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David Banner drops a new track that might make some people feel uncomfortable, but that is by design.

The Mississippi spitter raps about negative ways the word "swag" is being used in today's hip hop.

"The homies is busting slugs/ The women is shaking ass/ Some white girl calls us N*gger and we just sit back and laugh/ We call it SWAG," he raps on the chorus.

The last line is a direct shot at the White Girls Mob crew of Kreayshawn, V-Nasty and Lil Debbie, but the song as a whole addresses a lot of hip hop artists who have OD'd on the word "swag" and associate things both good and bad with it.

Jimmy Iovine and Dr. Dre have partnered their Beats By Dre brand with Taiwan-based HTC, to develop high quality sound for mobile phones.

HTC is acquiring a 51% stake in the company for $300 million, but Beats will remain autonomous.

Check out the full press release and accompanying video below.

Taoyuan, Taiwan & Santa Monica, CA – August 11, 2011 – HTC Corporation, a global designer of mobile devices, today announced a strategic partnership and investment with Beats™ Electronics LLC, the company redefining the audio market with its iconic Beats by Dr. Dre™ audio experience. The two fast-growing brands will focus on bringing high performance sound to HTC phones.

“The HTC and Beats by Dr. Dre partnership is an opportunity for two world-class companies to redefine the smart phone industry and define the future,” said Jimmy Iovine, Chairman of Beats by Dr. Dre and Chairman and CEO of Interscope Geffen A&M Records which is a division of Universal Music Group and a stakeholder in Beats. “For Beats by Dr. Dre, this represents a critical step in our continued mission to clean up the destruction of audio caused by the digital revolution; and reengineer how sound is delivered so that the consumer feels the music the way that the artist intended.”

HTC® and Beats™ have been working together to create superior mobile audio experiences for consumers, which will result in a line of HTC devices integrated with Beats sound innovations, available this fall.

“Beats has found a unique way to harness popular culture in a manner that is unlike any other brand today,” said Peter Chou, CEO of HTC Corporation. “It’s an exciting brand that has been built around providing something very special, and we believe our strategic partnership will provide customers with unbeatable sound on HTC phones. We obsess over every detail of a consumer’s mobile experience and audio is a critical part of that experience.”

HTC is known for unifying content, services and devices into unique mobile experiences. And Beats is known for its unique consumer brand appeal and ability to reproduce the full spectrum of sound captured in professional recording studios, allowing consumers to hear music the way the artist intended. Bringing these two great brands together will create superior mobile music and sound experiences, while accelerating HTC’s entry into the youth and accessories markets globally.

Beats Electronics will continue to operate autonomously with Iovine as Chairman and Luke Wood as President & COO with its current business partnerships that include Monster Cable Products Inc., Hewlett-Packard and Chrysler Group LLC. Iovine will also continue serving as Chairman of Interscope Geffen A&M Records.

“Our customers have clearly responded to Beats and HTC, and Best Buy is proud to feature their products in our stores,” said Brian J. Dunn, CEO, Best Buy. “We are committed to offering innovative and entertaining technologies that help consumers enhance their lives. Our customers expect that from us. The unique HTC Sense experience and the great sound of Beats provide prime examples of that focus.”

About Beats Electronics LLC
Established in 2006, Beats Electronics is the brainchild of legendary artist and producer Dr. Dre and Chairman of Interscope Geffen A&M Records Jimmy Iovine, who set out to develop a new type of headphone with the capability to reproduce the full spectrum of sound that musical artists and producers hear in professional recording studios. For more information, please visit http://beatsbydre.com.

About HTC
HTC Corporation (HTC) is one of the fastest growing companies in the mobile phone industry. By putting people at the center of everything it does, HTC creates innovative devices that better serve the lives and needs of individuals. The company is listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange under ticker 2498. For more information about HTC, please visit www.htc.com.

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It happens to the best of them, but that still doesn't make it any less embarrassing.

Kanye West became the latest entertainer to take a tumble while performing in concert. Yeezy was performing "All Of The Lights" at the Koengen concert in Bergen, Norway when he tripped on something. The rapper bounced right back up though and finished the song like a pro.

Watch the clip of Kanye falling onstage at the 1:15 mark below.

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First the Monique Show got cancelled, now Lopez Tonight? The last couple of weeks has been been tough for late night talk show hosts.

