A recently released unauthorized album featuring Canadian rapper Drake will be the focus of a new lawsuit the entertainer plans to file.
Drake is planning a lawsuit against Canadian Money Entertainment over the release, titled The Girls Love Drake.
The unauthorized album, which was released May 28 by Canadian Money, includes songs from Drake's mixtape, So Far Gone, as well as other tracks.
It was distributed by the Independent Online Distribution Alliance (IODA) on iTunes, Rhapsody and Amazon.
According to Drake’s manager, Al Branch, Drake or his affiliated label Young Money is associated with the album.
Currently, the rapper is at the center of a major bidding war between three major record labels.
At the heart of the suit are uncleared samples for So Far Gone and two other mixtapes.
Drake’s camp has gone on record saying it did not authorize The Girls Love Drake.
A chief concern for Branch involves Young Money or October's Own, Drake's label, potentially being sued because the mixtape samples have not been legally cleared for use.
Artists sampled for the mixtapes include rapper David Banner as well as singers Goapele and Colin Munroe.
Source:Allhiphop
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Although his Blueprint 3 album is not due until later this year, he's still a power player, according to The Source magazine's annual "Power 30" list.
The long-running hip-hop magazine will land atop their annual list this year, when the magazine drops its new issue later this month.
He's the frontrunner, said the mag, because he's an industry leader and a top businessman, boasting a portfolio that includes ventures with Live Nation, Rocawear, and a small stake ownership -- along with a group of investors -- in the NBA franchise, the New Jersey Nets.
Other names on the list include Lil Wayne, Diddy, 50 Cent, Snoop Dogg, Kimora Lee Simmons, and T-Pain, among others.
Barack Obama (because of his influence on the new hip-hop generation) and the Black Eyed Peas' Will.i.an are also named as "Power 30" honorees.
"The Black Eyed Peas is like one of the biggest groups on the planet. We go out to Brazil, you know, a million, two hundred thousand people is at our concert," Will explained to the mag.
The "Power 30" issue features a coverstory from T.I. and his Grand Hustle crew, and what the rapper's hustle will be post-incarceration.
The issue hits newsstand June 16th.
Source:Ballerstatus
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Myspace Diva Tila Tequila is issuing a grindoff challenge. The star of MTV's 'A Shot Of Love' throws down in this video in response to Spectacular of Pretty Ricky recent gay err I mean dance challenge. Tila is looking damn good ya heard ?
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One of Lady Gaga's early supporters was Akon. Not only did he sign the reigning disco queen to his record label, Kon Live Distribution, but he has also lent his vocal talents to her breakout hit "Just Dance."
And now that Gaga is a household name, he couldn't be happier to see her ruling charts and dance floors throughout the world. "She's incredible," he told MTV News. "That's my franchise player at the moment. Gaga's been so incredible."
Akon says Gaga's rocket launch to fame is due to her industrious work ethic, and he thinks that every one of her hits is well-deserved. "At this point, she deserves every bit [of fame]," he said of the singer, who herself credits the gay community for helping make her successful. "If anybody went through grassroots, it was Gaga."
While the mainstream has been discovering Gaga via radio play and her appearances on "Dancing With the Stars" and "American Idol," the hip-hop community has also been tuning in, especially after Kanye West reimagined her song "Poker Face."
"I think she's a magnate to the industry in general," he said about Gaga's being embraced by the hip-hop world. "She's brave. She's fresh. She's different. She's bold. She don't give a damn. You gotta take her as she is. That's the beauty of it. You're forced to like her the way she is without no extra stuff added."
And it's her no-nonsense attitude that makes Akon love her so much. "She's like a sister to me," he said. "That's like my girl. She's right here, in a headlock!"
Source;MTV.COM
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A really big rap tour is exactly what the game needs right now. A rep for Soulja Boy Tell'em told MTV News that the rapper will be joining Lil Wayne on tour this summer, along with Young Jeezy and Wayne's fast-rising protégé Drake. Sources in Wayne's camp told MTV News they are confident that a tour with at least some of the four players will happen.
In May, Drake told MuchMusic about a similar tour that, at the time, was supposed to include Jay-Z.
