MTV Reports
Maxwell, you made us wait a little too long for your set during the Essence Music Festival last week, but it's all good. We're definitely eager to hear that BLACKsummers'night LP. Max was in his hometown of NYC on Monday night, hanging out with Fabolous and Nas and celebrating the release of his new record. Another Big Apple giant who loved Max's music was none other than the Notorious B.I.G.
"He was Brooklyn, a smooth-ass dude, B.I.G. definitely f---ed with him," Lil' Cease told us about Biggie's love for Max. "His music was dope, and me and Big supported it."
Man. Can you imagine a Biggie/Maxwell collaboration? We asked the singer what it would have sounded like.
"Wow. Wow. It's hard, because I'm from Brooklyn and [Biggie's] from Brooklyn," Maxwell said. "When Ready to Die was out, his first album was out. He's just the god of it all. I don't know what [our collaboration] would have sounded like. It distresses me more than I could know what it could sound like."
Maxwell also said him and Big could have taken it to the club or got smoothed out.
"It could be both, man," he said. "We're both Geminis, so I guess we would probably have more than one record, maybe. It's all about multiplicity for us. But he's sorely missed, though. I think people made it too real. Now people have a better understanding of what the lines are. The lines aren't too blurred in between the guy onstage and the person who's on the street. It's just sad he's not around for us to have known what those records would have sounded like."
When it comes to who Maxwell listens to now, he says he's a fan of MGMT and Radiohead.
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CNN Reports
Plainclothes investigators sent to test security at federal buildings in four U.S. cities were successful in smuggling bomb components through guard posts at all 10 of the sites they visited, according to a government report.
A GAO report cites lax security in federal buildings after investigators got bomb compenents past guards.
The investigators then assembled the bombs in restrooms and freely entered numerous government offices while carrying the devices in briefcases, the report said.
The buildings contained offices of several federal lawmakers as well as agencies within the departments of State, Justice and Homeland Security, which is responsible for safeguarding federal office buildings.
CNN obtained the report late Tuesday, ahead of its expected release Wednesday at a hearing of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
The Government Accountability Office, the investigative arm of Congress, conducted the tests to check on the effectiveness of the Federal Protective Service .The FPS protects federal buildings by having about 1,200 federal law enforcement officers oversee an army of 13,000 private security guards.
In a videotape obtained by CNN, a covert GAO inspector places a bag containing bomb components on an X-ray machine conveyor belt and then walks through a magnetometer at an unidentified federal building. Unlike some covert tests that use simulated explosives, the GAO used actual bomb components in the test and publicly available information "to identify a type of device that a terrorist could use" to damage a building. Watch undercover agent smuggle bomb »
"The (improvised explosive device) was made up of two parts -- a liquid explosive and a low-yield detonator -- and included a variety of materials not typically brought into a federal facility by an employee or the public," the report says. Investigators obtained the components at local stores and over the Internet for less than $150, the report says.
After the components were smuggled into the building and assembled, the GAO says, it took steps to ensure the device would not explode. But to demonstrate the device's destructive power, the GAO videotaped the detonation of several devices at a remote site.
The GAO also released a photograph of a guard asleep at his post and detailed an instance in which a woman placed an infant in a carrier on an X-ray machine while retrieving identification. Because the guard was not paying attention and the machine's safety features had been disabled, the infant was sent through the X-ray machine, according to the report.
The FPS dismissed the guard, who, as a result, sued the agency for failing to provide X-ray training. FPS lost the suit because it could not prove that the guard had been trained, the report says.
All of the buildings involved in the test were "Level IV" buildings, meaning they housed more than 450 federal employees and have a high volume of public contact. The GAO has declined to identify the specific buildings "because of the sensitivity of some of the information in our report," the report says.
The GAO said that FPS has taken several steps to improve oversight of the guard program in response to the GAO investigation.