George Lopez's show ends tonight after less than two years on the air. Ratings slipped from 910,000 to 543,000 after the show was moved into the 10 pm slot to make room for Conan O'Brien. They dropped even further to 391,000 this month according to Fox News.

Lopez made light of the situation, joking that he would start doing crack now. He also slipped in a shot at his soon-to-be former employers at TBS saying he was let go because he is brown.

Check out the full monologue below.

Nicki Minaj continues to set records.

The Young Money artist's song "Super Bass" is the biggest single by a female rapper in nearly a decade according to Billboard.

The song, which has been sitting on Billboard's Hot 100 chart for 14 weeks, moved up a spot from No. 4 to No. 3, becoming the highest-charting Hot 100 rap hit by a solo female rapper since Missy Eliot's "Work It" in 2002.

In addition to " Super Bass," Minaj has also made the top 10 as a featured artist on songs by Trey Songz's "Bottoms Up" (No. 6) and Britney Spears' "Till the World Ends" (No. 3).

"Nicki isn't like any other female rapper," Cash Money co-founder/co-CEO Ronald "Slim" Williams told Billboard, "We knew she had the goods when Lil Wayne signed her. She's not a female rapper -- she's a pop star who happens to rap."

1.91 million people have copped "Super Bass" via digital download in 2011. While Nicki's album 'Pink Friday' has sold more than 1.5 million copies since it's Nov. 22, 2010 release.

Check out the other female rappers besides Missy and Nicki who have had a top 10 hits below.

M.I.A., "Paper Planes" (No. 4; Sept. 27, 2008)
Lil Mama, "Lip Gloss" (No. 10; June 30, 2007)
Missy Elliott, "Get Ur Freak On" (No. 7; June 30, 2001)
Lauryn Hill, "Doo Wop (That Thing)" (No. 1; Nov. 14, 1998)
Da Brat, "Funkdafied" (No. 6; Aug. 13, 1994)
Neneh Cherry, "Buffalo Stance" (No. 3; June 24, 1989)

Gucci Mane has at least one huge celebrity fan who is supporting his latest project.

Back as far as June of 2010 Miley Cyrus said the Atlanta rapper is one of her favorites along with OJ Da Juiceman,

"I like Gucci Mane and OJ Da Juiceman," she told MTV's Sway at the time. “I love it. I don’t know any of the songs. They all blend in. I can’t really break it up, but I like it."

The singer's appreciation for Mr. La Flare has only grown since then, because she told her 2 million twitter followers to go cop his new cd with Waka Flocka, 'Ferrari Boyz' yesterday.

You gotta love that kind of free publicity if you're Gucci.

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America's favorite stoners are back to wreak havoc on the holiday season.

John Cho and Kal Penn star in 'A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas.'

The film hits theaters November 4. Check out the hilarious trailer below.

As Kim Kardhashian's August 20 wedding date to NBA player Kris Humphries fast approaches it seems as though someone is having second thoughts, and they're not even invited to the wedding.

According to Life & Style Weekly, Kim's former boyfriend of nearly three years Reggie Bush, is begging the reality tv star to call off her wedding to Humphries and give him another chance.

"He's been sending text messages to Kim and leaving her voice mails, telling her she's making a mistake and that he's the one for her," an insider says of the Miami Dolphins running back. "In the past, Kim was friendly to Reggie but now she's stopped responding."

Bush reportedly uses a secret nickname when he sends texts to Kim.

"She used to love that nickname, but now that he's using it when she's about to get married to someone else, it's just annoying to her," the insider adds. "She was burned by the end of their relationship, and she's truly moved on."

Bush and Kardashian dated on and off from July 2007 until March 2010.

If you got up this morning hoping to grab tickets for the first of Beyonce's four concerts in NYC, chances are you were left disappointed. All 3200 seats for her August 14 show at the Roseland Ballroom were snapped up in just 22 seconds.

Luckily B has three more shows planned for August 16, 18 and 19. Tickets are expected to go fast for those shows as well.

Beyonce will be performing her new album '4' in it's entirety at these special New York concerts.

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Steve Harvey has taken off the gloves and is going right at the throats of Cornel West and Tavis Smiley for their criticism of President Obama.

Smiley, a longtime television broadcaster and West, a Princeton professor, host the Smiley & West show on Public Radio International. The two announced plans to hold a Poverty Bus Tour.

