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Via MTV

There was no blueprint that A$AP Rocky followed to break through into the business, having signed a major-label deal with Sonybefore even dropping his debut mixtape.

Two songs, a bit of hustle and some luck is all it took for Rakim Mayers to turn his penchant for spitting Syrup-drenched raps and his knack for fashion into a full-fledged business. Now he is an inductee into MTV Jams' Fab 5 of 2012 class.

"If I wasn't doin' this right now, I would probably still be hustlin', not making no money," Rocky told MTV News, alluding to his former life selling God knows what in Harlem, New York. "I mean, it got to the point where I wasn't making no money at all. I went from making a lot of money to damn near making none, so hustling ain't for me."

Rocky clearly found his calling with MCing. His first two singles, "Purple Swag" and "Pe$o," were unforgettable, his LiveLoveA$AP mixtape was a 2011 standout and his upcoming major-label debut LongLiveA$AP is among this year's most anticipated. To tell the truth, he was a shoo-in for Fab 5.

Conceived on MTV Jams in 2005, the Fab 5 is a collection of the year's most outstanding new hip-hop artists who have made an impact on everything from touring to releasing their debut albums. Fab 5 alumni include Juelz Santana, Young Jeezy, Drake, Big Sean and Meek Mill. This year, MTV Jams, MTV News and Sucker Free will bring you 2012's hottest hip-hop upstarts, and A$AP Rocky and Kendrick Lamar are amongst the brightest.

Though he reps Harlem to the fullest, Rocky is the poster child for a new generation of MCs that draw inspiration from all points across the map. His rap style has for the most part been directly linked to Houston's slow and drippy chopped and screwed scene, but at times his love for Bone Thugs-n-Harmony's Midwest melodies are also apparent. Rock's A$AP crew harnesses the energy of a new-age Dipset, but when it's all mixed together, his movement provides something new, fresh and distinct. That's why the fans have flocked.

"The fact that they even acknowledge me and appreciate me for what I'm doing right now is just a gift within itself. I just wanna thank them personally," Rocky told us of his fans. "I got supporters, I got people. It's a cult following."

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We're used to seeing rappers diss each other. It's a part of the game that has been there since the beginning, but producers don't normally go at it. That appears to be changing, at least in this particular instance as Bangladesh takes aim at Swizz Beatz.

XXL caught up with Bangladesh this past weekend in New York at the All American Music Conference. He told them Swizz's wife, Alicia Keys, is the only thing keeping the producer relevant.

“I don’t think Swizz is relevant,” Bangladesh told XXL. “I’m keeping it 100. I think there’s a difference between relevance and musical relevance. You married a lady that’s poppin’ [Alicia Keys], you know it’ll give you a lot of relevance, but you gotta make hits. Ain’t no hits. Are you relevant for the craft you’re doing or the life you live as far as the decisions you make?"

Bangladesh goes on to say that he remains youthful at age 34, which keeps him in touch with the streets.

“The relevance is in being youthful,” the producer added. “Still being in-the-know.  I have a 15 year old son so they think we’re brothers and I put him on to stuff. You know, I’m 34 but people tell me I look 23.  He still look to me for information. Usually it’s the opposite; usually the parents are lame or too old to understand or whatever. Just the way I feel, I got so much more time.”

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Dr. Dre has struck a deal with cable network FX for a potential show pilot.

According to the Chicago Tribune, the "project explores the present-day music business in Los Angeles, and how that interacts with the city's criminal activity."

The script was penned by writer Sidney Quashie and Dr. Dre, who will both executive produce the show. Dre's Crucial Films/Crucial TV company and Brad Bertner will serve as co-exec producers.

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50 Cent made his way into Los Angeles yesterday and stopped by radio station Power 106. He talked about TMT Promotions and said he feels he has a shot to make a Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. fight happen.

Fif also talked about tonight's premiere of his new movie Freelancers, which also stars Robert De Niro, his past relationship with Chelsea Handler, new artists he likes, upcoming work with Young Jeezy, his single "New Day" and much more.

Props to DiverseHipHop for the audio

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The family of Bone-Thugs-n-Harmony rapper Flesh-N-Boneis breathing a sigh of relief today after his daughter returned home after going missing for two weeks.

15-year old Monica Howse was reported missing when she didn't return home from work at a Taco Bell. At the time her family believed she was last seen with a 23-year-old male Alberto Silva Sanchez. She returned home on Monday, August 6th after being tracked down by a family member.

Alberto Silva Sanchez and Monica Howse

Details are still sketchy as to where Monica has been, but Flesh said he was just relieved to have her home.

"I am very grateful that she is back home and okay," he told TMZ.

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With it's release date fast approaching, 2 Chainz held a listening party for his Def Jam debut Based On A T.R.U. Story. Tity Boi played songs from the album and received his first Gold plaque for "No Lie."

Guests included Bangladesh, Mike Will Made It, Ne-Yo, Dolla, Bobby V, DJ Teknikz, DJ Spinz, DJ Smallz and more.

The album will be released on August 14th.

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Tyler, The Creator Earl Sweatshirt, Taco, Jasper Dolphin, Domo Genesis, and Hodgy Beats of Odd Future sat down with Hot 97's Peter Rosenberg recently. They discuss getting their first piece of a$$ off being famous, Tyler buying his mom a Range Rover, stunting on women and more.

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Mac Miller and Pharrell release the second single off of their upcoming Pink Slime project

Via MTV

It's clear when listening to his music that Kendrick Lamar takes his rhymes very seriously. How else could he possibly come up with those thought-provoking multilayered flows like the ones found on his 2011 breakout release Section.80? Still, it's good to know that K-Dot had a plan B, just in case rapping didn't work out.