Specifically, the FPS has authorized overtime to conduct guard post inspections during off-business hours and is conducting its own tests. It has also moved to standardize inspections of guard posts across the country.
In prepared testimony, FPS Director Gary Schenkel said, "It was apparent FPS was experiencing some serious challenges" when he arrived at the agency in early 2007. Schenkel says the FPS has been focused on "standardizing its practices."
"When GAO presented its findings several weeks ago, we took it very seriously," Schenkel's testimony says. Within three hours of learning of the issued identified by the GAO, he increased the number of inspections of guard posts, he said. He has also established a team to "aggressively attack" the challenge of overseeing the contract guard program, he said.
Sen. Joseph Lieberman, I-Connecticut and chairman of the Homeland Security Committee, called the test results "simply unacceptable."
"We knew that the FPS was a troubled agency, but that GAO could penetrate security at these buildings and make bombs without detection is truly shocking," he said.
The security lapses "show a disturbing pattern by the Federal Protective Service of poor training, lapsed documentation, lax management, inconsistent enforcement of security standards and little rigor," added Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, the committee's ranking member.
The GAO report concludes that FPS "does not fully ensure that its guards have the training and certifications required to stand post at federal facilities."
The GAO says it visited six of the 11 FPS regions and that in all six regions, FPS did not require some of its guards to complete the mandatory 128 hours of training.
In one region, FPS "has not provided the required 8 hours of (X-ray) or magnetometer training to its 1,500 guards since 2004," the report says.
The report also says FPS does not have a national guidance on how often FPS inspectors should check on the contract guards. In several instances when inspectors have checked on guards, they found "instances of guards not complying with post orders."
In one case, the GAO report says, a guard was caught using government computers to manage a for-profit adult Web site.
David Wright, president of a union which represents about 1,000 federal employees, said the study shows the FPS is in a "pretty sad state."
"I do not believe that adequate training is provided (for the contract guards)," he said. "I think it is very unequal -- kind of a mish-mash across the country. In some cases we leave training up to the contractor, and (it) clearly is not sufficient."
Wright says his immediate goal is to have federal officers -- not contract guards -- protect Level IV buildings, and ultimately to have them protect Level III buildings as well.
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CNN Reports
Former figure skating champion and Olympian Nicole Bobek was free on bond Tuesday after New Jersey police accused her of being part of a drug ring.
Nicole Bobek waves after a routine at the World Figure Skating Championships in 1995.
Bobek, 31, who won the U.S. figure skating title in 1995, was arrested at her home in Jupiter, Florida, last week on a charge of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine in Hudson County, New Jersey, according to Guy Gregory of the Hudson County prosecutor's office.
She waived extradition rights to face the charges in New Jersey and made her first appearance in court on Monday via video, entering a plea of not guilty, Gregory said.
Bobek was released Monday night on bond, according to Sean Wilkes of the Hudson County Jail.
According to the prosecutor's office, 20 people have been arrested in connection with the alleged drug ring, which police have been investigating for nearly a year.
Bobek could face up to 10 years in prison if convicted.
Her attorney, Sam DeLuca, was not immediately available for comment.
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BallerStatus Reports
Last week, Soulja Boy expressed his struggles with fame and fortune, via a series of Twitter updates, and now Bow Wow seems to be feeling the same way.
Soulja Boy is young, 18 to be exact, but so is Bow Wow. He is just 22. However, he's enjoyed fame in his elementary school years, so that's a long time.
In his own Twitter update, Bow revealed boredom with life, being that he's seen so much, so soon. He says his fame and success has made his depressed more than its made him happy.
"Man I be gettn bored wit life. I wish I neva did and seen err thang so soon," the rapper wrote on Tuesday (July 7). "I have nuffn to look forward 2. I’m down more than I am happy."
Before signing off, his last two tweets read: "In a dark place! Goodbye."
Bow Wow has seven solo albums under his belt. In April, he explained that he plans to retire from music to focus on a career in Hollywood.
