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BET keeps their weekly Backroom freestyles going. The latest emcee to hit the booth was Saigon a.k.a. The Yardfather. Backed by Scram Jones on the turntables, Sai gives listeners some food for thought.

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Ryan Leslie made a pit stop by The Breakfast Club this morning to talk with Charlamagne Tha God, Angela Yee and DJ Envy.

The producer/singer/rapper discussed his upcoming album titled Black Mozart, losing a $1.2 million dollar judgement to a man who returned his stolen laptop that was stolen in Cologne, Germany in 2010, denies crying on stage because of the judgement, being a Harvard graduate, losing Cassie to Diddy, upcoming tour and more.

nterview With Ryan Leslie At The Breakfast Club Power 105.1 [Part 1]

Interview With Ryan Leslie At The Breakfast Club Power 105.1 [Part 2]

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A$AP Rocky has proven to be a great investment for Sony, RCA Records and Polo Grounds Music. The Harlem rapper's debut album Long.Live.A$AP made a strong impact on the Billboard charts when it took the No. 1 spot with sales of 139,000 in it's opening week.

The album received a strong push from the single "Fuckin' Problems" featuring 2 Chainz, Drake and Kendrick Lamar.

That single is now platinum with sales of over 1 million according to HHNM.

Congrats to Rocky.

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Ace Hood dropped by Hot 97 to chop it up with Funkmaster Flex. Ace spit a couple of freestyles while in the studio to Drake's "Started From the Bottom" and Nas' "Hate Me Now."

Ace Hood Freestyles on Funk Flex Pt.1

Ace Hood Freestyles on Funk Flex Pt.2

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Lil Scrappy affiliate Rolls Royce Rizzy teams up with Jamaal Davis for a new heater "Over Thinking." The Count Justice-produced track is the latest leak off of Rolls' upcoming mixtape titled Private Club.

As 50 Cent gears up to release his Street King Immortal album, the Southside Jamaica Queens native is still proving that his hunger for the game is as strong now as when he started his career.

Last night the G-Unit boss took to Twitter to declare himself a top 5 dead or alive rapper. Placing himself alongside greats such as Tupac Shakur and The Notorious B.I.G. Given all that he's accomplished it would be hard to argue against 50's statement.

The "My Life" rapper also said he would write a new song last night and release it today.

I'm sure Fif's fans are looking forward to hearing a new banger from him. All of his latest releases have been dead right.

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Justin Timberlake will be releasing his highly anticipated new album The 20/20 Experience on March 19. Last night the singer unveiled the tracklist and Tom Munro-shot cover.

The 10-song project is being led by the Jay-Z assisted single "Suit & Tie" is being entirely produced by Timbaland

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Coco and Ice-T might need some serious marriage counseling if they are to remain together because AP.9 is putting Coco on blast.

Pics of AP.9 and Coco hugged up together emerged in December. Coco denied the two did anything other than take pictures, but according to the Mob Figaz rapper it went much further than that.

“I first met Coco at Surerender nightclub in Las Vegas,” AP.9 tells Star magazine. “She invited me back to her table; I had a couple of drinks; we exchanged numbers. I could tell we had a physical attraction. She asked me, ‘What are you doing after the club?’ I said, ‘I’m probably just going to get a room and stay right here.’ She said, ‘Well, I’m going with you.”

AP goes on to further claim that he blew the reality star's back out without wearing a condom.

“We had sex,” AP.9 says. “I don’t know who made the first move. It wasn’t making love; it was just sex. We had sex unprotected. I really hope she isn’t pregnant!”

Damn, this is getting crazy.

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Joe Budden is making the rounds while out promoting his new album, No Love Lost. The Slaughterhouse emcee recently sat down with Tampa's DJ Elkin to talk about the album, his decision to leave Def Jam, how social networking has helped his brand, drug addiction and Love and Hip Hop New York.

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Has Kanye West bowed down after a diss record was released criticizing the way he dresses? According to Gawker, Getty Images has confirmed that they were instructed to remove all photos of West from his 12-12-12 benefit show.

Kanye's performance was mostly overlooked that day because the majority of the talk after the show centered around him wearing a skirt while performing. Getty wouldn't give a reason why they were requested to take the pics down, but the timing is a bit odd.

Just two days ago veteran rapper Lord Jamar of Brand Nubian released a diss record aimed at West titled "Lift Your Skirt Up." (listen up top)

"Somebody mad at my hashtag.Black man lookin' half a fag/With a blazer and vest. I'm just amazed at the mess/Pioneer of this queer sh*t is Kanye West/He introduced the skinny jeans to the rap scene Then he wore a f*cking skirt on the video screen/Then he wore it again at a memorial. I can't pretend that this sh*t ain't deplorable/I bet this n*gga thinkin' he looking adorable.Your music's good but your ego is horrible," Jamar raps in the song.

Lord Jamar

Lord Jamar issued a statement to SOHH regarding his stance on the subject. In it he mentions Lil Wayne and A$AP Rocky along with West

My argument goes back to the skinny jeans. Everything comes together degree by degree. In order to implement something, you have to have one degree. A baby drinks milk before it goes on to solid foods.

