T.I. VOTES DESPITE CONVICTED FELON STATUS: Rapper hit up Atlanta polling center after re-examining Georgia law.

T.I. thought his voting privileges were revoked because he's a convicted felon, but under Georgia Law, felons are still eligible if they're not currently serving probation or a prison sentence.

"Until he is sentenced in the federal case, he doesn't have a conviction yet," said lawyer, Steve Sadow of his 28-year-old client, whose real name is Clifford Harris. "Even though he is a convicted felon, he has a right to vote since he is not serving probation and hasn't started his prison sentence."

Because his jail term doesn't begin until late March, the rapper immediately got himself to an early polling station in Atlanta yesterday to cast his ballot for the next President of the United States.

"It's a relief," the rap star told the Associated Press Wednesday before voting for the first time in his life. "This what it is all about, not staying up late and waking up early to vote. Now rather than just talking about it, I'm being about it. I'm leading by example, and it makes me feel a lot better."

After standing in line for less than 10 minutes, T.I. emerged with an "I'm a Georgia Voter" sticker planted on his black vest. He signed autographs and took photos with several fans who were stunned to see the Grammy-winning artist at the polls.

A spokesman for the Georgia Secretary of State's office confirmed that T.I. was eligible to vote.

RSS icon Lil Wayne Supports Family Of Killed Child

During a benefit event on October 18th, Lil Wayne made an effort to ease the pain of the family, of one his biggest and most loyal fans. Ryan Slingerland was killed last month after his car lost control on a dusty road, before plunging into a tree. His death was included in the local newspaper where it was also mentioned of his love for Lil Wayne's music.

Kathleen Busch read the snippet, and knew Lil Wayne as she stays in the apartment next to him in Florida. She wrote the following note to the rapper.

"A few words from someone meaningful to Ryan would mean more than any amount of counselling or antidepressants. People on the outside see your fur and jewelry and wealth but we're all the same. This is your opportunity to do something."

Busch had sent the letter to her mother-in-law who took it down to Wayne's apartment and presented it to him, after being permitted by an outside bouncer.

The benefit concert, which was aiming to raise funds for the funeral, was enlightened when the parents of the child received a package sent directly from Lil Wayne, including two autographed magazines and a sympathy card.

Lil Wayne also revealed that same day, that he was expecting a son.

BEHIND THE KATT WILLIAMS "BLOW-UP" AT THE BET HIP HOP AWARDS.

According to the new York Daily, The comic pitched a serious hissy and walked off the show, according to insiders. Williams claimed earlier this week that he turned over his hosting job to T-Pain after losing a break-dancing contest to the rapper. But sources say he actually bailed after an angry face-off with BET execs before the show's taping in Atlanta last Saturday. "Katt has become difficult now that he's a megastar," one source tells us. "He was very demanding during rehearsals. He really berated one female member of the production company. He launched into a verbal assault on her in front of other people. I mean, he read her the riot act. "Then he left the set and said he wouldn't return unless she apologized. She wouldn't. BET and the production company backed her up. Katt wouldn't come back. Nobody was willing to budge. "So the night before the show, they had no host. They were scrambling to find somebody. At 1 a.m., the night before the show, they called T-Pain. He agreed to do it, and started rehearsing the next morning for the show that evening." In the interest of future relations with Williams, executive producer Stephen Hill agreed to the break-dancing cover story, according to sources. "It was crazy," Hill told BET. "We were all out at the club Friday night - T-Pain, Katt Williams, an Emmanuel Lewis impersonator and me - fluids flowing, music all loud. Suddenly Pain, having bought us some drinks, challenged Katt to a break-dancing battle." Playing along, Pain told the Web site: "Folks have underestimated me for years. In rapping, in singing ... and now in break dancing!" Williams claimed, "I've had a great time hosting the show for the last two years. [I] was looking forward to hosting this year. I never thought T-Pain would win a break-dancing battle with me." A BET rep declined further comment. A publicist for Williams, who plays Carnegie Hall on Nov. 6, didn't return a call.

“Get Up” Drops and Love Lockdown Video Released

0 Cent – Get Up – Kanye West – Love Lockdown

50 Cent just dropped the first single “Get Up” off of his upcoming album “Before I Self Destruct”. And the Ordinary Joe Blog is making it available for you to hear right NOW.

"You dudes better follow instructions/ I said, 'Get up'"

As soon as the track hit 50’s website, the radio stations picked it up and pounded the air waves with the record’s pumping bass.

