50 Cent just dropped a street record from his upcoming Before I Self Destruct album called "OK, You're Right" on ThisIs50.com.
"When they talk about me, they say I be trippin'," 50 teases on the sing-songy chorus. "What they say about me doesn't make me mad/ I think they hatin' 'cause they see me when I'm rollin'/ Man, I can't help it if they really doin' bad."
The song was produced by Dr. Dre. A couple of weeks ago, the G-Unit General posted a vlog shot in a luxurious studio with Dre and others. The two have been crafting new tracks for Before I Self Destruct, which is due sometime this year.
50 said going back in with Dre caused him to shelve most of his existing material in favor of working on new music. "It's about 30 percent of what I had when I felt like I was finished," Fif explained. "The production, Dre made a lot more of the music that's on the actual album now. I rewrote some concepts."
Tony Yayo told MTV News the album should be a classic.
"50 got some crack," Tony Yayo said. "50 got some unexplainable records. He's just waiting. The thing with 50, the n---a is addicted to being a perfectionist. He'll wait. He's not like these other n---as that gotta rush to make a album. 50's got millions. The average artist is rushing an album because they want that advance money. They gotta pay their bills. Nah, that n---a's good. He won't put out anything until sh--'s right. You already know when he's this quiet, he's got a master plan. He's got something up his sleeve."
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MIRKO FILIPOVIC will return to the Octagon against Mustapha Al-Turk in June — before setting his sights on heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar.
The Croatian star battles promising British fighter Al-Turk at UFC 99 in Germany after a 21-month absence from the promotion.
Cro Cop was one of the most explosive strikers in mixed martial arts during his days in Pride, where he won the open weight Grand Prix in 2006.
He enjoyed victories over top-tier fighters including Wanderlei Silva, Josh Barnett and Kevin Randleman but his switch to the UFC saw him suffer a dip in form.
Cro Cop defeated Eddie Sanchez via TKO on his Octagon debut but his second fight in the cage saw him famously knocked out with a head kick by Gabriel Gonzaga.
He then lost a unanimous decision to Cheick Kongo at UFC 75 in September 2007, which appeared to be his last appearance for Dana White's company.
But spells in Japanese promotions Dream and Dynamite got him back to winning ways and he is now keen to re-establish himself as one of MMA's elite heavyweights.
Cro Cop said: "I decided to fight in the UFC again because of the stronger competition in the heavyweight division.
"My next opponent will be Al-Turk. I didn't do well in my first three appearances — I wasn't myself.
"By returning to the cage I want to prove I can still fight at the highest level, no matter when or where."
UFC 99 will be Cro Cop's first fight this year and he wants two further bouts before the end of 2009, with Lesnar among his targets.
He added: "It's hard to talk about concrete plans but I would really like to fight at least three times this year.
"I wish to fight against quality opponents and to fight my way up to a title shot.
"But for now, I'll focus only on my next fight and after that we'll see what's going to be next on the menu.
"I want to say thank you Mr White for your interest and the invitation back to the UFC.
"I owe you a lot from our first deal and I'll make it up to you."
Source : The Sun UK
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Two pillars of cult-followed independent Hip Hop are crossing paths. It was announced this morning that Sacramento Hip Hop veteran Brotha Lynch Hung is signing to Kansas City seven-figure sales titan, Tech N9ne's Strange Music.
The signing reportedly happened through Strange Music VP Dave Weiner, the same man who united Master P with Priority Records in the early '90s. "There’s an incredible synergy,” stated Weiner. “Every Tech fan knows that verse [“My World”] and is wondering what’s going on with Lynch.”
Brotha Lynch Hung found success in the early '90s with the controversial Black Market imprint. Distributed through Priority Records, the rapper has often been described as "horror-core," due to his frequent references to murder, cannibalism, and violence. Rappers including Snoop Dogg and Tech N9ne have all cited Lynch as major influences.
He is at work on Dinner And A Movie, his next album. Recently, Strange Music released Tech N9ne's Sickology 101: The Study Of Being Sick, which debuted in the Top 20 of Soundscan.
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The man shot at the Beverly Center mall this afternoon was identified as Atlanta-based Dolla, whose real name is Roderick Anthony Burton II, according to his publicist, Sue Vannasing. She said Dolla was shot in the head around 3:10 p.m. while he and another rapper, D.J. Shabbazz, waited in the area after shopping at the popular Westside mall. A friend who was with the rapper at Beverly Center also confirmed his identity to The Times.
About two hours later, Los Angeles police detained a “person of interest” as he attempted to board a plane out of Los Angeles International Airport. The man allegedly drove his silver Mercedes SUV from Beverly Center to the airport. Vannasing said Dolla had gotten into an altercation with other passengers on a flight from Atlanta to Los Angeles, but it's unclear if that was related to the violence.]
[Updated at 5:15 p.m.: Police have arrested one "person of interest" in connection with the shooting but were looking for a second suspect.]