 

The skinny jeans is what introduced that feminine style. When I was coming up, the girls rocked skin-tight jeans. That's what we liked. We liked looking at that. But later you would see some of the homosexuals in the hood rocking that kind of style, rocking the skinny-type jeans and they might have some flip-flops on, dragging their feet around.

 

We know those dudes in the hood and now that's what these dudes are doing but they think it's cool. I have a son that's 20 years-old and I've had this fight with him about the d*mn skinny jeans. "Nah, you don't understand Dad, that sh*t's not feminine." Yes it is. "The girls love it." I don't care what the girls love. If the girls love wearing make-up, is y'all gonna rock make-up?

 

Come on, man. Somewhere you've got to draw the line as a man. As a man, you're not going to be rocking dresses. [Lil Wayne at the VMA's show in leggings], that sh*t ain't cool too. I posted sh*t about that too. I posted sh*t like that. Check my timeline, I posted sh*t about A$AP Rocky with the dress, I did all that type of sh*t but it's because I put Kanye's name [in an Instagram post] that y'all are hitting me up. I don't give a f*ck because I don't pull no punches. It ain't nothing against Kanye, personally. I don't know dude. I never met him in my life. But stop introducing that bullsh*t. You were the first one introducing the skinny jeans and then the skirts and now what's the next thing? Pearls? Make-up? Handbags?

 

First of all, let me just say I'm not angry and I'm not bitter about anything. These are just my observations and you can choose to agree with me or not. None of this is being done maliciously and if anything, this is being done out of love because I love hip-hop, I love the culture, I love Black people and when I see certain things being introduced in a way that it's calculated, I have a problem with that. I have a problem. Especially when the youth is coming up and thinking it's cool because they're using certain individuals who have influence to try to implement whatever it is they want to implement.

 

I'm not with it. I'm not just going to go along with it, I'm not just going to sit back and then wait to speak on it. They'll put all these labels on you to make it sound like you're the one with the problem. I'm not the one with the problem.

 

I don't rock skirts. You're never going to see me in them. I don't rock my stuff as baggy as I used to but I'm not rocking skinny jeans.

We may never know why Kanye asked for the removal of the photos. There are plenty of pics of him in a skirt still on the internet. He wore one throughout his "Watch the Throne" tour with Jay-Z.

Do you think Lord Jamar's diss got to Kanye?

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Joe Budden releases the official music video for "She Don't Put It Down" featuring Tank, Lil Wayne and Fabolous. The song is the lead single off of Joe's new album, No Love Lost.

Directed by Eif Rivera.

50 Cent's Get Rich or Die Tryin' album just didn't impact fans. It resonated throughout the industry with his peers and artists that were young and looking to get into the business.

Complex's Joe LaPuma, Ernest Baker, David Drake, Lauren Nostro, and Insanul Ahmed talked to some of the artists the album impacted the most.

Pusha T

"At the time, we were both managed by Chris Lighty. And, man, it was at the height of his musical rise and his beef was just as high as his musical rise. [Laughs.] I remember having to go through back entrances and so on. I was at the Meadowlands and there was a shooting at the bus and all of that.  I remember it was crazy drama. But it was crazy drama nightly. Security was high because of the attempts at 50 and the whole G-Unit gang. It was serious.

"The tour, though, was so great because the energy from the fans was just amazing. 50 was the newest, hottest artist. All the stars had aligned for him. It was interesting to see him be in work mode, but have this type of beef going on. His beefs were really real, and he was really performing to the best of his ability every night. All of them were. And then it would be like high security lock down afterwards

.

"50 didn’t let it get to him at all—not that I saw. We weren’t talking about it, but I knew what the hell was going on because I knew the way in which I had to move in regards to the tour.

"I like 50 Cent. I've said it numerous times, G-Unit was my favorite label. And his mission—I still respect his mission and what he was doing to this day. I just like the fact that it was like, ‘Fuck everybody, it’s just about my crew.’ As you can see, when your fame started to get from outside of that motto, that’s when things started breaking down. I always respected 50 just because it was like, he saw it. It all reminds me of the streets. He handled his business in the crew in a sense of, it seemed like, street rules.

"If there’s a few crews getting money in the streets, for example. A lot of times, they don’t cross paths. And if they do, it’s a line that is totally drawn. It’s like, ‘Listen, I’m all about my crew, they all about their crew and that's just what it is.’ He had that same motto and that same mentality [with business]. I understood where he was coming from in wanting to keep his circle tight. When things started to get a little different and people started deviating from that motto, I believe that’s why things began to unravel.

"Get Rich or Die Tryin' was a classic album because, to me, musically, everything aligned. Even just as far as the times, the controversy, everything was just in line. It was a whole body of work. It wasn’t just a lyrical thing to me. And that’s usually what I’m about. Whereas I might have been like, ‘Damn, the lyrics weren’t the best on a particular song, but the hook was crazy. It married the beat well' and the lyrics weren’t bad, it just wasn’t my particular Jay-Z level of intricacy. And it made me have a whole other outlook, because I’m like, ‘Damn, I can love this and I can like this and I do see the greatness in it without it being what I strive for.’ 50 Cent made me look at music and writing differently."