He said, at the time, his last album -- New Jack City II -- is his final LP. "This my last album because for me, there's no more that needs to be done on the music side. I've done everything," the rapper said. "I've done everything from ... the scary thing is that I'm 22 years old. I'm young, I'm still a baby. On the music side, I've been doing this since five, 17 years of just non-stop music."
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BallerStatus Reports
The Black Eyed Peas are being accused of swiping a song from UK-based DJ and producer Adam Freeland without his permission.
According to the The Daily Swarm, Freeland is accusing the BEPs of plagiarizing his track "Mancry," off his latest project Cope, for their new song "Party All The Time."
"Party All The Time" is a track featured on the Peas' latest album, The E.N.D. and was released after Freeland's album.
Freeland definitely agrees that his track was bitten, and asked his Twitter followers to compare the two side-by-side: "Ok. Check this. Listen to our song 'Mancry'. Now listen to Black Eyed Peas 'Party All The Time.' WTF!" he tweeted.
Here's what the swarm suggests: "It seems very apparent that the Black Eyed Peas have straight up sampled the whole track as a backing to their vocals, and it could hardly even be considered a rearrangement. Check out Lee's drums as a focal point of the track."
Lawyers for both camps are currently in contact. At press time, it was unknown whether or not legal action would be filed with the courts.
Stay tuned ... but check out the comparison below to draw your own conclusions.
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AllHipHop Reports
Lil Kim and Faith had a face-to-face encounter towards the close of Sean "Diddy" Combs' coveted White Party in California, sources have reported.
Faith and Kim, whom both shared a relationship with The Notorious B.I.G., crossed paths at the White Party, which was held in Los Angeles instead of The Hampton's in New York.
Sources with AllHipHop.com said that Lil Kim took issue with her representation in Notorious, the biopic in which Faith was attached to.
Faith was in attendance with her husband and Lil Kim was with producer Choke No Joke and to some, this augmented the tension.
"It was really heated," one source said. "It was about to pop off...there was crazy screaming."
According to sources, Faith was saying, "I love you" to Lil Kim and Kim responded with "God bless you."
However, later at the event, Kim asked Faith, "How would you say you love me when you trashed me in your book?"
Under anonymity, a source told AllHipHop.com "We know that [Faith saying 'I love you'] is bulls**t. It wasn't even about the movie. It hurt Kim that she was being fake."
Actor Dennis Da Menace, who played D-Roc in "Notorious" and Devante Swing of Jodeci fame were able to prevent a potentially violent exchange between Faith's husband, Todd Russaw, and Choke No Joke.
"At first it was cool, but then Dennis had to peace it out," another source said.
Russaw reportedly attempted to take pictures as Kim and Faith spoke peacefully, to which Choke took exception.
Choke expressed publicly that it was inappropriate to take pictures and charged that Russaw was intoxicated. Russaw was not available for comment on the allegation.
Of the matter, Choke would only say, "Yes, I was there, but I don't have nothing to do with it. Please leave me out of it."
Sean "Diddy" Combs was not at the location at the time of the incident.
Despite the drama, Diddy managed to raise awareness for a charity, Malaria No More and his guests enjoyed their time, reports say.
Guests included Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher, Khloe Kardashian, Busta Rhymes, Tyrese, Shanna Moakler, Lindsay Lohan, Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon and Jonah Hill.
Even Chris Brown attended and performed his rendition of "Thriller."
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FoxSports Reports
Authorities are hoping an autopsy on Wednesday can explain the death of French tennis player Mathieu Montcourt, who was found collapsed outside his Paris apartment by his girlfriend overnight.
Mathieu Montcourt reached his highest ranking ever last month by making the 2nd round in the French Open. (Lionel Bonaventure/AFP / Getty Images)
The 24-year-old Montcourt's girlfriend found him lying next to his bicycle in the corridor leading to his front door, the French tennis federation's technical director Patrice Dominguez told The Associated Press on Tuesday.
