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Smif-N-Wessun join forces with legendary producer Pete Rock for a new album titled 'Monumental.'

This Court Dunn directed, Sean Price and Styles P assisted joint is the lead single off of the cd, which is available now.

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This is some classic shit right here.

Bossip caught up with rapper Rick Ross on the red carpet of the 2011 BET Awards.

The interviewer asked him what he thought of Bossip giving him the name "Officer Ricky."

Check out his answer.

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Burn is a new documentary directed by Alec Sutherland centered on a couple of days in the life of araabMUZIK.

Primarily known for his work with Dipset, araab is fast becoming one of the best young producers in the business.

Check out the synopsis below and enjoy the six minute doc.

In December of 2010 Burn Energy Drink (A Coca-Cola Brand) put out a call for treatment submissions for a series of web films they were commissioning. Having recently worked with the young producer/MPC (Music Production Center) savant Araabmuzik, Director Alec Sutherland was inspired to create an installation that could be a real time, visual articulation of Araab’s actions on the MPC. The treatment for this idea was submitted and selected by Burn.

With a modest amount of money, Alec and his crew set forth to build a light setup that would converse instantly with Araab’s MPC. After a week of troubleshooting an array of computer software, DMX controllers, Midi converters, dimmer pads, electrical latency, power conversions, finally a pad on the MPC was pushed simultaneously lighting a single LED strip. 16 LED lights were custom wired and fabricated.

The shoot lasted two-days: the first spent documenting Araab in everyday situations accompanied by audio excerpts from a candid interview. The second was spent at Broadway Stages in Greenpoint Brooklyn, building the light setup and finally, recording Araab’s performance.

What you see of the performance is about three and half minutes of excerpts, taken from a nine minute set. Each set was shot on 4 cameras to enable a live, real time edit of Araab’s performance. The 16 lights are triggered exclusively by Araab’s actions on the MPC, the result being a precise visual translation of the music he’s creating.

This film has been completed for months but we were unable to release it do to Burn’s brand repositioning. Recently, they gave us a choice: release the film now on your own, or wait until August when Burn/Coca-Cola will put their corporate weight behind it. We have decided to release it now because we would like people to see it as something other than an advertisement.

Shouts To FreeOnSmash

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Last Donut of the Night from Tuomas Vauhkonen on Vimeo.

For Stones Throw music video contest. Directed by Tuomas Vauhkonen and Jeremias Nieminen.

J Dilla - Last Donut of the Night

CAST:
Juha Ilmari Laine
Markku Laitinen
Rami Rusinen
Petra Lumioksa

DIRECTED, WRITTEN & EDITED by Tuomas Vauhkonen and Jeremias Nieminen
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: Jeremias Nieminen
CAMERA OPERATOR: Antti Savolainen
CAMERA ASSISTANT: Sofia Palillo
SOUND DESIGNER: Tuomas Vauhkonen
SOUND RECORDIST: Ilkka Kunttu
GAFFER: Jeremias Nieminen
BEST BOY: Tuomas Peltonen
RUNNER: Petra Lumioksa
CATERING: Petra Lumioksa

Drake ~ Marvins Room (Official Video) from OctobersVeryOwn on Vimeo.

Indiana rapper Freddie Gibbs is very outspoken about some of the things he dislikes about certain other emcees in the game.

While maintaining that he doesn't have a personal problem with anyone, Gangsta Gibbs has been critical of rappers like Lil B, Officer Ricky, DJ Khaled and Lil Wayne.

"Lil Wayne makes good music, he’s one of the best rappers. You can’t take that sh*t from him," Gibbs said in a new interview with Complex. "He’s like a n*gga in basketball. You can play basketball, but off the court the n*gga probably snort cocaine or is gay or some sh*t like that. I ain’t knocking your game on the court. Your off-the-court sh*t, it is what it is."

At 29-years old with a new deal with Young Jeezy's CTE imprint freshly done, Gibbs feels like he has a bright future. One of the main reasons is because as a gangsta rapper he knows his lane. Gibbs doesn't feel the same can be said about Wale or Big Sean. He also feels a certain way about Drake throwing up what he perceives as gang signs.

"I don’t think motherf*ckers got their own identity and purpose. And nobody got no integrity. N*ggas be rapping like other n*ggas, I don’t understand that sh*t. Sometimes it’s hard for me to tell the difference between Drake and Big Sean, so I be like, “Is this a Drake song or a Big Sean song?” I don’t know man, I don’t be f*cking with sh*t like that. Yeah... he’s got a lane… These n*ggas don’t know what they want to be. If it was the most popping sh*t to be the most gangsta nigga—like it was back in the day—I guarantee them niggas would be on some hard shit. I guarantee they’d be twisting their fingers up. They already be trying to do it! It’ll be the element of niggas they be around and then they get on that brolic sh*t. Drake be throwing gang signs and sh*t, I be seeing whatever the f*ck he’s throwing up. I don’t know. He go to the wrong place and he’ll be f*cked up."