Also, yesterday Kanye West dropped the video clip for “Love Lockdown” the first single from his upcoming “808s and Heartbreak” while on the Ellen Show. Ellen described the video as ‘brilliant’.

When asked about the video West said, "On this album, I kind of embody Patrick Bateman from 'American Psycho,' you know at the end of the movie he didn't really kill anyone. I just liked the clean aesthetic and the way he was all about labels. I wanted to express all of that in the video."

The video is now available for viewing on Kanye’s blog and on i-Tunes.

Lil Wayne Welcomes A Baby Boy

Lil Wayne said on Saturday that he'd be the father of a baby boy any day now, and he wasn't kidding.

Wayne's son, Dwayne Carter III, was born Wednesday afternoon (October 22), at Christ Hospital in Cincinnati, a rep for the rapper told MTV News. It's Carter's second child. He has a daughter, Reginae Carter, with Antonia "Toya" Johnson, his high school sweetheart, whom he married in 2004 and divorced two years later.

The identity of the boy's mother had not been announced at press time.

Wayne revealed during the BET Hip-Hop Awards that the birth of his son was imminent. He made the announcement during his acceptance speech, after being named Lyricist of the Year.

While changing diapers is in Wayne's immediate future, the MC is prepping the re-release of his latest LP, Tha Carter III. The rapper said the reissue wouldn't be like most reissues, which typically include only one or two unreleased tracks.

"I think we're gonna release Tha Carter III — a new Carter III with none of the same songs, though," he told MTV News recently. "None of them. Not one! We don't wanna call the [next album] we got coming out Tha Carter IV. That was the dilemma we were in. We want Carter IV to be what everybody wants it to be. This is something brand-new, so we don't want it to be some experimental thing, 'cause some people are not gonna like this. I don't want them to not like Tha Carter IV. But I do have an album coming soon, very soon, and it's gonna be called ... Tha Carter III: The Rebirth. The birth of a new beginning."

Lil Wayne

Los Angeles (E! Online) – Was Lil Wayne packing heat?

That's the question facing jurors at "The Block Is Hot" rapper's trial on gun charges in Manhattan Monday.

Terry Bourgeois, Lil Wayne's assistant, testified he saw a handgun "occasionally" on the hip-hopster's tour bus and witnessed various people smoking marijuana, but he could not specifically single out the 26-year-old Wayne for possessing said .40-caliber pistol nor say if one was present when the latter was taken into custody.

Last month, a police officer told jurors she searched the vehicle after detecting the scent of cannabis as it was parked outside New York's Beacon Theatre following a July 2007 concert. She then said she spied the MC attempting to stash the firearm.

Wayne (born Dwayne Michael Carter Jr.) has pleaded not guilty to criminal possession of a weapon and remains free on $70,000 bond. If he's convicted, he could face up to three and a half years in the slammer.

His attorney, Stacey Richman, could not be reached for comment. But she is seeking to have the charges tossed on the grounds that New York's Finest falsified the pot claim in order to conduct a search of the vehicle.

According to Newsday, another eyewitness, 47-year-old Derrick Parker, a security guard hired by the concert promoter who was on the scene that night, testified he did not smell or see any marijuana on our outside the bus.

The legal eagle also pointed out the gun authorities found was registered to Cortez Bryant, whom Bourgeouis identified as Lil Wayne's manager.

Eminem tells all in his new memoir, 4 years after last studio album

Whatever you might call him, the man recently named the "best rapper alive" by a poll of Vibe magazine readers has returned in a major way. The 36-year-old superstar's re-emergence comes four years after his last studio album, three years after he was treated for a sleep medication dependency and two years since the violent death of his best friend and the collapse of a second marriage to his childhood sweetheart.

His new track, "I'm Having a Relapse," has caused a stir on the Web and is fuelling talk of a new record and maybe even a tour.

But before Eminem moves forward musically, he first is taking a step back with a memoir out Tuesday that shares quite a few revelations about a man whose autobiographical lyrics have tantalized fans for years.

In "The Way I Am," the man born Marshall Bruce Mathers III takes readers into his painful childhood and adolescence and inside the studio and beyond as the former Detroit factory floor sweeper and short-order cook enters the rap game and becomes a worldwide hip-hop sensation.

The book is 200-plus pages worth of text, behind-the-scenes photographs and reproductions of Eminem's original lyric sheets - hotel stationery and other scraps of paper he used to scratch out partial verses of the songs that would make him famous: From "My Name Is" and "Stan" to "Lose Yourself" and "Without Me."