[Updated at 5:40 p.m.: The arrested suspect, who fled from the mall in a silver Mercedes, was detained at Los Angeles International Airport while trying to board a flight. Police said the shooting took place in the valet waiting area of the mall].
The shooting occurred just after 3 p.m. at the La Cienega Boulevard entrance to the popular Westside shopping center. All entrances and exits to the popular Westside shopping mall were sealed off as police swarmed the scene.
LAPD officials said that officers were sent to the mall on a report of a group fight, possibly involving a knife. LAPD Sgt. Ronnie Crump said two suspects ran in the direction of Beverly Hills.
At a Chipotle restaurant in the mall, several people were eating when the shots rang out.
“The customers were yelling 'close the store, close the store, because somebody is shooting,' ” said Elsa Hernandez, general manager of the restaurant.
An employee who was behind the restaurant, near the mall’s valet parking service, saw the tail end of the dispute, Hernandez said. “He saw a lady ... shooting a handgun,” Hernandez said.
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Are Eminem and 50 Cent touring together this summer? For now, fans can only hope — MTV News' requests to label reps for comment had not been answered at press time — but according to G-Unit member Lloyd Banks, there's been preliminary talk about possibly ramping up the Anger Management Tour again.
"I'm in and out the office, and there's conversations," Banks told MTV News recently. "I'm just as excited as the fans are. The first Anger Management Tour, I wasn't a part of."
Banks said that if Em and 50 do go out, he'll definitely be on the show with the rest of G-Unit.
Eminem was recently a guest on BBC's "Friday Night With Jonathan Ross," and he told the host that he hasn't solidified his touring plans yet.
"As far as touring, I haven't got that far to really figure it out yet. I haven't got that part," he said. "I'm kinda in album cycle right now and promoting. But we'll see how it goes."
Em has been back onstage in promotion of his new LP, Relapse, which officially drops Tuesday. He performed on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" on Friday, will rock the Kimmel stage again this week, and he announced a special free MySpace concert in Detroit on Tuesday night.
Em's new DJ, acclaimed producer the Alchemist, told Mixtape Daily that he really gets a charge out of seeing Em do the Relapse record "Underground."
"When I first heard [Relapse], that was the song I said, 'This is gonna shut mutha----ers up.' Straight up. It would not be an issue," Al said. "Nobody would be like, 'I didn't like this, I didn't like the flow.' ... When we perform that song, Em takes a spot on the stage, and that's it. He picks a spot and dumbs out. There's not a lot of moving.
"When we're rehearing the song, you know, 'This is gonna be something crazy.' He says, 'Turn the lights down,' they put the spotlight on Em, and it's just snap rap. In the current day and age, you don't hear songs like that. It doesn't seem like any of that other sh-- going on in the world or in the music industry was going on in his mind when he [made the song]. He was strictly into the craft. I don't think anybody is f---ing with that."
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It’s an average Saturday in downtown Los Angeles: The streets are clogged with one-way traffic. Shopkeepers sweep their storefronts and beckon passersby with deals on cheap gold watches and wholesale denim. Pedestrians zigzag across the sidewalks to avoid the gaze of hustlers, the bark of street-corner evangelists and the stop-go swarm of bargain shoppers. Past the historic core and into the industrial district, a crowd of guys in hoodies and women in skin-tight dresses and even skinnier jeans has been waiting to get into an unmarked club in an alleyway off Seventh and Alameda for more than an hour. Impatience ripples through the line; forget that it’s 4 in the afternoon — they really want to get into this club.
Some of the more aggressive women try pushing their way to the front of the line, making desperate calls on their cell phones as they cram against the metal barricade, trying to get the attention of the completely unimpressed bouncer guarding the entrance. Their maneuvers are interrupted as a black Town Car pulls up to the entrance. The car doors open and slam shut as Chris “Cage” Palko, Shia LaBeouf and F. Sean Martin are hurried through the mob and toward the club entrance. Heads turn, jaws drop, the VIPs are quickly ushered inside and the door closes behind the crowd.
“Cut!” a man shouts. “Back to one! This time I don’t want anyone on their cell phones.”
The crowd disperses, wardrobe and set decorators quickly move in, and Cage, LaBeouf and Martin stumble out of the building, laughing.
Fliers and newspapers stenciled with Weathermen logos plaster the dingy, brown-stained exterior of the makeshift club, and the intoxicating scent of spray paint and glue hangs thick in the afternoon air. The alleyway borders the American Apparel warehouse parking lot and is the second location on day one of the “I Never Knew You” music-video shoot, the first single off rapper Cage’s upcoming album, Depart From Me, and the directorial debut for actor LaBeouf.
On set is a who’s who of Cardboard City — a collective of artists, actors and musicians, including some of hip-hop label Definitive Jux’s finest. Besides Cage and LaBeouf, there are El-P, Aesop Rock, Yak Ballz, Chauncey, F. Sean Martin and Alex Pardee, who have all turned out to support their friends, and all of whom have cameos in the video. Inside jokes run high among the tight-knit group. Aesop glances up at the American Apparel building, laughing that he only made the trek down from San Francisco for free underwear.