"It’s just the nature of the times. It’s cool to be that corny motherf*cker wearing the little jeans now, I guess. Girls like that. It’s cool to be the pretty boy. I don’t even know what these n*ggas is. I can’t even pinpoint them. I just be like, “What are you, my n*gga? What’s your story?” I don’t like rap that doesn’t have a story behind it."

As far as Maybach Music Group, Gibbs just doesn't seem to a fan outside of rapper Pill. Gibbs told Complex it would be a cold day in hell before he was caught bumping Wale's music.

"I don’t listen to Wale. Pill’s solid. I don’t know Meek Mill too much, but I definitely don’t listen to Wale’s sh*t," Gibbs said of the D.C. rapper. "See, you can’t even f*cking pinpoint it. You can’t even put these n*ggas in a box and label it. All of these n*ggas. Big Sean, Wale. You just said “Big Sean is like a Wale kind of guy.” What is that? F*cking weirdos, right?"

Gibbs still had more ammo left in the chamber as Lil B entered the line of fire.

"That’s some buttf*ck rap," Gibbs said describing Lil B's music "That’s a whole issue. I’m saying, you can’t even put these n*ggas [like Wale and Big Sean] in a category. You don’t know what the f*ck they are. I’m a gangsta rapper. That sh*t is just like if you had a box in here of sh*t you didn’t want, it was just miscellaneous sh*t, that’s where you’d throw them n*ggas. It’s a box of lost and found sh*t.

This is a really good interview. To read the entire thing go here.

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David Guetta is joined by Flo Rida and Young Money's Nicki Minaj in the the brand new video for the lead single off of his upcoming fifth studio album 'Nothing But The Beat.'

The cd is scheduled to drop August 30 via Capitol Records.

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The UFC had one of it's most entertaining headlining matches in recent history last night, and it didn't cost $50 bucks to see it.

Cheick Kongo and Pat Barry were the main event at UFC Live 4, held at the Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh. It was shown on basic cable via the Versus channel.

There was no reason to expect what may end up being the fight of the year going in. Although both are decent fighters, neither one had the one big win on their resume' that would catapult them into title consideration.

The fight wasn't even initially scheduled as the main even. Nate Marquardt failed his pre-fight medicals and was subsequently dropped from the card and from the UFC.

That left the door open for Kongo vs. Barry.

Check out the exciting fight with a dramatic ending below.

Action starts at this point.

Full Fight

A member of Tech N9ne's current tour was seriously injured when they were shot outside of the Knitting Factory in Reno, Nevada where Tech was performing.

The victim was shot at around 1:27 a.m. this morning after being confronted by six men in the parking lot near the tour buses. He was reportedly shot several times. but is expected to recover.

The name of the victim has not been released, but Tech's label Strange Music did put out a statement saying the person injured wasn't one of their artists.
 

By all reports, the victim was talking on his phone when he was approached by 6 individuals who had not been in attendance at that evening's show. Shortly after, shots were fired and the victim was struck multiple times. He was rushed to a local hospital where he remains in serious condition but is expected to recover.

Police say at least 16 rounds were fired.

Tech and his Strange Music family are currently touring in support of his latest album "All 6s and 7s."

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One of the most storied franchises in baseball history filed for bankruptcy protection in a Delaware court Monday.

Los Angeles Dodgers owner Frank McCourt blames Major League Baseball for forcing him to make this decision.

MLB Commisioner Bud Selig said last week he wouldn't approve a proposed $3 billion dollar tv deal between Fox and the Dodgers that McCourt believes would have kept his team afloat financially.

"The Dodgers have delivered time and again since I became owner, and that's been good for baseball," McCourt said according to ESPN. "We turned the team around financially after years of annual losses before I purchased the team. We invested $150 million in the stadium. We've had excellent on-field performance, including playoff appearances four times in seven years.

"And we brought the Commissioner a media rights deal that would have solved the cash flow challenge I presented to him a year ago, when his leadership team called us a 'model franchise.' Yet he's turned his back on the Dodgers, treated us differently, and forced us to the point we find ourselves in today. I simply cannot allow the Commissioner to knowingly and intentionally be in a position to expose the Dodgers to financial risk any longer. It is my hope that the Chapter 11 process will create a fair and constructive environment to get done what we couldn't achieve with the Commissioner directly."

Former Dodgers manager Joe Torre said it was a sad day..

