The Beats, Rhymes and Life section is in full effect. Big ups must go out to Buddah M.A.C. for some of the news shown here. Plus we do get news from Sohh.com, MTV.com, and sometimes, Blaze Online so peep those sites too.

More arrest news....DMX was arrested for some drug related stuff, Snoop's bodyguards were arrested because of their weapons..

D'Angelo had to cancel more shows cuz his throat's tore up. We know it isn't Hip Hop news, but oh well.

Q-Tip's arrested for thuggery as he broke some up and coming rappers jaw

'Hip-Hop For Respect' drops April 25th and The four-song EP's centerpiece is 'One Four Love,' which was produced by the Atlanta trio Organized Noize. Two versions of the song appear on the EP, each with a different set of performers. Kweli appears on the first version of "One Four Love" along with Kool G Rap, Pharoahe Monch, Rah Digga, Posdnous of De la Soul, Doug E. Fresh, Sporty Thievz, Common, Shabaam Sahdeeq and Mos Def, who initiated the recording of the single. The second version includes Cappadonna, Wise Intelligent, Shyheim and Hakim and Tuffy.

Ja Rule allegedly stabbed 50 Cent a few days ago. Oh well.

Moka Only is currently recording with that funky homosapien in Oakland, he will also be performing in about a month in St. Louis with Posdonous of De La Soul and Del.

The Alchemist is up in Vancity right now, producing some new material for none other than Swollen Members, also, I'm told by a very reliable source, that he will be producing the entire new Buck Fiftee LP. Dopeness!

Ol' Dirty Bastard is scheduled to appear in Los Angeles Superior Court on Friday (March 24th) for a hearing on an allegation that he violated probation by getting drunk. The troubled MC could face up to three years and eight months in jail. ODB's lawyer, Robert Shapiro, may request more time to prepare his defense. ODB has been in the Los Angeles County Jail's drug-rehabilitation facility since the alleged violation in January. He was under a court order not to consume alcohol or use drugs after pleading guilty to making terrorist threats in one case and wearing body armor in another.

Wyclef Jean, Lil' Kim, and Def Jam CEO Russell Simmons are the latest hip-hop and rap stars to sign on for the Second Annual B.I.G. Night Out, a celebrity gala in honor of the late Notorious B.I.G., scheduled for March 28th in New York City. Mary J. Blige and Faith Evans have agreed to perform at the event, which is once again being organized by Voletta Wallace, Biggie's mother, and MTV's Ananda Lewis is set to co-host the affair. Funds from the event will be donated to the Christopher Wallace Foundation, named in honor of the late rapper, which provides educational assistance to children residing in Biggie's old neighborhood in Brooklyn. Last year's inaugural B.I.G. Night Out raised over $250,000, with Sean "Puffy" Combs, Busta Rhymes, and Mase, among others, all coming out to pay tribute Smalls. For more information about the Second Annual B.I.G. Night Out and the Christopher Wallace Foundation, contact (212) 714-3564.

Erick Sermon plans to release his new solo album on May 16th under the pseudonym Erick O'Nassis, and he's managed to work in a few interesting guests into the project. In addition to the two tracks that feature imprisoned Def Squad member Keith Murray, Sermon also has a track that features deceased NWA rapper Eazy-E that was recorded prior to the Eazy's death in 1995. Other guests include Slick Rick, Redman, Kelis, Too Short, Dave Hollister, Pete Moore, and new Def Squad artists Sy Scott and Khari. Sermon, who has provided funky backing beats for the likes of EPMD, Redman and Method Man, did the majority of the tracks for the O'Nassis album in his Long Island, New York recording studio. Other producers include Redman and Sermon's fellow EPMD member DJ Scratch. The first single from the forthcoming Erick O'Nassis album is a double A-side, 'Why Not,' featuring Slick Rick, and 'Focus,' which features Xzibit and DJ Quik.

It seems that Wu-tang are set to perform at a rave on April 8th in Detroit. Tickets can be purchased at www.btmproductions.com. The tickets go for just under $40 and the rave will be on from 10pm-6am. Big ups to Kasper for the info.