According to The Root, the "Poverty Tour: A Call to Conscience" will travel to soup kitchens, Indian reservations and low-income communities. West and Smiley will stay overnight at the homes of families struggling in today's economy.

A big topic of debate is sure to be frequent target Obama.

West told BET that a big reason for the tour is what he sees as Obama's commitment to bankers more than poor people.

"I think that every citizen in a democracy has a moral obligation to be concerned about the weak and vulnerable and the president of the United States is a citizen," West said. "When he says he has the exact same responsibility to every member of society, I just say it’s not true, he’s lying. It’s clear that he has more commitment to investment banks than he does to poor people. It’s just clear because when they got in trouble he gave them $700 billion; he subsidized them. They have not made poor people a priority. That’s why we’re going on the tour."

Rev. Al Sharpton, Tom Joyner, and now Harvey are firing back at West and Smiley.

Harvey addressed the situation on his radio show a couple of days ago.

"I was a huge fan of Cornel West," said Harvey. "Tavis, I seen him coming a mile away. His anger started when he had a town hall meeting, President Obama couldn't come because of the campaign trail and he sent Mrs. Obama. He has held that grudge every since. You don't have any real basis behind your dislike for this man...you keep masking it saying it's not about hate. Then what is it about? Poverty existed before January 20, 2008. Where was your damn bus then?"

Harvey then clowned West and Smiley in a skit titled UTLO.org - "Uncle Tom Look Out" where an Uncle Tom is driving the bus.

Peep the full audio below.

Shouts To HipHopWired

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J. Cole continues to grind on the concert circuit as he gears up for the release of his debut album 'Cole World: The Sideline Story,' which drops September 27.

Last night the Roc Nation artist hit up the Bowery Ballroom in NYC for the Heineken Red Star Access event, to perform his new single "Work Out."

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As we previously reported, Kelly Rowland suffered one of those dreaded wardrobe malfunctions over the weekend, exposing both of her breasts to the world.

TMZ caught up with the former Destiny's Child singer, who said she was very embarrassed by the whole incident. The singer did admit to loving a "nice pair of underwear" though.

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London (CNN) -- Heavy policing has brought calm to London after several days of rioting and looting, but trouble has continued to spread to other cities around the country.

Where did the rioting begin?
In Tottenham, north London, an ethnically diverse area where locals had been protesting Saturday about the death of 29-year-old Mark Duggan, a black man who was shot in a police operation on Thursday.

Mark Duggan

Where has the rioting taken place?
In several areas of London and other major British cities, such as Birmingham and Gloucester in central England, Manchester, Salford, Liverpool and Nottingham further north and Bristol in the southwest.

After the initial outbreak in Tottenham overnight on Saturday, violence also spread on Sunday the north London suburb of Enfield, Brixton in the south and Oxford street in central London, the capital's main shopping district.

 
On Monday afternoon large gangs roamed Peckham and Hackney in east London, looting shops, attacking buses and setting cars and shops alight.

Later on Monday trouble spread to the leafy London suburb of Croydon, where several buildings, mainly shops, were set on fire. In Enfield, a large Sony distribution center was torched.

On Monday evening rioting erupted in affluent Battersea in southwest London, where -- in what has now become a familiar pattern -- gangs of masked youths looted shops. Many other trouble flashpoints were reported across the city.

On the same night, there were reports of violence in Liverpool, Birmingham and Bristol.

Tuesday night saw an uneasy calm restored in London after the police presence was more than doubled. But rioting continued in other major cities.

Why did the riots spread?
Police say the subsequent riots in other parts of London and the UK are copycat events conducted by opportunists and criminals.

What options do the police have to quell the unrest?
The police introduced special powers in four areas of London on Sunday -- Lambeth, Haringey, Enfield and Waltham Forest -- allowing stop and search without reasonable suspicion in a bid to keep rioters off the streets.

In theory, parliament could invoke powers to implement curfews, use water canons or even call in the armed forces.

However, senior politicians and police officers have said that these options are unlikely to be used unless the situation got significantly worse.

In 1981 police used CS gas for the first time to control civil unrest in mainland Britain during the Toxteth riots in Liverpool, northwest England.