Funkmaster Flex

"I remember being in the club and the vinyl was still popping then and you could play six or seven records off that album and send the club into a frenzy. "'What Up Gangsta,' 'Poor Lil Rich,' '21 Questions,' and of course 'In Da Club'." "P.I.M.P" was hard too, that was mean. 50 was in the zone. He was coming off hot mixtapes. That was kind of the first time an artist was riding and he brought his whole team with him.

"Usually an artist comes out, sells a little bit then brings out artists. He kind of had the artists next to him in the whole album. From the freestyles to mixtapes. I remember him, Yayo and Banks coming out and doing a freestyle on my show and they all kept yelling '50 could retire if he wanted to!'

"The freestyle was mean that night. That album was a combination of every part of the United States. He had Nate Dogg giving you that West Coast feel. 50 always had a little South in him to me. Queens was always represented. It was an amazing album. It was also a hard album for him to top, a hard album for a lot of people to top.

"'In Da Club' was so hard, man. I spoke to him or something and he eluded towards having a single and I didn't hear it but if you listen to that freestyle on my show, he does the hook to "In Da Club." He knew he had a smash. I remember in the club to tell a girl 'Go shawty, it's your birthday' was disrespectful. It wasn't cool, that wasn't nice. That was usually leading towards a woman being loose. The whole thing is we know it's not your birthday but we're saying it's your birthday just because you're on the dance floor acting silly. I thought that was funny and his verse was mean. That beat was so—that 'boom boom cha boom boom' was so crazy.

"I never go into the booth saying I'm going to play a record on the radio for an hour straight. I'll play it and then they'll be people in the station and I just get a vibe. Like you know when a record is doing good, it's this feeling. It's all on gut feeling, I never go in there saying I'm going to play it a bunch of times. I just heard it and was like this is hard. Sometimes I hear something through a computer and then I hear it through the big speakers in the big DJ booth. Sometimes it's a better feeling, sometimes it's a worse feeling.

"That record in particular I was like, 'This is cranking!' There was no stopping it after that. I probably did that whole playing a record an hour straight on the radio with a Dre record, a Jay-Z record, and 50's record. I think Cam'ron had called a few days later like, 'I was riding the highway up to Harlem, had that record on and then when I was riding back down you still had the record on.' All those records I mentioned off his album still crank in the club. It's a different energy, it's a 10-year later classic type of remembrance to it.

"When it used to be big years ago, it was like hearing mixtape cuts in the club. It went from there to now—it's like a classic movement and people like those records. The album represented a special artist. He's been through a lot. He got shot nine or 10 times, labels weren't signing him, he got dropped from Sony. He had to regroup—come back with mixtapes. He appeared that he was still persecuted, he was being blocked, he was beefing with Ja Rule and Irv Gotti. So he was kind of in trouble and then those mixtapes man, making those mixtapes over, having those little beefs here and there-that album was reflecting the voice of the current crown holder of the street. This was like getting a dope polished mixtape from a guy that was holding the street crown so it was a big deal."

Bun B

"I had met 50 probably about two years, maybe even three, before that. He was with Atlantic. I met him through Tone & Poke. Tone was a good friend of mine. 50 was originally with Tone back in those days. I had recorded with 50 prior to him getting stabbed and then shot. Seeing him come back through all of that to create a situation for himself doing the mixtapes, forming G-Unit, getting that crazy street buzz, signing with Eminem and Dr. Dre. All that stuff, it just seemed so larger than life at the time. Personally, I was just happy to see this guy persevere through everything. 50 was always a cocky guy. He always didn’t a damn what anybody thought about what he said and he just rode that out."

DJ Drama

"Every time All-Star comes around, it always reminds me of that February '03 when All-Star was in Atlanta and 50 Cent dropped his album. That was the soundtrack for the All-Star week. For that moment, it was crazy. The whole industry was in the city and 50 was made such a monumental album.

"At that point 'In Da Club' was already a smash, but you knew '21 Questions' was definitely a hit record. I started playing records in the club to get the feel for them and saw the reaction, I saw which records were gonna go. But out of all the songs on the album, I could say probably at least eight, maybe even 10 records, could all be played in the club.

"The South loved 50. Point blank, period, I think he was smart because he clearly embraced the South. Even before the album, he had done a record with UGK, he was cool with Juvenile and Ludacris, and he embraced Young Buck. More than anything, 50 had the nation on smash so the South was no different.

"Right before the album dropped, he came down here and did a party at this club called Level 3 on Peachtree Street. I guess the promoter had got him at the perfect time because it was pandemonium. This was when the club was still open crazy late and 50 didn't even come until 4 o'clock in the morning, but it was still packed. He used to open up his shows with that Jay-Z line, 'I'm about a dollar, what the fuck is 50 cents?' Then he'd drop the coin [and come on stage]. So you knew who was about to come on when you heard that.