"I have seen the police report and for the moment there is no cause of death, and only the autopsy (Wednesday morning) will eventually find an explanation," Dominguez said by telephone. "She (Montcourt's girlfriend) was staying at his place, and he was coming home on his bike around quarter past midnight, or half (past) midnight."
Montcourt's girlfriend, who was with a friend in the apartment, became alarmed when Montcourt failed to arrive.
"She was with a friend in Mathieu Montcourt's apartment," Dominguez said. "They came out after a while, having left him (phone) messages, and noticed that he was lying on the floor next to his bike ... They called the (ambulance), but unfortunately he was already dead."
Dominguez said the FFT will release a further statement on Wednesday afternoon if the autopsy proves conclusive.
"(It is) totally surprising. He's a player we have been training for more than 10 years and who has always been irreproachable. He had a healthy lifestyle, he didn't drink (and) he's not someone who went out partying," Dominguez added. "For the moment it's inexplicable ... the autopsy tomorrow may reveal something we hadn't noticed."
Dominguez had hopes that Montcourt, ranked 119, would eventually challenge for a place in the top 50.
"He is a player we considered could get into he top 50 or 60 within the next two years," Dominguez said. "He was someone who was really well liked. He was someone who was always one of the best under 12s, best under 16s, best juniors. He was always a fighter, and was a player we liked to watch."
Last month, Montcourt achieved his highest career ranking of 104 after reaching the second round at Roland Garros, where he lost to Radek Stepanek of the Czech Republic in four sets.
Four-time French Open champion Rafael Nadal, who grew up playing regularly against Montcourt on the junior circuit, said he was shocked by the news.
"This morning I woke up with one of the worst news anyone can receive," Nadal said on his Web site. "I heard about the death of our friend Mathieu Montcourt. I am still under shock for this. I can't believe it."
Recalling their junior days, the 23-year-old Nadal added: "I knew Mathieu since we were kids. We competed together at all the events at an international level there is (when) you are a kid."
In May, Montcourt was handed a five-week ban and fined $12,000 for betting on other matches. That ban took effect Monday.
Montcourt complained during the French Open that the punishment was too harsh, saying that he never bet more than $3 at any time, and never on his own matches — a fact confirmed by the ATP which oversees the men's Tour.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport said Montcourt had wagered a total of $192 on 36 tennis events in 2005. It reduced his suspension on appeal from eight weeks to five.
The issue of betting in tennis drew increased attention from the sport's governing bodies after an online bookmaker voided all wagers on a 2007 match involving Nikolay Davydenko. About $7 million was bet — 10 times the usual amount for a similar-level match — and most of the money backed Davydenko's lower-ranked opponent.
Davydenko was cleared in September after a yearlong investigation
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BallerStatus Reports
Just as the release of their re-mastered deluxe re-issue of Ill Communication nears, the Beastie Boys have announced the release of yet another new album.
Via their appearance on last night's "Late Night With Jimmy Fallon," the veteran hip-hop trio revealed that the title of the upcoming, new album would be Hot Sauce Committee.
The upcoming release will be the Beastie's eighth album of all new original material, and is expected this fall. However, exact date will be announced soon.
In related news, an extremely limited vinyl 7" featuring Hot Sauce Committee hardcore punk rave-up "Lee Majors Come Again". An acapella version of the new album's "B Boys In The Cut" has been turning up golden ticket style in random copies of the recently released Check Your Head deluxe limited collectors vinyl edition. One copy was found selling for $105 on eBay -- $25 above the list price of the original Check Your Head package in which it was included!
The Ill Communication re-issue will hit stores on July 14, but preorders will begin at BeastieBoys.com beginning July 6.
Debuting at no. 1 upon its May 1994 release, Beastie Boys' fourth album would quickly an unstoppable force of nature, boasting chart-topping singles such as "Sabotage" and its legendary Spike Jonze/Nathanial Hornblower helmed music video, reminicint of '70s TV police dramas. The album was dubbed 1994's "soundtrack for summer" by Rolling Stone.