"God willing, if everything goes according to plan and everybody's schedule is in place, then I will be on tour with some amazing people," Drake said. "One of them being Jay-Z, one of them being Lil Wayne, one of them being Young Jeezy and one of them being me."
Jay has lined up a tour this summer, with Ciara opening up some dates, that kicks off in Las Vegas on July 3.
Thursday night from the Los Angeles Lakers game, Soulja Boy Tell'em announced the tour on Twitter.
"TSA (Twitter Service Announcement) — I'm going on Tour with Lil Wayne, Young Jeezy & Drake this summer! Get ya tickets ASAP!!!!" he Tweeted.
Dates for the tour are still being locked down.
Drake has been working on Rihanna's next album as well as his proper debut album. Soulja Boy has been in the lab recording, as has Young Jeezy. Wayne told us on Sunday that his long-awaited Rebirth album is done. It's now scheduled for an August 18 release, although a new single has not been announced.
"I wanted to grow, and show my growth as well," Wayne said after the MTV Movie Awards. "It's a difference from when you go in a room and come out and you're better and everyone says, 'How did you do that?' So with this album, I wanted everyone to see my growing pains."
Wayne recently wrapped up his I Am Music Tour with T-Pain, Gym Class Heroes, Gorilla Zoe, Keyshia Cole and others.
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Here's some photos we spotted on Bossip from a recent performance at the WaMu Theater in New York City, where she and her dancer simulate sex right on stage. As you can see, her dancer gets to touch it from the back, spank her, and even get the spread eagle view.
All we can say is wow. It definitely doesn't look like a show for kids. Her performance is a part of her set on Keyshia Cole's A Different Me Tour featuring Keri, and Bobby Valentino.
You can see how the performance went down in the clip below, at around 2:05 minute in:
Source : BallerStatus.com
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A few Tuesday’s ago (May, 19th to be exact) we saw album releases from Busta Rhymes, Method Man & Redman, & of course, Eminem. This was so far the biggest release date of 2009. All three acts that I mentioned are veterans in the game and well respected by their peers. Another thing they have in common: They’re all over the age of 30. If you think about it, most of Hip-Hop’s elite are over the age of 30. I guess it’s no longer a young man’s game. So I was thinking, since you see a lot of lists with titles such as “25 Hottest Celebs Under 25” or “40 Richest Under 40”, why not The Best 30 Rappers Over 30? But for this list, we got set some ground rules. #1 of course is the most obvious; you gotta be over the age of 30 (That throws out people like Weezy, Lupe, Drake, & T.I.). #2, you have to be 30 as of this list (Both The Game & Joe Budden will be 30 this year, but aren’t as of yet). #3, you got to be active and releasing records with new material that relevant (Rakim & Big Daddy Kane are legends but they don’t make this list). Other than that, the only requirement is being 3-0 or older. So, here’s it: The Best 30 Rappers Over 30 (Ordered from oldest to youngest). 30 is the new 20! Did I forget anybody?
Ice Cube (June 15, 1969) - 39
Jay-Z (December 4, 1969) - 39
Raekwon (January 12, 1970) – 39
Q-Tip (April 10, 1970) - 39
Redman (April 17, 1970) - 39
Ghostface Killah (May 9, 1970) - 39
Fat Joe (August 19, 1970) - 38
Scarface (November 9, 1970) - 38
DMX (December 18, 1970) - 38
Method Man (April 1, 1971) - 38
Snoop Dogg (October 20, 1971) – 37
Common (March 13, 1972) - 37
Busta Rhymes (May 20, 1972) - 37
Black Thought (October 3, 1972) - 36
Eminem (October 17, 1972) - 36
Bun B (March 19, 1973) - 36
Nas (September 14, 1973) - 35
Mos Def (December 11, 1973) - 35
Andre 3000 (May 27, 1974) - 35
Styles P (November 28, 1974) - 34
Big Boi (February 1, 1975) - 34
Jadakiss (May 27, 1975) - 34
50 Cent (July 6, 1975) - 33
Talib Kweli (October 3, 1975) - 33
Rick Ross (January 28, 1976) - 33
Cam’ron (February 4, 1976) - 33
Kanye West (June 8, 1977) - 31
Ludacris (September 11, 1977) - 31
Young Jeezy (October 12, 1977)- 31
Fabolous (November 18, 1977) - 31
Source:NappyAfro.com
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A sultry interloper has ousted Oprah Winfrey from the top spot on the Forbes list of the celebrities with the most juice.