"It's sad. The Dodgers were a very storied franchise in my years in Brooklyn growing up and as a player going out to LA," he said. "I know the decisions that the commissioner made certainly weren't easy for him to make given that he understood that the, he felt that the organization and the city deserved better than that."

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Off the just released 'Lord Giveth, Lord Taketh Away' mixtape by Freddie Gibbs and Statik Selektah.

Kanye West's vision to see his G.O.O.D Music brand become a household name worldwide just took a step closer to becoming a reality.

West inked a long-term deal with Island Def Jam to distribute his label both domestically and internationally.

Steve Bartels, President and CEO of Island Def Jam Music Group said that Kanye has proven his to be a worthy investment.

"Kanye's genius has been proven time and time again on records and onstage," said Bartels. "He not only pours it out for himself, but he has made the difference with his presence on innumerable projects with other artists who are indebted to him.

Big Sean will be the first project to drop from this new marriage. Hia album 'Finally Famous' is in stores June 28.

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Ricky Romance tried to take on a bouncer twice his size and lost last night (June 26).

TMZ obtained footage of Romance, the brother of former B2K singer Raz B getting manhandled by security at Playhouse nightclub in Hollywood, California after inexplicably slapping one of them in the face.

After that it was pretty much a wrap for Romance as the guard punched him back -- knocking him into the street, before another one grabbed him.

TMZ reports that Romance was put in a headlock and lead towards a back alley (that doesn't sound good).

Romance was angry at being thrown out of the club. In retrospect he might have wanted to handle things differently.

Attempts by TMZ to reach Romance for a comment have been unsuccessful.

Check out the altercation below.

Videos and Pictures After The Jump

Music and Hollywood's biggest and brightest stars all came out to the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles for the 2011 BET Awards Sunday (June 26) night. Lil Wayne, Chris Brown, Nicki Minaj, Drake, Trey Songz, host Kevin Hart, Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith were all in attendance as BET celebrated the year in music.


The ceremony kicked off in royal fashion as the Queen of Hip-Hop Soul, Mary J. Blige, took the stage wearing an all-white jumpsuit performing "Mary Jane (All Night Long)" and "You Bring Me Joy" from her 1994 My Life album. MJB didn't stop there, bringing out Anita Baker so the two could sing Baker's 1986 classic "Caught Up in the Rapture."

Chris Brown came up big, winning the first award of the night, for Best Male R&B Artist, beating out the likes of Bruno Mars, Usher, Trey Songz and Cee Lo Green. The ever-controversial CB also took home an award for Best Collaboration for his Lil Wayne, Busta Rhymes-assisted track "Look at Me Now." It didn't end there for Brown. After a snafu that had Rihanna and Drake being announced as the winners of BET's Viewers' Choice Award, it was later learned that Breezy was the intended recipient, making that his third win of the night. Brown also lit up the stage performing a string of his own hits and then again alongside Big Sean, who rapped his #1 rap single "My Last."

Nicki Minaj was a shoo-in for Best Female Hip-Hop Artist, and as expected she beat out Diamond, Lola Monroe and Master P's daughter Cymphonique. Still, Minaj, who took the stage with her Young Money family, started her speech with, "Wow, I can't believe I won." The crowd laughed before she clarified her point and thanked Lil Wayne.

Alicia Keys shined as well, treating fans to a piano-laced set as she sang new single "Typewriter," "A Woman's Worth" with Bruno Mars and "Fallin'."

Throughout the night, a number of BET-related trending topics popped up on Twitter. #betawards, Wiz & Amber and Mary Mary made the rounds on the social networking site during the night as well as #kelly after Kelly Rowland performed her single "Motivation" with Trey Songz. The ex-Destiny's Child member received one of the loudest ovations of the night.

Duo Mary Mary won for Best Gospel Album, and Patti LaBelle received the Lifetime Achievement Award, which was presented by Gladys Knight. A potty-mouthed Cee Lo Green, Marsha Ambrosius and gospel's Shirley Caesar all honored the soul singer by performing a medley of her hits before LaBelle took the stage herself.

Cali Swag District came out with Doug E. Fresh and memorialized slain CSD member M-Bone, while fallen artists like Clarence Clemons, Nate Dogg, Gil Scott-Heron and Teena Marie were honored with tribute performances by Snoop Dogg, Warren G, Queen Latifah and others.

Beyoncé closed things out with a performance from the Glastonbury festival in the U.K. Wearing a gold glittered top, with her legs on full display, B started things off with "Best Thing I Never Had" and then turned it up for a lively version of "End of Time," both from her upcoming album, 4.

In the end, the 2011 BET Awards celebrated this year's best in hip-hop, R&B and gospel as well as honoring living legends. It was definitely a night to remember.