Dope-ass New Orleans underground group, S.K.S (a two man group consisting of .50 Caliba and MidKnight Sun), drop their debut LP 'Verbal Acupuncture,' April 25th on Mad Vision Entertainment. Production done almost exclusively by .50 Caliba, with one track done by a Virginia cat named Bravo (yeah, the one from Wodie). Guests include Da Senate (also on Mad Vision Entertainment), Kool, Karizma (also on Mad Vision Entertainment), and Quotable (a group which includes none other than Justice of wodie.com). The first single should be 'Samurai Slang,' which features Don Juan (of Da Senate).

On March 17th, D.J. Rob One (Cali Bomb Squad graffiti crew) and co-founder of the Fly I.D. Show passed away due to cancer. Rob One was a veteran graffiti artist and preserver of old school hip-hop. He was also responsible for breaking such acts as Cypress Hill, Dilated Peoples and even worked with the Boogiemonsters and Gang Starr while he was employed at EMI Records in the late 90's. Rob One was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer only a few years ago and was on several occasions hospitalized due to this life threatening disease. Last weekend Sway & Tech from the World Famous Wake-Up Show dedicated their show to raising funds for Rob One's medical expenses and to support a benefit concert featuring friends such as Bahamadia, Dilated Peoples, the Visionaries and D.J. Rhettmattic of the World Famous Beat Junkies and other special guests. Currently, the concert is still scheduled to be held in Los Angeles on Thursday March 23rd, at the Polo Lounge in Alhambra, CA. R.I.P.

Shabazz The Disciple's album is finished as far as he is concerned; almost 30 tracks long. The second single from his album is a sad song about one of his family members...it's tight. Ghetto Apostles, Organized Rhyme Pt II and Lamb's Blood will not be on the album. If people really like it he may put out a single w/ organized Rhyme/ ghetto apostles for those that never heard the song or have not heard any of his material since the Death be the Penalty and Crime Saga days (95-96). His album really is on the 2nd option right now as Gravediggaz are coming to completion of their album...Grym's health is what is delaying the completion. They have to wait for him to recover from his treatments whenever they hit the studio and record around his physical conditions (ups and downs).

Grym also has a solo album he is finished with. He had a couple of record labels on the jock for the album...Rawkus wanted it but he was undecided at the time which label to go with, but the Gravediggaz album seems to be on first priority for both of them

Everyone heard about the Grammy's by now, but if you didn't, Eminem won both Rap awards.

Method Man and Redman have agreed to make a special guest appearance on 'The Jamie Foxx Show.' Meth and Redman are tentatively scheduled to shoot the episode, titled 'Jamie In The Middle,' on February 28th and 29th at Warner Bros. studio in Burbank, California. They play themselves in the episode, which is expected to air in the spring.

Mac (No Limit rapper) was arrested and charged with the first degree murder of 19-year-old Barron Victor at Club Mercedes in Slidell, LA. According to reports, there was a fight that took place at the club, Victor jumped in trying to break up the fight, he was then shot in the upper left side of his body, rushed to a hospital where he later died. Witnesses pointed out Mac as the one who pulled the trigger. Mac claims that he's innocent. Mac is currently being held without bail in St. Tammany Parish Jail awaiting Grand Jury action on March 21st.

Alpha-n-Omega Magazine is running a Battle Of The Beats contest. Del, DJ Spooky, Yeshua and Peanut Butter Wolf will be judging the contest. The contest is open for early registration and more info can be found at www.alphabeats.com

On Thursday(Feb. 10th), Gang Starr, Macy Gray, Common, Xzibit, Tha Alkaholiks, Pete Rock, Prince Paul, Talib Kweli, Pharoahe Monch, and M.O.P. all joined De La Soul at New York's Roxy to help De La introduce new music from their upcoming 'Art Official Intelligence' album. The aforementioned artists hit the stage as De La awaited one missing link, Posdnous. The De La MC arrived at the sold-out show late, as his girlfriend had just given birth to a 7lb, 7oz baby boy named Kasai. As an hour and a half unfolded before Posdnous' arrival, Xzibit performed with Tha Alkaholiks, eventually turning the stage over to Talib. Common then joined Talib on stage before putting in his own set. Just as De La took the stage, Pos finally joined his counterparts, rolling out a collection of favourites like 'Oodles Of O's,' 'Buddy,' and 'Ring Ring Ring (Ha Ha Hey).' De La plans to roll out 'Art Official Intelligence' as a trilogy of sorts, with the first CD of the three-CD set arriving in late June with appearances by Redman, Beastie Boys, Busta Rhymes, Xzibit, and Chaka Khan.

