hiphopmusic.com:

One of the most anticipated battles this year, with Smack DVD favorite Math taking on EOW/Jumpoff/Scribble veteran and frequent visitor to our show Iron Solomon. They don't call a winner in the actual video, so what's your verdict? full battle below the cut:

This is from last year, but seems apropos since we're all thinking about Phife's health after the Hip-Hop Honors appearance this week.. apparently he is still waiting for the kidney transplant mentioned in this clip..

Capsule review: "In Rainbows" is good enough to be an album Lupe Fiasco never listens to.

(I don't care that everyone else is doing it, and I don't care that you don't care. I care!!)

The 80,000 references to In Rainbows being "lush" and "sparse" were correct. People who like Radiohead with guitars and melodies should be very happy today, people who like weird bleeps and bloops maybe a bit less happy. If OK Computer is your favorite album In Rainbows might be your second favorite.

Damn. This seems like it could have been avoided. But before I make too many judgements about P's choices that led up to this, I gotta acknowledge that 1) it is understandable that Prodigy would feel it necessary to have protection, and 2) being a convicted felon makes it difficult to do so legally (according to my very non-comprehensive understanding, at least). So Prodigy's choices were not as easy as they might seem. And it's a pretty clear-cut case of the Hip-Hop Police harassing and messing someone's life up without serving any purpose as far as protecting the public, or whatever their job is supposed to be.

Still, especially given that everybody knows this type of scrutiny is going on, seems like this could have been avoided.

Prodigy pleads guilty, gets 3.5 years daily news

Rapper Prodigy pleaded guilty to criminal possession of a loaded gun Tuesday in a deal that will put him behind bars for the next 3-1/2 years.

The 32-year-old Queens native interrupted his trial in Manhattan Supreme Court to admit to owning the unlicensed .22-caliber pistol found in an armrest of his bulletproofed Chevy Suburban last October in Chelsea.

Prodigy was busted on the gun charge after cops stopped him for making an illegal U-turn on Ninth Ave.

via realtalk

Video of my chat a while back with the director of Wild Style, Charlie Ahearn (featured on this week's "VH1 Hip-Hop Honors")

From the headlines I expected yet another case of getting pulled over with an unlicensed pistol.. but this one is way heavier than that. There's a lot going on in this story, what do you y'all make of it all?

Rapper T.I. arrested on machine gun charges
cnn

Rapper T.I. was arrested on federal gun charges just hours before he was scheduled to perform at the BET Hip Hop Awards, according to federal authorities.

T.I., whose real name is Clifford Harris, was arrested without incident in midtown Atlanta.

The entertainer, whose real name is Clifford Harris, was arrested in a federal sting Saturday after his bodyguard-turned-informant delivered three machine guns and two silencers to the hip-hop star, according to a Justice Department statement...

The sting came after Harris' bodyguard was arrested purchasing the machine guns and silencers from an undercover Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agent Wednesday, according to the Justice Department statement. The bodyguard then agreed to cooperate with the ATF, the statement said.

The guns were not registered on the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record as required by law. The bodyguard -- who has worked for Harris since July -- told authorities he had bought about nine guns for the rap star in the past, the statement said.

On Wednesday, authorities said, Harris arranged for the bodyguard to pick up $12,000 in cash from a bank to buy the guns. After his arrest, the bodyguard made phone calls to Harris, which authorities recorded, the statement said.

Harris was supposed to pick up the guns after meeting the bodyguard in a shopping center parking lot in midtown Atlanta. Authorities arrested Harris there without incident, the Justice Department statement said...

why smart people don't think straight

RZA's final move. PHOTO: Daaim Shabazz.

LOS ANGELES

Had dinner with a friend last night who is very close with T.I. He's pretty broken up about it. J Smooth pretty much echoed my friend's feelings in his latest vlog: Possible setup, yes; smart guy, definitely; stupid choices, absolutely.

What a contrast to the smart choices I experienced two days earlier in San Francisco at the Hip-Hop Chess Federation's first annual chess invitational, which brought together kids, rappers, chess masters and martial arts champions, culminating in a climactic battle between The RZA and Monk that made this non-chess player a complete believer.

Jay, you want to take this one?

man.... scooby doo.

The "Wild Style" Director talks about what inspired him to make the seminal hip-hop movie 25+ years ago, what it was like introducing hip-hop to Japan, and where he sees hip-hop's spirit living in 2007 like it was back then. Check part one here if you missed it.

For his new collabo with Trent Reznor, "The Inevitable Rise and Liberation of Niggy Tardust!" , Saul Williams is following in the footsteps of Radiohead and offering the album for download with payment optional.. he explains this decision thusly:

Most people aren't aware of the world of art and commerce where exploitation strips each artist down to nigger. Each label, like apartheid, multiplies us by our divide and whips us 'til we conform to lesser figures. What falls between the cracks is a pile of records stacked to the heights of talents hidden from the sun. Yet the energy they put into popularizing smut makes a star of a shiny polished gun. The ballot or the bullet for Mohawk or the mullet is a choice between new times and dying days. And the only way to choose is to jump ship from old truths and trust dolphins as we swim through changing ways. The ways of middlemen proves to be just a passing trend. We need no priests to talk to God. No phone to call her. And when you click the link below, i think it fair that you should know that your purchase will make middlemen much poorer...

Brrrrrrrrap!

Nice to see that Rudy Giuliani has the 1970s Harlem drug lord constituency behind him. Hillary's still hoping for that Alpo endorsement though.

Say word, I didn't know Prince was an "urban" artist. Good news for Brick James and the crew though. What I still really want is an Ab-Liva solo album.

CLIPSE INK DEAL WITH RICK RUBIN AT SONY/COLUMBIA RECORDS

Platinum-selling rap duo the Clipse have inked a deal with Rick Rubin at Sony/Columbia Records. The move cements Columbia 's commitment to a growing urban music roster that includes global phenoms Beyoncé, Prince and Three 6 Mafia. Under the legendary auspices of Rubin, who personally sanctioned the deal, and the fittingly-named A&R rep Hip-Hop--think Jay-Z, Kanye West, —the Clipse are poised to deliver a lethal dose of their ironic, intoxicating mix of metaphor and message.

"I been a fan of the Clipse since I first heard them," asserts Hip-Hop. "And I ain't a fan of too many things. Every song they come with it, lyrically. They were on a real short list when I got to Sony; I was going all the way to make this happen. We trying to be more of an artist-friendly company, and focus on artists we really love. I liked them three years ago, I liked them yesterday, and I feel like they can be a group with a future."

The whole New York mag interview with Frank Lucas and Nicky Barnes is a must-read, but I enjoyed this passage especially:

...I saw this show on CNN, with Anderson Cooper. Cats were talking about “Don’t snitch, no matter what happens.” Well, I can’t see how a guy can be considered strong if he lets a bunch of assholes walk all over him and he doesn’t respond, just because of some code that a bunch of idiots have cooked up. Anderson Cooper asked this rapper, “Suppose a child was molested and you knew who this molester was. Would you tell the police?” He said, “No.” So that’s what I’m sayin’—the street guidelines are just moron bullshit.