Full List Of Winners

Best Female R&B Artist
* Rihanna
Jennifer Hudson
Beyoncé
Marsha Ambrosius
Keri Hilson

Best Male R&B Artist
* Chris Brown
Cee-Lo Green
Bruno Mars
Trey Songz
Usher

Best Group
* Diddy Dirty Money
Cali Swag District
N.E.R.D.
New Boyz
Travis Porter

Best Female Hip Hop Artist
* Nicki Minaj
Diamond
Cymphonique
Lola Monroe

Best Male Hip Hop Artist
* Kanye West
B.o.B
Drake
Lil Wayne
Rick Ross

Best Collaboration
* Chris Brown ft. Lil Wayne & Busta Rhymes, "Look At Me Now"
B.o.B ft. Haley Williams of Paramore, "Airplanes"
Kanye West ft. Rihanna, "All of the Lights"
Chris Brown ft. Tyga & Kevin McCall, "Deuces"
Waka Flocka Flame ft. Roscoe Dash & Wale, "No Hands"
Rihanna ft. Drake, "What's My Name"

Best New Artist
* Wiz Khalifa
J. Cole
Bruno Mars
Miguel
Willow Smith

Young Stars Award - TIE
* Jaden Smith
* Willow Smith
Shenell Edmonds
Keke Palmer
Diggy Simmons

Best Gospel
* Mary Mary
Byron Cage
Deitrick Haddon
Karen Clark Sheard
BeBe & CeCe Winans

Centric Award
* Marsha Ambrosius
Eric Benét
Cee-Lo Green
R. Kelly
Kem

Best International Act (Africa) - TIE
* 2Face Idibia (Nigeria)
* D' Banj (Nigeria)
D-Black (Ghana)
Fally Ipupa (DR Congo)
Angelique Kidjo (Benin)
Teargas (South Africa)

Best International Act (UK)
* Tinie Tempah
VV Brown
Chipmunk
Laura Izibor
Skepta
Tinchy Stryder


Sources: MTV and The Examiner

Post show news coverage.

Chris Brown "Medley"

Kelly Rowland "Motivation"

Beyonce "Best Thing I Never Had"

From The Huffington Post

The recession might be officially over, but American views toward the institutions that brought the economic system close to collapse have never been worse.

According to a new poll by Gallup, 36 percent of Americans now say they have "very little" or "no" confidence in U.S. banks, the highest percentage on record since Gallup first started tracking that data. Those saying they have a "great deal" or "quite a lot" of confidence in banks has also stagnated, stuck at 23 percent for the second straight year, after falling to a low of 22 percent in 2009.

Safe to say it's been a tough year in the banks' public relations departments.

U.S. banks have spent much of the past year aggressively lobbying against the implementation of Dodd-Frank financial reform. This week, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner called out banks for the "huge amount of money [spent by banks] to erode, weaken, walk back" financial reform. Indeed, the largest-lobbying institutions of last year spent 2.7 percent more in the first months of this year in an attempt to combat rules including higher capital requirements and restrictions on swipe fees.

The nation's five largest mortgage servicers -- Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Citigroup and Ally Financial -- have also been the focus of a federal investigation into whether the banks defrauded taxpayers in their handling of foreclosures, first reported by The Huffington Post in mid-May.

In addition, in April, Goldman Sachs, the nation's fifth-largest bank by assets, was accused in a Senate report of systematically misleading clients by selling them assets known to be junk and then subsequently betting against that junk.

So this year's Gallup results only further emphasize the growing animosity toward banks in America. Never before 2009 had more Americans expressed more distrust than trust in banks. That has not only been the norm for three years now, but the gap is widening.

Gallup, who has been tracking confidence in banks for over thirty years now, notes the steady decline of confidence in their release, pointing out that 60 percent of Americans had at least "quite a lot" of confidence in banks in 1979. That fell to 30 percent in the early 1990s, but then steadily rose to 53 percent in the mid-2000s.

The percentage of Americans with a good deal of trust in banks has been nearly halved since 2007:

Although levels of confidence have fallen in all regions since the first years of the financial crisis in 2007, confidence is again on the rise in the Midwest and West. This year, it is the East that has the least confidence in banks, at 20 percent.

The below graph charts levels of confidence since the financial crisis:

Video and Pics After The Jump

The beautiful and talented Raven-Symone has literally been on television for most of her life. Starting with The Cosby show at three years old to her new sitcom 'State of Georgia.'

The 25-year old actress was out doing promotional work for the new show when she stopped by Late Night With Jimmy Fallon. The two talked about why she will forever be linked Justin Bieber and a lot more.

Also check out her new slimmer figure in these photos taken from her shoot with Rolling Out.

'State of Georgia' premiers June 29 at 8:30 P.M. on ABC.