The group Cannibal Ox is signed to El P's new label, Def Jux

According to police in the Bronx, Chi-Ali is wanted for the murder of Raymond Jones. Apparently, the incident occurred on January 14th after an argument over $300 that Jones owed Chi. Police indentified him as a suspect for hours after the shooting occurred, but has been missing, or on the run since then.

At approximately 4pm(Feb. 7th), Christopher Rios aka Big Pun was pronounced dead. He died from a heart attack. Pun dropped a dope LP in '98 entitled 'Capital Punishment' and was set to drop his follow up in April. Pun left behind a wife and three children. R.I.P.

On February 12th, DMX will travel to New York City and serve as the musical guest on NBC's 'Saturday Night Live.' He will also tape an upcoming appearance on the 'Queen Latifah Show' on February 17th and 18th. He also plans to shoot episodes of UPN's 'Moesha' sitcom as well as BET's new series 'Live From L.A.' in the next few weeks. In addition to his royalty checks, DMX will also be picking up an award soon, as he will be named Entertainer Of The Year at the 14th Annual Soul Train Music Awards, being presented on March 4th at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles.

The new Eminem LP will be entitled 'The Marshall Mathers LP.' Eminem will incorporate rock elements and singing on his follow-up LP. Eminem also promises that he'll still speak his mind. The LP has also been described as more raw than its predecessor, as well as a lot more 'lyrical.' It will include singing on some tracks and the addition of rock elements on such songs as 'Kim' and 'Amityville.' Eminem has said he plans to finish the LP within the next two weeks. FBT Productions is mixing about 20 songs for the album, but Bass said he expects the album will include 11 or 12 songs. The LP features guest appearances by D-12 (the Dirty Dozen) and Dina Rae, who appeared on Slim Shady's 'Cum on Everybody.' She appears on the new disc's 'My Drugs' and 'Under the Influence.' While Bass said the album is less comical than Eminem's major-label debut, Eminem recently finished a track called 'Kids' that the producer called "hilarious." He compared the tune to the rapper's breakthrough hit, 'My Name Is.' 'Kids' features Eminem rapping in a character voice with a nursery-rhyme track behind it. "It's his 'Say No to Drugs' anthem," Bass said. Eminem said he is deciding among three songs for the LP's first single. One possibility, Bass said, is one of the songs Dr. Dre produced, 'I Never Knew.'

Ice Cube's turning his focus back toward hip-hop with 'War & Peace Volume 2: The Peace Disc,' which is due out on March 21st. True to its title, the follow-up to 1998's 'Volume 1: The War Disc' promises to be a less dark, though no less thought provoking, excursion. "I always felt, coming from N.W.A., [that] people wanted a hardcore record," Cube told the MTV Radio Network of his past solo work. "['The Peace Disc'] was a record where it's a couple of hard ones on there, but most of them were records not just talking about how it is, but maybe how it should be, how things can be different, things can change. "There's party records on there," he continued. "I've had a lot of success with records like 'We Be Clubbin'' and 'You Can Do It,' and I wanted to do a couple more of those to put on here. This is just a fun record. I didn't want it to be political. I didn't want it to just be over nothing. I just wanted to rap, do good music, and let people enjoy the record. And that's why I call it the 'Peace' album." Other guests on 'The Peace Disc' include DJ Quik, Mack 10, and Chris Rock, with production appearances by Chucky Thompson (of Puff Daddy's Hitmen) and Puffy himself as well as Bud'da.

The single; 'What Part of the Game is This?' by Killah Priest featuring Ras Kass will drop on March 9th

News Archives :

January 2000 | November/December '99 | October '99 News | September '99 News | August '99 News | July '99 News
June '99 News | May '99 News | April '99 News
March '99 News | February '99 News | January '99 News
December '98 News | November '98 News | October '98 News
September '98 News | August '98 News | July '98 News