Cage stands, hands in pockets, intently examining the scene on the playback monitor with LaBeouf, while the video’s other lead actors, Scarlett Kapella and Dan Byrd, relax in a trailer.
Off camera, I stand with Def Jux label head El-P, who shares his opinion of Cage’s video concept: “It’s a loneliness motif ... someone projecting beauty and life-saving attributes onto a girl that he doesn’t know. He follows her as though she’s headed somewhere that’s better than his life. That’s kind of what the song is about, the idea that there is some sort of saving grace in a stranger, the twisted perspective of thinking that someone you don’t even know was put there as destiny for you, to save you and draw you out of your miserable life. Cage is an observer to the story.”
Back at the monitor, LaBeouf takes off his baseball hat, flips it with the hand that’s not in a cast (the result of extensive hand surgery the actor has undergone since his July 2008 car accident), and jogs over to hug his mother, who has arrived on set.
“The whole [narrative] is being imagined as I’m performing in the club, so this is all in my head,” Cage explains. “The idea of the song is you’re sitting on a curb, you’re bummed out and suddenly the girl of your dreams walks around the corner and completely changes your life. You’re so taken by this woman, you just start following her. It’s obsession.”
Cage says that there were a lot of potential singles on the record, but they went with “the more powerful song rather than the catchiest one. It’s interesting to throw an emotional curve ball at everyone. There’s a really sad vibe, and there’s also a really angry vibe.”
In person, Cage is reserved, shy even, though there is a flicker of madness behind his eyes, a wisdom acquired from years spent overcoming physical abuse, drug use and the psychological turmoil that inevitably followed, chillingly explored in his previous two albums, Movies for the Blind and Hell’s Winter.
“When I’m writing a song I go into a weird depression cocoon, and when I come out I’m not a beautiful butterfly; I come out a fucked-up, tattered moth,” he continues, half-smiling. “But I desperately want to not feel this way, so I put it all out there. I want to play shows. I want to throw tantrums onstage and just let it all out, hence the title of the album, Depart From Me.”
I mention how Pitchfork Media leaked “I Never Knew You” in February, ahead of its scheduled release. Cage pauses and smirks, “Saboteurs. Whenever something like that happens, I think sabotage.” He holds my gaze, squinting against the sun. Trust is important with Cage, and having his closest collaborators as his closest friends certainly helps. He explains how LaBeouf came to direct this video, the beginning of a bigger partnership that will result in a feature film about Cage’s life, starring the young actor.
Todd Westphal
Cage performs "I Never Knew You" during the club scene.
Todd Westphal
Shia LaBeouf and Cage enjoy a moment off set.
“When I’m collaborating with someone, there’s a lot of trust involved. [It’s that way] with Shia.... The thing with Shia started off business, and then a friendship developed from it. He followed me around on tour with a camera in 2005, which is interesting because he’d never be able to do that again now, you know? He filmed a documentary on me to get the movie going, to get his team behind what he was trying to do and educate them on the story.”
Cage recalls how LaBeouf would often wake him from a dead sleep to further his character study and gather background information for the upcoming biopic. “I’d get phone calls at 4 in the morning and Shia would be, like, ‘Did I wake you up?’ I’d say, ‘Oh, yeah, but it’s cool,’ and he’d go, ‘All right, tell me about your dad,’ the things people usually don’t talk about. With me and Shia becoming closer ... I took my guard down. Anything he wanted to know, I went there.”
LaBeouf showed his Cardboard City colors in 2007 when he threw up the crew’s CC hand sign during his first Saturday Night Live hosting gig. Seemingly overnight, everyone wanted to know more about Cage and LaBeouf’s friendship and the status of the biopic.
At first glance, LaBeouf and Cage seem unlikely friends — the New York–based indie rapper and the Echo Park–raised child actor turned Hollywood star and tabloid target. The trust factor Cage emphasizes is also important for LaBeouf, and there is a protectiveness between them that reveals two friends who both know what it is like to live under media scrutiny.
“So,” LaBeouf says to me when we meet at the video wrap party at West Hollywood’s Bar Lubitsch, “are you going to be good to my boy?”
I attempt to properly introduce myself before he cuts me off.
“I know who you are,” he says all matter-of-fact as we sit over cocktails on the bar’s smoking patio, overgrown with ivy.
With the “I Never Knew You” shoot finished, I ask LaBeouf how he’s feeling. Suddenly, the new director’s wildcard enthusiasm for his venture with Cage emerges.
“I’m 22 and I’m directing my favorite rapper’s music video,” LaBeouf says excitedly. “This shit is better than riding unicorns.”
The video for “I Never Knew You” premieres May 18 on MTV2. Depart From Me will be released on July 7 on Definitive Jux.
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