Angelina Jolie, who placed third last year, dethroned the media maven despite the fact that Oprah was once again the highest earner on the list.
Neither lady, however, made the cover. That honor went to Beyonce Knowles, who finished in fourth place behind a resurgent Madonna.
"Beyonce is the perfect example of how to succeed in the business of being a celebrity," Forbes Senior Editor Matthew Miller said.
"She became famous singing, and now is maximizing her earnings by singing, writing songs, endorsing products, selling clothes and staring in movies."
Both Winfrey ($275 million) and Madonna ($100 million) made way more more than Jolie ($27 million) in the last 12 months, but the Forbes' celebrity power ranking is also based on exposure.
Jolie garners loads of that as one of Hollywood's leading ladies - and as the better half of Tinsel Town's hottest couple.
Her squeeze is Brad Pitt, who was number 9 on the list, right behind Jennifer Aniston, the actress he dumped for Jolie
Source: New York Daily News
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HAWAIIAN GARDENS - Among the 147 Hawaiian Gardens gang members and associates named in five separate federal indictments, some 49 remained at large Friday, authorities confirmed.
The search, however, will continue, federal and local authorities vowed.
"Operation Knockout has led to federal indictments against 147 gang members, making it the largest gang sweep in U.S. history," United States Attorney Thomas P. O'Brien said Thursday when the indictments were unsealed and the results of the pre-dawn raid were shared with media.
During Thursday's operation, a total of 88 defendants were arrested on federal and state charges. Of the 88 arrests, 63 were identified in one of five federal indictments.
With 35 defendants already in custody, there are now 98 people ready to be prosecuted in federal court and, if convicted, who will serve at least 85percent of their terms scattered among 118 federal facilities across the country, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
The remaining 49 defendants named in the federal indictments are either fugitives being sought by authorities or individuals who investigators are working to identify and additional arrests are expected in this case, said Thom Mrozek, spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office.
Some of those being sought are
believed to be in the area while others are suspected to be out of state and out of the country, authorities said.
The indictments and subsequent roundup in Hawaiian Gardens - which included 1,400 law enforcement members from federal, state and local jurisdictions - were the culmination of almost four years of investigation into the tiny town's oldest and most notorious gang, authorities said.
Varrio Hawaiian Gardens waged a racist campaign to eliminate black people from the community through attempted murders and other crimes, according to the federal racketeering indictments unsealed Thursday.
The indictments detailed numerous alleged incidents, including a charge that George Manuel Flores, the lead defendant in the RICO indictment and a longtime member of the gang, allegedly ordered the murder of another gang member who was believed to be cooperating with law enforcement.
Flores also allegedly provided a young gang member with a weapon and instructed him to shoot African-Americans who lived nearby, according to the main indictment.
Included in the gang's plotting was the murder of Los Angeles County Sheriff's Deputy Jerry Ortiz, who was shot in the head in June 2005 by a VHG member while Ortiz was investigating the attempted murder of a black man in the city, O'Brien said Thursday.
It was the cowardly slaughter of Ortiz - a newlywed and father of two sons - that prompted investigators from the L.A. County Sheriff's Department to the FBI to launch "Operation Knockout," O'Brien said.
Gang experts and investigators testified at length about the local gang's efforts to remove all black residents from the community during the 2007 trial for the killing of Deputy Ortiz.
Convicted killer Jose Luis Orozco was found guilty of Ortiz's murder in the 2007 trial.
Ortiz had been investigating the attempted murder of a black man by Orozco when Orozco shot the deputy while hiding behind a door.
The victim, who was hired to do some yard work and fix up a vacant rental property, was targeted by Orozco simply because of his race and because he was in Hawaiian Gardens, witnesses testified.
Orozco is awaiting execution on death row.
Source:presstelegram.com
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