"You know, what 50 did, what Kanye did, what Jay-Z did, what Drake did, what Jeezy did, those were those moments when it's just that one artist and he is hip-hop for that moment. Clearly when Get Rich or Die Tryin' came out there's no argument anywhere, about anything. It was Fif's world, period."

Juicy J

"I was a fan. I love Get Rich or Die Tryin’. That was one of my favorite albums. It’s a classic. I was really, really listening to that album. Then he had the G-Unit thing going on and Young Buck was a friend of mine. I been knowing Young Buck forever. So I was happy for Young Buck as well, because he’d been rapping so long and he finally got his big break in G-Unit. I think it’s a blessing for people coming from the street to do something that they love and actually make a living off it and feed their families and stuff. That’s very important. It’s important to work together."

Soulja Boy

"I was 12 years old. The first time I heard about 50 Cent was that 'Wanksta' video. I was still in the hood and shit. When 'Wanksta' came out, I was like, 'Who is this dude? Who is this new nigga?' And they was like, 'Man, he dissing on Ja Rule.'  

"'Wanksta' was aight. I thought it was okay. The video was hard. I thought he was gonna be a one-hit wonder. I was like, 'This just some new nigga with a video. Who is 50 Cent?' Then after that he came out with 'In Da Club,' then I seen 'In Da Club' come on TV and it was just over with. That nigga was my favorite rapper. I was like, 'God damn, this nigga got so much swag.' Then I got on the Internet and looked him up and shit. I ain’t never really have enough money to buy the album, to keep it real. I got his album from a nigga at school. I used to play football. We went on a trip to play football and dude had the Get Rich or Die Tryin’ CD on him. So shit, I just got it off him, he let me have it, and I just used to bump that shit like everyday. I remember my daddy had a copy in his car. 

"When I first met him, that was actually surreal. It was an unreal moment. That was tight. When we first started recording music together that was definitely a memorable time.

"One thing about 50, dude don’t never shut up. When we sit down, this nigga talk for an hour, two hours, however long you let him talk, that’s how long the nigga gonna talk to you. He got so many stories, and so many lessons, and so much shit he been through. I’ll sit down with him, we could be at a dinner or something, and that nigga just be rambling. It’s all up on you to listen, so I definitely be listening to him. He definitely gives some good advice, but he gives a lot of advice. If you cool with 50, anybody will tell you, that nigga talks a lot. Like, if he really fucks with you, he trying to give you some advice, that nigga goes on and on and on and on. He’s so smart, man, that shit crazy. I just try to soak up as much of it as I can. Anytime he sit down and tell me some shit, it ain’t never been wrong, it ain’t never no dumb shit. It’s always something smart like he know what the fuck he talking about. He a cool dude, man, for real. He know he one of the greats."

Prodigy

"It was a good time for Queens. 50 had just dropped. He was really heating up. It was just crazy. He was a friend of a friend, so it felt good to see him be successful like that and get his shine.

"They would play 'In Da Club' and I’d be blasting that shit in the car. I remember I had a Yukon Denali XL at that time, a white one, and I was living up in Rockland County and I remember being on the Palisades parkway at night and listening to Hot 97. I remember it exactly: First they played Ludacris’ song, then played 50’s song, back-to-back. And then they kept playing 50’s song. They would keep bringing it back.

"I was like, 'Yo, this nigga is out of here with this shit.' That was a good time back then, man. That was definitely a good time in hip-hop. For the South, for New York. I’m trying to think of any other market that was poppin’ at that time. I think it was just like Atlanta and Queens, to tell you the truth."

Freeway

"I'm a big 50 Cent fan, so I definitely supported it when the joint came out. I lived right across the street from a Tower Records, so I remember going in there and grabbing that album. 

"There was a lot of excitement around 50. We were always cool. He was on a mixtape tour so we were doing a bunch of shows together. I remember when his album came out and it did all them numbers, I called him like, 'Yo, your joint did a lot of numbers, it's gone be crazy.' He was like, 'Don't worry about it, your joint gon' do the same thing when it drop.' My joint was successful, it ain't do all the numbers that he did, but it was definitely still a classic. So it's all good. I seen him a couple times [after my album dropped] and he told me he loved the album. But I don't think he gave me a call when it dropped, he was still running around doing his thing.

"We ain't never talk about [how 50 would open his shows with Jay-Z's 'I'm about a dollar, what the fuck is 50 Cent.'] Jay was cool with 50 because of the Roc The Mic tour. 50 used to always come to the dressing room, fuck with Jay, they used to always be cool. I remember when 50 first got the Vitaminwater deal, he came in and told Jay like, 'Yeah man, I just did a deal with Vitaminwater. I'm about to get paid off this Vitaminwater.' He would always come in and fuck with Jay, so it was always love."

Tech N9Ne

"First thing I heard [of 50 Cent's] was 'How To Rob.' Then he got shot, so when I heard Get Rich, I could tell that bullet going through his cheek affected him. But he made that work for him just like Kanye made [his car crash] work for 'Through the Wire.' He made it sound good and I guess it gave him a little bit more swag.