The album's highlights also include the opening "Sure Shot," the classic Jimmy Smith homage "Root Down", and the Q-Tip collaboration "Get It Together."
The B-Boys have also returned to the road this summer, beginning with a June 12 appearance at the Bonnaroo festival in Manchester, TN. The band will then headline the July 31 opening night of this year's All Points West festival at New Jersey's Liberty State Park, play August 2 at the Osheaga festival in Montreal and August 8 at Lollapalooza in Chicago, and round out the summer with a return to SF's Golden Gate Park, this time for an August 29 stand at the Outside Lands festival. Confirmed fall dates at present are a September 24 at the Hollywood Bowl and October 2 at the Austin City Limits festival.
For ticket info, visit BeastieBoys.comRead more…
XXL Reports
XXL Freshman alum Wale is scheduled to drop his debut album Attention: Deficit on September 22.
The disc will be released on Grammy-award-winning producer Mark Ronson’s Allido imprint via Interscope Records. Along with Ronson, the Washington, D.C. native has recruited a long list of heavyweights to provide the CD’s soundscape, including Sean C and LV, Dave Sitek of indie group TV on the Radio and Cool & Dre, who are responsible for Wale’s single “Chillin’” with Lady Gaga. Bun B, K’Naan, Marsha Ambrosius and Jazmine Sullivan were also drafted to share mic time with the rapper.
Yesterday (July 6) “Pretty Girls,” another cut from Attention Deficit, was leaked on the net.
Just last month Wale released his latest mixtape, Back to the Feature and held a listening session on his Twitter account (@Wale). The disc, which was offered for free online, included a laundry list of lyricists, such as Bun B, Beanie Sigel, Young Chris, Talib Kweli, Royce Da 5’9″, Joe Budden, Joell Ortiz, and Jean Grae.–Elan Mancini
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HipHopDX Reports
Super-groups are the Halley’s Comet of Hip-Hop: rarely are they seen, but when they are, witnesses can surely expect something special. Such is the same for the foursome known as Slaughterhouse. Comprised of Royce Da 5’9”, Joe Budden, Joell Ortiz and Crooked I, the group has had the Internet in a veritable Figure Four Leg-lock since their debut on Budden’s Halfway House. Royce spoke with HipHopDX last week about the group’s unexpected beginnings.
“I had no idea [Slaughterhouse would become like this],” said the Detroit emcee. “I had no idea. I wasn’t even looking in to the future like that…I made my priority to do [the original 'Slaughterhouse' song] because it was Joe [Budden], and then when he got Crooked [I] and [Joell] Ortiz and them, I said ‘Yo, I’ve got to do this.’ I was actually at the hospital [during the recording] because my wife had just went into labor with my daughter. I actually left the hospital, went to the studio and knocked it out real quick and came right back…when the song hit the 'net, it just put [it] in such a frenzy. Joey called me back and was like ‘Yo man, we need to keep doing songs.’ I was like ‘Shit, I’m with you.’ We just kept doing stuff and doing stuff and eventually, it just manifested itself [into a group].”
Yet Slaughterhouse is no average super-group. Where others failed to find success or a cohesive sound, Slaughterhouse most does. Royce says that their self-titled debut album, which is set for an August 11 release on E1 Music, will teach fans and critics alike to expect the unexpected.
“We’re going to give people an album, a real album, and that’s what I don’t think people think we’re capable of doing,” said Royce. “Often times in interviews, I get asked ‘Are you going to have hooks on the album,’ and to me, that’s the craziest fucking question I’ve ever heard in my life, because it’s like, ‘What album have you heard that doesn’t have hooks on it?’ We’re going to be doing some real songs, concepts, everything. There’s going to be times where we’ve got 'Onslaught'-type songs where we just go bar-for-bar, verses back-to-back. We’ve got a few of those. I think people are going to be surprised when they hear we can actually make songs…I think that’s what people expect [from super-groups]. They automatically put you in that box. I don’t necessarily look at it as a problem because I know the album that we have is going to get us out of that box. I feel like we’re honestly about to prove that this group can be big, not just an Internet group that can kick a bunch of fucking freestyles, an actual big group that you see plastered all over your television and all over everything.”