Eminem may not love being in the public eye, but he loves music, and that's drawn him out, said publisher Brian Tart, president of Dutton Books, an imprint of the Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

"I think he doesn't like being famous, but he sure likes being an artist," Tart said. "Getting away from the trappings of fame was something he needed to do. But in his bones and his blood, he's an artist."

The book kicks off with a prologue that provides one of the reasons Eminem has shunned the spotlight for the past few years. He describes in-depth just how difficult it has been for him to come to grips with the loss of his longtime best friend and fellow rapper Proof (Deshaun Holton), who was gunned down at a Detroit after-hours club in April 2006.

"After he passed, it was a year before I could really do anything normally again," Eminem writes. "It was tough for me to even get out of bed, and I had days when I couldn't walk, let alone write a rhyme."

"I have never felt so much pain in my life. It's a pain that is with me to this day. A pain that has become a part of who I am."

It was Proof, he says, who not only urged him to become an emcee, but also served as a "ghetto pass" - allowing the white Eminem the street cred he needed to enter Detroit's black-dominated hip-hop scene.

"If Proof hadn't gotten me ... into the rap game, I don't know where I'd be," he writes. "I certainly wouldn't be someone you've heard of."

But millions of people have heard of him, and what they know of Eminem largely is based on his lyrics, his outsized public persona and the 2002 semi-autobiographical film, "8 Mile."

"The Way I Am" answers a few lingering controversies and questions, including his 2000 arrest for pistol-whipping a man who kissed his wife ("Guns are bad, I tell you"); his substance-abuse problem ("I'm glad that I realized it and set myself in the right direction"); the flap over his perceived homophobia ("Ultimately, who you choose to be in a relationship with and what you do in your bedroom is your business"); and ethnicity ("Honestly, I'd love to be remembered as one of the best to ever pick up a mike, but if I'm doing my part to lessen some racial tension I feel good about what I'm doing.")

Eminem also recounts his early years, living in public housing in Savannah, Mo., before moving to Detroit. He discusses the hurt he felt at never having known his father, the complicated relationship with his litigious mother and the suicides that ended the lives of his two uncles.

After he made the move to the Motor City, Eminem describes being a quiet outsider at school, having his home repeatedly robbed, getting pummelled by the police and later bouncing between dead-end jobs trying to make ends meet to provide for his then-wife, Kim, and daughter, Hailie.

But things turned in his favour when Proof urged him to start rap-battling at Detroit's Hip Hop Shop. He made a name for himself in his home city by trading insult rhymes with fellow battlers and eventually branched out, competing in rap battles in Ohio and California. It was in Los Angeles that Eminem was spotted by an assistant in the office of Interscope Records executive Jimmy Iovine.

Before long, rap icon Dr. Dre came in to help produce what would become Eminem's ticket to stardom, 1999's "The Slim Shady LP."

While the pair had worked out the songs, Dre said the album lacked the image of what the Slim Shady character should look like.

A drug-fuelled impulse buy took care of that problem.

After two hits of Ecstasy, Eminem popped into a drugstore and on a whim purchased a bottle of peroxide. He threw some on his head and the platinum blonde hair and white T-shirt Slim Shady look was born.

"I wasn't thinking that the peroxide thing was going to be my look," he writes. "I was just being stupid on drugs."

(It should be noted the book features a humorous passage in which Eminem describes having invented the Slim Shady persona during a moment of clarity ... on the toilet.)

The record ended up being a smash hit, as did two that came later, "The Marshall Mathers LP" and "The Eminem Show."

In all, he has won nine Grammys and an Oscar.

And along the way, he's had more than a few quirky high-profile run-ins, many of which he touches upon in the book: a fling with Mariah Carey, a performance with Elton John at the Grammys and the televised tiff with hand-puppet Triumph the Insult Comic Dog.

Still, as he prepares to again enter the public eye, a more grounded, mature Eminem says he's trying to keep everything in perspective.

Music is important, but being a father to three girls - Hailie, niece Alaina and another girl, Whitney, who isn't biologically his - is where it's at.

"All three of my girls call me Daddy," he writes. "They're all loved the same and they all get the same treatment.

"Because of my success, I've been able to provide for them in ways my family never could for me. That's what it's all about."

Oh my… The interviewer, Beyonce over at Hot 107.9 in Atlanta, is not feeling Maino trying to interview her on the red carpet. Stay in yo lane Partna. Stay in yo' lane.

rumors hip hop

By illseed

DISCLAIMER:


All content within this section is pure rumor and generally have no factual info outside of what the streets have whispered in our ear. Read on.


TODAY'S RUMORS!


DMX’S OTHER NEW BABY?