"There were a lot of hits on that motherfucker. Everybody liked 'What Up Gangsta' because I come from a gang bang neighborhood. So he gave love to both sides. [Laughs.] 'Wanksta' was the hood jam. He had so many videos, he did the SWV thing where damn near every song was a single and had a video. It was a beautiful thing that he did.

"I remember being in the club and hearing 'In Da Club.' Everybody was talking about it before I heard it. Then I heard it in the club somewhere—I think I was down South or in Houston—and was like, 'Oh my fucking God.' I remember being in the middle of the dance floor. It was packed because everybody down South dances. I remember thinking he was so smart for saying, 'Go shorty. It's ya birthday,' because everybody can relate.

"I met a couple years ago for the first time. I went up to do a ThisIs50.com interview with Jack Thriller. 50 happened to be there. He came out of his office. I said, 'What's up brother?' He was real calm and saying how he loved the way we're doing business. I was flattered, coming from 50, because he's a businessman. In my eyes he's an MC, businessman, all that. So to hear another businessman to another say, I admire what you're doing, it's a big thing. I love to see what he's built. I think his Get Rich movie was top-notch. I think it's neck and neck with8 Mile. I think he did a wonderful job acting.

"He said to me, 'Tech, I bought Mike Tysons house off of one record, 'In Da Club.' He said, 'One song Tech.' Every since then, everyone keeps saying that to me, 'Tech, you're one song away.' Every time I hear 'In Da Club,' I think of 50 saying to me, 'I bought Mike Tysons house off of one song.'

"50 probably ain't gotta do shit no more [to make money]. To still see him doing music, it lets you know that that shit is inside you because he ain't gotta do it, ever again. To see him keep doing it, it lets me know that when I think about retiring, [I can't]. When I hear a dope beat it makes me want to fucking go. I can't stop. That's all I can think of when I see 50 still doing his thing. It must be in his blood, he don't wanna let it go. He ain't gotta do it, especially if he bought Mike Tysons house with one song."

Master P

"I was in New Orleans. I thought it was a great record. It was a street record, it was good, it had all elements, the beats, a top record. I really liked it. It was a good piece of work by 50. The club song ["In Da Club"] was the record for me, the one that got me. I was really mostly doing a lot of movies at the same time. Which was good because when you have good music, it gets you through whatever you're doing. We were definitely playing that album on the set."

Stic.Man of Dead Prez

50’s presence and his inspiration at that time was infectious, in terms of the culture, in terms of the community, in terms of the hood, in terms of hip-hop. Like him or not like him, 50 Cent has a master plan of marketing his brand and using his life to draw attention to what he was about.

"We all saw it right before our eyes. He was leading by example in terms of how he would flood the hood with songs. A lot of times people be so jealous of each other, we don’t give each other credit for what we teach each other in this game. Different people have been innovative businessmen as it relates to marketing and strategy, and everybody who’s part of this game benefits from it, but we often don’t give people the credit they deserve.

"For us, as Dead Prez, we was watching 50. We certainly might not have united with everything, content-wise, he was about. Some things we did. But we appreciated his go-getter, guerilla approach to making your dream happen. In terms of how he had the bootleggers flooded. All the Africans in New York had his tapes, to the point where we were influenced and our Turn Off the Radio mixtape, we benefited from some of his tactics and applying it to some of our own stuff.

"I salute 50 as a brilliant business person, even though politically he took some stances on things—like loving selling crack, and certain views he might have towards women—that we don’t necessarily agree with. But in the bigger scheme of things, I think he has shown by example the power of being on top of your business as an artist."

Havoc

"Even a year before [Get Rich came out], I did two records with 50 before he even was signed, and he was about to get signed to Dre and Em. Not too many people had heard of him yet, on a national scale. So when he blew up, I kinda knew that he was gonna be big.

It was crazy, because at that time, everybody was waiting for the next big thing, and when GRODT came out, that shit was like...I don’t know. It just gave you this sense of like: hip-hop is still alive type-shit.

 Son was from Queens. Hip-hop was still poppin. New York hip-hop was still thriving somewhat, a little bit. 


Every song on the album was dope. Wasn’t a song on there that I didn’t like. It made you feel good, because being from New York, you’d see how the New York scene was starting to wane, and for somebody to come out from New York and sell multiple platinum albums out the gate? It was one of those things that make you feel good to be from New York."

Fredo Santana

"My momma bought it for me. I couldn't get it because it was a parental advisory [CD]. I was going crazy, I was bad as hell listening to it. Shit, that was one of the best albums ever, you know?

"[I listened to] all of them. Every single [song]. But the main one was 'Heat.' I would listen to that first and then start it all over. [Raps in a slurred voice] 'The drama really means nothin' to me/I'll ride by and blow ya brains out/There's no time to cock it, no way to stop it, when niggas run up on you wit them thangs out,/I do what I gotta do I don't care if I get caught, the DA can...' I was in seventh grade, going into eighth, being bad as hell, listening to that shit."