Royce discussed the group’s dynamic in the studio. He says that the group finds strength in the mixture of their individual artistic styles. In addition, "Nickel Nine" notes that working with the three other members affords him the opportunity to grow as a solo artist.
“I think [the mixing of our individual styles] is what makes the album so incredible,” he said. “I honestly think that this album is incredible, especially with the amount we had to do it in and how quickly we got it done. The way that we brought everything to the table…it’s really like Voltron. Like [when] one of the motherfuckers lying around by themselves, it’s cool. Once they all get together and form that big-ass monster, it’s unstoppable.”
He later added, “Every time I’m in the studio with [the rest of Slaughterhouse], I learn something new. I’ve always been like that. I’ve always been a sponge, no matter who I’m working with, [whether] that may be a producer or just an artist. You pick up different little techniques and shit like that because no two people work the same. I always try to pick up new shit from them and factor it into my own shit without biting their style.”
Slaughterhouse is not the only super-group hoping to find success this year, however. Groups like La Coka Nostra, Random Axe and the Undergods are planning to release their own projects in the coming months as well. Royce thinks that the recent rise in popularity of Hip Hop super-groups stems from a fan-base denied creative and original Rap over the past few years
“I think the fans are just ready for anything new and exciting,” noted the emcee. “Hip Hop was so fucked up a couple of years ago…it just seemed like people would just open and listen to anything. So I think that the true Hip Hop fans were ready to embrace anything that just felt like some real Hip Hop shit. And the concept of Slaughterhouse, all four of us were already embraced. Anytime a super-group was ever formed in the past, Hip Hop has always embraced it, but it was that actual group that always fucked it up and didn’t go through for whatever reason. But the fact that we’re done with the album, have a release date and are on the road together, we just proved it’s official.”
Yet Slaughterhouse isn’t the only project on which the Detroit emcee is working. Today, he plans to release a solo EP titled The Revival for digital download, while on September 22, he aims to unleash his long-awaited LP Street Hop on MIC/One Records/The Orchard. He explains the differences between working on his solo material and working in a group like Slaughterhouse.
“The Slaughterhouse album, I always like to say, is like four heads combined,” he described. “It doesn’t take a lot of thought. You’ve got four beautiful minds in the studio together. It doesn’t take a lot of time. All we’ve got to do is just go in there and do what we do best. Now when I’m dealing with my solo shit, it takes all of the thought that that I have in my one brain, so it automatically takes me more time. I don’t have the help of three other guys. So what you’re going to hear is like hearing A Tribe Called Quest album versus a Jay-Z album. We’re talking about two classic albums, totally different formats.”
Royce also spoke on the recent success of Detroit’s Hip Hop scene. He says that Detroit as a city has dramatically progressed over the past few years, and that now, its numerous artists have united together to represent their city to the fullest extent.
“Creatively, sky’s the limit,” said Royce. “We’re going to go straight up. Denaun Porter is the executive producer of my next album; Black Milk is in the Random Axe group, that should win. You’ve got Elzhi; Slum Village is still doing it. D12 is in the studio right now, I heard some new records [from them], they sound phenomenal. What [does Detroit] not have? Detroit is the shit right now. Everybody’s supporting each other; it’s just a beautiful feeling in my city right now…[it’s been a long time coming], because we haven’t always had this unity. There was one point where everybody was trying to blow each other’s heads off. I’m glad that we are where we are, because right now, it feels much better than when everybody had problems with everybody. There’s nothing like peace. There’s strength in numbers and we have those numbers, so I definitely think we’re going to go far.”
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}