You heard from me last week or so that DMX had a new baby down in Miami. That he was there for the birth and then had to go to Arizona for crime related court cases. Right? Well, I have word that DMX was also recently found to be the father of a 5-year-old girl in Buffalo, New York. Ouch. Well, not “ouch,” because children are a blessing! It could be a doozie if you are broke, accused of a zillion offenses this year and your career is on the rocks like never before. Anyway, I heard the test was that 99.99% “You Are The Father” sort of thing.


THE GAME AND 50 CENT ON ONE SONG?


I’m not exactly sure where this is coming from but Sharabi sent it to me. There are rumors abound that Busta Rhymes has managed to get 50 Cent and The Game on the same record for his album. How? Well, there is a pre-existing song that features 50 Cent. Busta convinced The Game to do a song for a remix of said record. Well, 50 Cent gave his permission to appear on the remix with The Game for the promo value for his own record, Before I Self Destruct. I heard it is going to hit the net really soon. Stay tuned.


AUBREY HEADED TO G-UNIT?


I don't know how true this is, based on what happened to Olivia. But I heard that Aubrey, formerly of Danity Kane, is now going to be a member of 50 Cent and G-Unit. The time might be ripe for her since she can now ride the beef wave. With 50 at the helm, she's probably able to get it poppin right now. Unlike Olivia, she's got the publicity wind at her back. I did hear that this is probably going to be a joint venture with Diddy. You know Diddy is about that paper, so kicking people out isn't going to stop that. I heard that 50 isn't so fond of Diddy so, who knows? (Remember the Ma$e situation?)


SOMEBODY DISSES BUN B?


Whoa…WHOA…WHOA!!!!!!!!!!!


Who would dare diss the honorable Bun B? There is some dude from the West Coast named Hard Head and he has come out and dissed Bun B. Now, you know, but B.B. is the man and definitely one of Hip-Hop’s most respected figures. Now, H.H. claims that Bun/UGK stole his song, “That’s Gangsta.” (I did no research, just so you know.) Anyway, this dude has a song called “You Ain’t S**t.” I beg to differ, Hard Head. Anyway, That’s that. Another silly rap beef. If somebody takes your song, you take them to court.


LIL WAYNE: MARRIAGE AND BABIES?


I don’t know that I even care, but Lil Wayne is supposedly going to be getting married to Nivea. YEAH. Anyway, he definitely said, over the weekend, that he is expecting another child soon. Below is a blog entry from Nivea that seems to reinforce or mark the start of the wedding rumors. She’s not saying a thing though.


To let everyone know about the "HAPPY BDAY WAYNE" song was a private song made by Mack Maine feat. Nivea for Lil' Wayne's birthday; the song was not suppose to be released to the public but it was released on Mack Maine's Myspace page. There was a lot of requests for the song, so it was uploaded on this page. We were just made aware about a lot of rumors flying around blog sites about the song & no the rumors are not being addressed. It has not been confirmed & there is no known "sources". Like I've said before this page is to promote Niveas' music & up incoming Events or Projects she will be apart of. This page is not to talk about rumors you hear or haters to hate. If you don't have anything positive to say about Nivea or her Music please keep it to your self. Thanks.


Now, I don’t know if this qualifies as snitching, but it sure qualifies as playing Pras from the Fugees OUT. Somebody called the media on Pras, not the cops. So, that’s probably a loophole in the “stop snitching” rule. Pras Michel and Ray Devers of Fight Klub Studios have an issue. Apparently, Pras owes the man about $19k in studio money and Dev decided to call ABC’s Seven On Your Side to get a New York news story poppin. "I've contacted his management team. I've contacted his lawyers and just (get) stories after stories." Pras apparently tried to make good in June with a check for $19 k and the som’bish bounced. Since, Pras was unavailable.


When ABC caught up to Pras, this is how it went down.


Tappy: You got a debt there of about $19,000 that hasn't been paid and a bounced check. Did you know about that?


Pras: No, I didn't. We've been talking to them about it.


Next, Pras tried to put us off, telling us to talk to Ray from Fight Klub Studios.


Tappy: We've talked to Ray, (he) wants us to talk to you. Ray wants us to talk to you and he wants to know when he's going to get his money?


Pras: You need to speak to my attorney.


Tappy: When is he going to get his money?


So we called his attorney, who never gave us a reason for the non payment. But that same day Fight Klub Studios got a down payment, $5000 from Pras, with the promise of more coming.


At least he’s trying.


LL TAKES A PARTING SHOT AT G.W. BUSH