Young Scooter

"It made me go harder in the streets. Really, it was just a street song—50 from the streets. Get Rich or Die Tryin', the title is so strong. It just made everybody go towards it. That's why he named his album that. I bought that CD a million times. It's a classic.

"'Wanksta, '21 Questions.' 'Many Men' just killed it. That's my favorite song. During that G-Unit era, that's all I was really listening to. They just had some good music at that time. He'd just talk big money and he'd be flexing. The way he raps just be flexin. He made himself who he is. Ain't nobody do it for him, you can tell from when he came in until now. That's a classic album. You're always going to listen to it, that's timeless music. I still use that, I just think I'm gonna Get Rich or Die Tryin' the rap game. I'm gonna drop songs every four weeks, I'm gonna do this, I'm gonna just keep music out there."

A$AP Ant

"I was 10 years old. People was talking about it. It’s crazy because niggas was so young, but we knew what he was saying. We knew who he was dissing. I remember. Everybody was on 50 Cent. I remember getting the bootleg from this crab spot by my old hood. I remember bumping that shit like, Damn, this nigga going hard at Ja Rule. This shit is crazy. Thing about it, I can understand what he’s saying. He didn’t have some complex rhymes or some lyrical 'pi equals the sky,' it was straight to the point lyrics. I remember the song “Back Down” was my favorite song from the album."

Young Chop

"[I heard that in] the car on 59th and May Street [in Chicago]. I was with my uncle, he had the CD. It was right after it came out—a couple days later. I liked 'Many Men.' That was the hardest song, I liked the beat—that beat [goes] hard. It's been so long, that was like 2003. I was little—maybe 10 or 11 years old."

Theophilus London

"50’s rollout was one of the most perfect rollouts in hip-hop. The first video, him introducing Buffy the Body in a Hummer. He had his own apparel. Reeboks and shit. That’s his first album, but it was more like he was a veteran. He knew what he was doing. It was real dope to see.

"It’s crazy that that’s 10 years ago. The sh*t has changed so much. If 50 dropped GRODT now, I don’t know if it’d be received the same way. He had a real story. I was into Fabolous, and Jadakiss, and battle rapping, watching Smack DVDs. But I can tell when I’m hearing those dudes rapping: It’s just for style. They’re trying to be entertainers. But when I heard 50 rap, I’m like, yeah, he actually did shoot that dude. He’s sounding mad gully on the record. That’s what I liked about him the most. Like, I actually believe this guy. I didn’t really believe Fabolous.Like, I know you didn’t shoot that dude 33 times like a Bird jersey or something like that.

"50’s sh*t was just realer."

Casey Veggies

"I was definitely a fan when it came out. 50 was destroying Ja Rule, and that was [my cousin's] favorite rapper at the time. So the fact that 50 came out and he was destroying his favorite rapper...The business plan around the album, you could tell, was all set up perfectly."

Eminem and Dr. Dre and Aftermath had it figured out when it came to hip-hop. It was a great visual, movie-type album for fans. That's why 50 Cent blew up so big off that. It was a great setup, great branding and at the end of the day, 50 Cent knew what fans liked and gave them just that."

Fore more head over to Complex

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It really doesn't seem like ten years have passed since 50 Cent released Get Rich or Die' Tryin. The album really is a timeless piece of work.

The album's artwork is also timeless and unforgettable. It automatically comes to mind when you hear a song from the project.

The cover was done by art director Julian Alexander. Alexander recently sat down with Egotripland to talk about designing the cover, the original concept for it and more.

How did you get involved in the Get Rich Or Die Tryin’ project?

Julian Alexander: At the time I was an art director at Sony Music and I had built a relationship with 50 because I was his art director for Power of the Dollar, which was his album for Columbia/Sony that never came out. So we had done a couple of singles for him, including “Your Life’s On The Line” and “Thug Love” (a song he had with Beyoncé) and “How To Rob” – which was his first record that got a lot of attention. We had already done a photo shoot together, we had a good rapport. And he felt like I could represent his music well visually. And we built this really strong relationship. He would come and just hang out in my office for hours and ask me questions about what I was doin’, whether it was for his project or not.

When 50 got shot [in 2000], he got dropped from the label shortly after. But he would still come up from time to time to visit me [at the office] after he was no longer signed to Columbia. And after he put out that 50 Cent Is The Future (2002) mixtape he came to see me and he was weighing his options of [which label] he was gonna sign [with]. But he told me that wherever he went, he wanted me to do his artwork. When he ended up signing with Interscope, I’m thinking, “Yo, this great.” [But] I didn’t hear from him immediately. A little bit of time passed and then we reconnected. I remember going to 50′s grandmother’s house in Queens. It was the same house [near] where he was shot in Southside Jamaica, Queens. We were talkin’ about what the album was gonna be. He had a two-way pager at the time and I remember him paging [Shady Records co-founder] Paul Rosenberg and saying’, “I want Julian Alexander to do my artwork.” When he sent that through my thoughts were “A-ight, this is official!”