"Playboy, pornos, if I wasn't an artist," Kendrick laughed to MTV News.

Luckily, Lamar doesn't have to explore those avenues now that he has earned himself a record deal through Top Dawg Entertainment and Dr. Dre's Aftermath labels. In fact the rising MC has made such an impression on the rap game that he was chosen to be included in MTV Jams' 2012 Fab 5 lineup.

Conceived on MTV Jams in 2005, the Fab 5 is a collection of the year's most outstanding new hip-hop artists who have made an impact on everything from touring to releasing their debut albums. Fab 5 alumni include Juelz Santana, Young Jeezy, Drake, Big Sean and Meek Mill. This year, MTV Jams, MTV News and Sucker Free will bring you 2012's hottest hip-hop upstarts, and Kendrick Lamar is at the top of the list.

"Kendrick Lamar is a nappy-head little boy from Compton, California," he said.

After originally recording under the name K-Dot, the fiery lyricist re-branded himself, going by his government name on 2009's Kendrick Lamar EP. After that, came his 2010 stand-out tape, Overly Dedicated, an appearance on XXL magazine's coveted Freshmen cover and a deal with Dr. Dre's Aftermath record label through Interscope. Last year's independent LP, Section.80, helped to solidify Kendrick as a fan favorite and set up his proper major-label debut good kid, m.A.A.d city, due in October.

With all that has happened for Kendrick, it's hard to imagine that he'll ever have to fall back on his plan B, but having options is never a bad thing. "Somebody asked me to be in a porno for the Playboy channel on Twitter, it was a female," he joked. "I haven't wrote back yet."

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New music from Nyemiah Supreme

Waka Flocka Flame just announced plans to hit the road on his own Triple F Life: Friends, Fans, and Family Tour. The 42-city trek kicks off October 2nd in Norfolk, Va. The tour will wind through cities like New York, Milawaukee, Philadelphia, Portland, San Francisco, Dallas and Houston before winding down overseas in Paris, France on December 3rd.

Tickets can be purchased on Waka's website starting on August 10th.

Tour dates:

TUE October 2 Norfolk, VA The Norva Theater
WED October 3 Richmond, VA The National
FRI October 5 Sayreville, NJ Starland Ballroom
SAT October 6 Silver Springs, MD Fillmore Silver Springs
SUN October 7 Allentown, PA Crocodile Café
TUE October 9 New York, NY Irving Plaza
WED October 10 Philadelphia, PA TLA
THU October 11 New Haven, CT Toads Place
FRI October 12 Providence, RI Lupos
SAT October 13 Albany, NY Northern Lights
SUN October 14 Boston, MA House of Blues

TUE October 16 Montreal, Quebec Tellus Theater
WED October 17 Toronto, Ontario Kool Haus
THU October 18 Grand Rapids, MI The Intersection
FRI October 19 Detroit, MI St. Andrews Hall
SAT October 20 Milwaukee, WI The Rave
SUN October 21 Chicago, IL Congress Theater
MON October 22 St. Louis, MO The Pageant
TUE October 23 Minneapolis, MN First Avenue
THU October 25 Denver, CO The Ogden
FRI October 26 Salt Lake City, UT The Complex
SUN October 28 Seattle, WA Showbox Sodu
MON October 29 Vancouver, BC Commodore
TUE October 30 Portland, OR Roseland Ballroom
WED October 31 Reno, NV Knitting Factory
THU November 1 San Francisco, CA The Fillmore
FRI November 2 Santa Ana, CA Observatory
SUN November 4 Los Angeles, CA Club Nokia
MON November 5 Phoenix, AZ Celebrity Theater
TUE November 6 Albuquerque, NM Sunshine Theater
THU November 8 Austin, TX Emos East
FRI November 9 Dallas, TX House Of Blues
SAT November 10 Houston, TX Warehouse Live
SUN November 11 New Orleans, LA House Of Blues
TUE November 13 Orlando, FL The Beachum
WED November 14 Ft. Lauderdale, FL Revolution
THU November 15 Tampa, FL The Ritz
SAT November 17 N. Myrtle Beach, SC House Of Blues
SUN November 18 Charlotte, NC The Fillmore Charlotte
WED November 21 Atlanta, GA Tabernacle

SUN December 2 Amsterdam, Netherlands Melkweg
MON December 3 Paris, France Bataclan

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Talib Kweli always manages to deliver some good old fashioned hip hop. For "Push Thru" he recruited Curren$y and Kendrick Lamar. The song will be featured on Talib's Prisoner of Conscious album, due out in October.

Video directed By Scott Fleishman and Fredo Tovar.

Jim Jones and Azealia Banks got into a brief Twitter beef over "Vamp" tweets that Azealia had been sending out to her followers. Jones started his Vampire Life movement with a clothing line. It's also been the theme of his last two mixtapes.

Banks had been tweeting about vamping and the different meanings behind it. A Jim Jones fan who thought Banks was possibly talking about concepts to songs tweeted her that Jones already had a song called "Vamp Life."

After Jones retweeted that message a brief war of words started between Jones and Banks.

Spotted at VladTV

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Ludacris gives us an all access pass as he travels to Korea for a show. The Atlanta rapper reflects on the ten plus years that he has been traveling internationally. He and the crew land in Seoul, Korea on a Friday night and immediately head over to a Korean barbecue restaurant for some dinner.

Luda's new album Ludaversal coming soon.

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