Are there enough police officers?
A video report from Battersea in south London on Monday evening showed gangs of youths roaming the streets, smashing and looting shops with apparent impunity. The Sky News reporter who shot the scenes on his mobile phone said he could not see a single policeman. There were similar reports from other parts of London leading to claims that there were not enough police to keep the peace.

 
The deployment of 16,000 police officers on Tuesday night appeared to work, but if this needed to be sustained over a longer period, it could create problems.

Several hundred additional officers have been drafted into London from neighboring counties including Kent, Essex, Surrey, Northamptonshire, Sussex and Thames Valley Police, whose officers patrolled London's central shopping district on Monday evening.

The head of London's Metropolitan Police has called for all Specials -- volunteer police officers -- to report for duty, as the capital's law enforcement resources are stretched thin. It was also announced that all police leave has been cancelled.

How did Mark Duggan die?
Officers from Operation Trident -- the Metropolitan Police unit that deals with gun crime in London's black communities -- stopped the cab Duggan was travelling in during a pre-planned operation.

Duggan, a father of four, died of a single gunshot wound to the chest, an inquest at north London Coroner's Court heard on Tuesday.

There was a suggestion that officers could have come under fire from the car carrying Duggan.

However, the Independent Police Complaints Commission said Tuesday that there is no evidence Duggan opened fire at officers.

Why did the police want to arrest him?
Trident officers, backed up by a CO19 detachment -- the Metropolitan Police's specialist gun unit -- were conducting a "pre-planned" operation to arrest Duggan.

There have been conflicting reports about Duggan's background. Some have painted him as a suspected gang member, others as a loving family man unlikely to become involved in violence.

Police say he was carrying a loaded firearm at the time of his shooting.

Was social media a factor in spreading the violence?

London's Deputy Assistant Commissioner Steve Kavanagh said that smart phones and social networks like Twitter had been used by criminals to liaise. "It's a group of individuals using modern technology to cause chaos," he said.

Other reports say BlackBerry's messaging service was a popular means of communication to spread news about the violence.

Are there any parallels with previous riots in north London?
Only superficially, but some might argue that today, as in 1985 when riots erupted in Tottenham, there is a racial element to the troubles.

In 1985 Floyd Jarrett, who was of Afro-Caribbean origin, was stopped by police near the Broadwater Farm estate in Tottenham on suspicion of driving with a forged tax disc, a legal requirement for almost all cars in the UK.

A few hours later officers raided the nearby home of his mother, who collapsed and died during the raid. Like the recent troubles, it was a protest outside Tottenham Police Station which sparked the 1985 conflict.

Police officer Keith Blakelock was stabbed to death by a gang during the riots as he tried to protect fire crews.

 
Is there a connection with the riots in the UK last year?
No. They were student riots against tuition fee rises, although they were also marred by a certain amount of violence. But there was no looting and the protests were organized and publicized in advance. The protests were also mainly concentrated in London as students wanted to demonstrate against politicians.

What next?
The IPCC is conducting an investigation into Duggan's death. Colin Sparrow, deputy senior investigator for the IPCC, told an inquest into the death on Tuesday that their "complex investigation" could take four to six months.

 
The IPCC commissioner said in a written statement: "[We are] investigating not only the actions of the officer firing the shots but also the planning, decision making and implementation of the police operation. Our lines of enquiry include the bullets fired and any firearms used and recovered."

Source: CNN

CNN News Coverage

Riots In UK

When Will The Riots End?

British Prime Minister David Cameron said Wednesday "a fightback is under way"

Rioters Rob Injured kid

West Indian Black Man & BBC Reporter Argue Over Riots

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The TLC show My Strange Addiction has featured a wide variety of addictions like compulsive scab picking, wearing fur suits and eating toilet paper. But their episode featuring a widow named Casie of Fayetteville, Tennessee might be the most hard to believe yet.

26-year old Casie's husband Shawn, died from a severe asthma attack just a couple of months before the episode was taped. The addiction initially started with Casie literally carrying her husband's ashes everywhere she went. That soon escalated into her actually eating his ashes.

"Some of it spilled out on my hands. I didn't want to just wipe him away, so I just licked it off my fingers," she said "And here I am today, almost two months later and I can't stop."

With no cure in sight Casie's devotion to her husband, which includes cooking him meals and sleeping with his urn, doesn't appear to be stopping anytime soon.

"Some people laugh, they think I'm playing. But I'm serious - I mean that's my husband."