A couple of days later I got the call from Nicole Frantz, the creative director of Interscope, to talk about budget and how to get things going. At the time I still had this full-time job, but I was lookin’ forward to continuing the working relationship we had. So for me it meant full-time work during the day [at Columbia/Sony] and then at night it was all about Get Rich Or Die Tryin’. That’s what I did when I came home from work.

Did you get to listen to the album before you started working on it?

Julian Alexander: When I went to 50′s grandmother’s house he played the entire album for me.

What was your initial impression?

Julian Alexander: It was fresh off the 50 Cent Is The Future mixtape – which you couldn’t go anywhere without hearing. It was huge. And this [Get Rich Or Die Tryin'] stuff really blew my mind the first time I heard it. When he played the record for me, it was me, 50, Yayo and I think [Lloyd] Banks was there for part of it. But Yayo would hype everything up! [laughs] He would tell me what I was about to hear before I heard it. So for instance when they played “Heat” for me – which has the sound of the cocking of the shotgun [incorporated throughout] the track – I remember Yayo telling me, “Dre had that beat for a while and there was nobody that rhymed to it in a way that satisfied him.” I would get these little pieces of the story [of the recording process] that would just lead into [each song]. Sonically it was very different from what was goin’ on at the time. The only record I remember not liking – or that I liked the least, which is a better way of puttin’ it – was “P.I.M.P.”

Too breezy for you?

Julian Alexander: Yeah, it was. [laughs] That’s exactly what it was. It was less gritty than the rest of [the album]. Sonically it was less gritty, subject wise it was a gritty record. But everything [else] I heard I felt told the complete story. The title said something, there was this perspective.

50 already had the title of the album in mind when you previewed it?

Julian Alexander: He had the title of the album already. And he had very clear ideas what he wanted the cover of the album to look like.

What was his original vision for the cover?

Julian Alexander: He wanted to have shattered glass. And I kind of envisioned it as a doorway — a shattered full glass door. And what you would see was a bullet hole in the glass and you would see his hand leaning on the glass. His posture would be kind of kneeling over – like he’s leaning on the glass for support. So you’d see this bullet hole, a shattered glass with a hand on it and there was gonna be blood drippin’ down from his hand. You wouldn’t see his face, but you would see a slumped figure and blood on the hand. You would read that this person had been shot, but they’re still standing.

Not to underestimate Mr. Jackson – he’s obviously a smart guy, but that’s a super sophisticated image.

Julian Alexander: He’s a very sophisticated person in that way. It was a really powerful image.

So how did it change from that initial idea to what the Get Rich Or Die Tryin’ cover eventually ended up being?

Julian Alexander: Well, I went home and put together a creative brief based on what he wanted. [And I thought], how are we going to tell this whole story? I felt that [the original] cover [concept], while it’s very sophisticated, only represented the Die Tryin’ part of the title. It didn’t represent the Get Rich at all. So I thought “How are we gonna bring some sort of balance?”  I spoke to 50 and Nicole Frantz and suggested “Let’s keep the shattered glass, but let’s switch it up a little bit.”

As we built out the scenarios we kind of started to figure out how to make it work. We were movin’ a little bit away from the hand with the blood [imagery]. We discussed – along with [photographer] Sacha Waldman – why we should kind of modify that a little bit. And then on set we tweaked it.

What we ended up with for the album cover I feel represents [the fuller story]. He’s standing up, he’s standing strong behind that shattered glass. Almost as if he’s kind of bullet proof. Like he’s kind of bounced back. And when you look at the center of the bullet hole, you see [that he's wearing] this diamond cross. He’s got this Gucci holster on and diamond belt buckle. So to me that part represents Get Rich.

What do you remember about 50′s demeanor during the shoot?

Julian Alexander: I think he was just eager to do it. Physically before this album shoot, 50 was a bigger person. He wasn’t cut up. I remember the first time I saw him after he had been shot, he came to Sony and was like, “Yeah man, the dudes who shot me they put me on Super Slim Fast.” [laughs] He lifted up his shirt to show me how he had been workin’ out. Because he was just eager to get [his] body [in shape]. It was something he chose to do for himself, but he was eager to show it off. And he just envisioned [success] comin’ for him. And [this was part of how] he prepared himself for it. You always got the sense that this was a moment for him, y’know what I mean? And he was not lettin’ it pass.

To read the rest of the interview head over to Egotripland.

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Video After The Jump

As we continue to take a look back at 50 Cent's 2003 classic album Get Rich or Die Tryin', the G-Unit head honcho talks to MTV about the album's bonus tracks and how Eminem played a part in them making the album.

“Wanksta”
That joint—that’s it, that was the start. That’s when you hit the start button. I think of “8 Mile.”

 

“U Not Like Me”
[With] “U Not Like Me,” I didn’t even care for it to be on Get Rich or Die Tryin’, but Em loved it. That record had previously been on the mixtape, but he was just so into it that he said ‘you gotta put this record on there,’ so I put it on there.

