMARE - VES DOT 14 TONITE - RJ REED & BIGGA DON 15 DESTINE TO SHINE - KILLA B & DC FOR ALL BOOKINGS CENTRALSTATIONNEWYORK96@YAHOO.COM ENJ - WWW.MYSPACE.COM/ENJDALIKING LADY LAWLESS - www.myspace.com/ladylawlessintl RJ REED - www.myspace.com/rjreed VES DOT - www.myspace.com/handzoneverything KILLA B -www.myspace.com/datblokknigga DC CENTRAL STATION - www.myspace.com/dccentralstation2 WWW.CENTRALSTATIONLOVESYOU.COM

THANK YOU FOR MAKING RS RADIO THE # 1 RANKED HIP HOP & R&B INTERNET SHOW OF 08 WE APPRECIATE THE SUPPORT !! IN HOUR ONE We have all new commentary with Valentine,DJ JRonin ,DWI as we discuss new hip hop rules ! The hip hop dues and dont'sfor 09 ! Also DJNo phrillz brings us another classic mix straight from Philly, Lady G delivers another top 10 celebrity news segment and we have all new music !! On heat of the week we have a new single by Dirty Game entitled AINT SH#T LIKE ME !! which has been trailblazing through the florida music scene !! IN HOUR 2We have another All Elements classic mix by DJ jRonin and an all new E2K ON THE SPOT SEGMENT with emma and her team discussing commitments !! Why are men scared to commit?? We then get into out topic of the day IS OBAMA REALLY BLACK? many don't think so..listen to the show to hear the controversy !A review of the biggie movie stirs things up and much more dont miss the show !! CATCH US TODAY AT 6PM ON 1.FM AND I TUNESRADIO JUST OPEN YOUR I TUNES BROWSER CLICK RADIO THEN HIPHOP AND RAP AND SCROLL TO JAMZ,WE HAVE MADE IT EVEN EASIER..LISTEN STRAIGHT FROM OUR MYSPACE PAGE AT WWW.MYSPACE.COM/RSRADIONYC AT 6PM! TO CATCH VIDEO OF OUR SHOWS LOG TO YOUTUBE.COMRSREALITY INTERESTED IN RADIO PROMOTIONS AIRPLAY ETC...SEND US AN EMAIL RSRADIONYC@GMAIL.COMWE ARE BDS ,ASCAP,BMI AND SOUND EXCHANGE CERTIFIED WE CAN HELP YOU GET THE EXPOSURE YOU DESERVE.. RSRADIO AKA THE RS EXPERIENCESAT 6PM TO 8PM 1.FM ,AND I TUNESRADIO SUNDAYS AT 365 LIVE AT 6PMMONDAYS AT 8PM WWW.EGRADIOONLINE.COM THURSDAYS AT 8PM LIVE VIDEO RECORDING AT WWW.STICKAM.COM/919LIVE91.9 FM EVERY 1ST FRIDAY MORE THEN RADIO ITS REVOLUTION !

LIL WAYNE TO RELEASE ROCK ALBUM Rapper Drake revealed recently that Lil Wayne's latest project will be a rock album. "Wayne's coming out with a new album, it's a rock album," said Drake in an interview with MuchMusic.com. "A complete rock album. I have a song on there." The rapper likened the project to Kanye West's latest project. "It’s something different in just that whole 808s and Heartbreaks, just throwing individuals off." Drake will be touring with Wayne in North America, stopping at Montreal on Jan. 14 and Toronto on Jan. 15. He has also signed a management deal with Kanye West managers Gee Roberson and Kyambo "Hip Hop" Joshua and Lil Wayne manager Cortez Bryant.

By Ryan 'The Rican with the Irish name' McLelland on March 6, 2008 Fox Searchlight Pictures President of Production Claudia Lewis announced today that principal photography on NOTORIOUS, the screen version about the life of rapper Christopher Wallace a.k.a. The Notorious B.I.G., will begin on March 24, 2008 in and around the five boroughs of New York. The film stars multiple award winner Angela Bassett as Christopher’s mother Voletta Wallace, Derek Luke as Sean Combs, Anthony Mackie as Tupac Shakur and introducing Jamal Woolard as The Notorious B.I.G. After the overwhelming response to a year long aggressive and active worldwide search, Jamal Woolard, a Brooklyn native, was selected to portray the infamous rapper. George Tillman Jr. is set to direct. “We feel honored to work with such intelligent and vibrant filmmakers as they bring Christopher Wallace's story to life. George, his producers and his exemplary creative team will tell this story with style and distinction, and we are in awe of their vision and passion,” says Lewis. “I’m looking forward to working with award-winning actress Angela Bassett,” said Tillman. “I’ve been a huge fan of her work for such a long time. She and the entire cast bring such a wealth of talent, I am beyond thrilled.” “Finding BIG was a task in itself and I’m honored that so many young men came out to audition for the role,” said Voletta Wallace. “However, it was Jamal's charming personality, warm spirit, wonderful sense of humor and beautiful smile that won my heart. He is a talented and charismatic actor and I am excited that he will bring Christopher's character to the big screen.” In just a few short years, The Notorious B.I.G. rose from the streets of Brooklyn to become one of the most influential hip hop artists of all time. B.I.G. was a gifted storyteller; his narratives about violent life on the streets were told with a gritty, objective realism that won him enormous respect and credibility. His stories were universal and gave a voice to his generation. The film also stars up and coming actors Antonique Smith, Naturi Naughton, Dennis White and Julia Pace Mitchell. NOTORIOUS will be released by Fox Searchlight Pictures on January 16, 2009. Zola Mashariki, Vice President of Production, and Creative Executive Jason Hargrove are overseeing the project for Fox Searchlight Pictures. The film will be produced by Voletta Wallace, Wayne Barrow, Mark Pitts, Bob Teitel, Trish Hofmann and executive produced by Sean "Diddy" Combs based on a screenplay by Cheo Hodari Coker and Reggie Rock Bythewood.