 

“Life’s on the Line”
“You know when I did ‘Life’s on the Line?’ That was 1999, before I got shot. Em was in love with those records. [People] don’t realize, when I actually did the deal I didn’t say anything about Ja cause I didn’t want Em to feel like it brought a problem, and then he jumped the gun. Cause I looked at Em and he liked it so much, it almost felt like somebody was gonna come out from behind the car like it was 'Punk’d.' I didn’t wanna have him in the middle of my s---, but then Ja said something about Hailie and that was it. [Em] gave me the green light…so I just finished him.”

"Wanksta"

"Your Life's On The Line"

"U Not Like Me"

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Video After The Jump

T.I. continues to multi-task by maintaining a career as a rapper and actor as well as running his own label, Grand Hustle.

The Atlanta native is starring in a new comedy titled "Identity Thief" alongside Jason Bateman, Melissa McCarthy, John Cho, Morris Chestnut and Genesis Rodriguez.

Tip sat down with HipHollywood to talk about the film and revealed the identity of one person's identity he would like to steal.

"Hugh Hefner, he has a nice house. He has wonderful companions or roommates,' Tip joked.

"Identity Thief" opens nationwide this Friday.

Check out the trailer below.

T.I. wants to steal Hugh Hefner's identity






"Identity Thief" movie trailer

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Allen Iverson just caught another bad break when his Atlanta mansion was foreclosed on. TMZ is reporting that the former NBA All-Star defaulted on a $1.2 million mortgage which sent the $4.5 million home into foreclosure

A.I. briefly stopped foreclosure proceedings when he filed legal documents in December claiming that his ex-wife signed a mortgage she knew he couldn't afford to mess him over. A.I. says he never consented to the loan.

In the end A.I.'s bid to save his home failed and his bank bought the home yesterday for $2.5 million.

This news comes on the heels of A.I.'s ex-wife Tawanna Iverson being given custody of their five children after a nasty divorce battle.

A.I. was ordered by the court to not drink for the next 18 months, attend AA meetings and see a psychiatrist as conditions to see his children.

Check out pics of A.I.'s former crib below.

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Chris Brown's lawyer is striking back at the Los Angeles District Attorney's claims that his client lied about completing his court-mandated community service.

As we previously reported. the D.A. claims the singer and his mom, Joyce Hawkins, conspired to submit false information regarding Chris' community service work at the Tappahannock Children's Center in Virginia. Brown was supposed to complete 180 days of work as part of his probation for beating up Rihanna in 2009.

Brown submitted paperwork stating he had completed 202 days of work, but the D.A. isn't buying it and on Tuesday, Deputy District Attorney Mary A. Murray filed a motion in the California Superior Court alleging Brown fabricated the community service documents. She wants brown ordered to complete the work in L.A.

Brown's lawyer Mark Geragos is fighting back. Calling the D.A.'s accusations horsesh*t.

“The D.A’s office has apparently lost their minds and apparently they can’t read their own reports which clearly state he did the work,” Geragos told FOX411’s Pop Tarts column on Tuesday afternoon. “They are making scurrilous, libelous and defamatory claims against my client. They should be embarrassed. It is all so stupid. They (the Los Angeles D.A’s office) have indicated they will do anything to stop him from completing his court orders. The reason I say that they have lost their minds is that if a defense lawyer used these arguments that would be accused of being paranoid and schizophrenic,” he continued. “To believe them is to believe that six separate officers are in a conspiracy theory to help Chris Brown. They need to read their own interviews; they all saw him doing the work. The whole thing is horsesh*t. It’s really beneath their dignity,”




Meanwhile, Brown reacted to this new round of drama by venting on Instagram last night.

"I'm wise I can handle the hate but enough is enough, yo!! I'm a human being and I honestly think I deserve respect Im sick of being accused. I'm tired yall Just don't understand I've been going through this sh*t since I was 19 years old," he wrote. "You cant sit here and tell me to calm down, when am I gonna get a positive outcome out of anything I do? I'm not gonna sit here and play victim, I'm just tired of this sh*t. I pray every day and night for a new outcome and just when everything seems to be going good some new sh*t happens. A day in my shoes is a day in hell, believe it or not!"


Read Brown's full rant below.

Is the media and the D.A. giving Brown an unwarranted hard time? Or did he bring this all on himself?

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Shooting Guns

TRENDS: 4

NUMBER OF MOVIES: 19

 

SOCIAL MEDIA:

 

Facebook - 27,410,558 Page Likes

Youtube – 1.3 Billion Views

Google Plus – 2.64 Million Subscribers

Twitter – 8,196,296 Followers

Instagram – 1,000,021 Followers

 

 

Special Thanks To Jeremy Bettis, Corentin Villemeur and Alberto Erazo for putting this together

 

 

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No other rap duo has produced as many classic songs as Mobb Deep. Today we're happy to announce the group is officially back together.

Last year Havoc and Prodigy took a break from recording and touring together due to some internal strife, but they have buried the hatchet and will be hitting the road together on a 20th anniversary tour this year according to TMZ.

The first stop for the most infamous team will be on March 30 at the Paid Dues Festival in San Bernardino, California.

More tour dates will be announced at a later time.

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