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October's Very Own Sound artist PARTYNEXTDOOR releases some new music for his fans. Check out the slow burning "Her Way."

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Ace Hood continues to promote his Starvation 3 mixtape by dropping a music video for the Beat Bully-produced track "Jamaica." Directed by Rob Dade and Ivan Berrios. Download the tape from Datpiff http://www.datpiff.com/Ace-Hood-Starvation-3-mixtape.557340.html.

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Troy Ave and Lloyd Banks have a hot one spinning on the radio right now with "Your Style." The song has that Brooklyn and Queens, New York flavor in abundance. Here's the official music video for it. The song is off of Troy's White Christmas 2 project. Cop it from iTunes https://itunes.apple.com/mz/album/white-christmas-2/id787547305.

Follow Dope Boy Troy and the BSB team on Twitter:

@TroyAve
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@Avon_blocksdale
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@KingSevin
https://twitter.com/KingSevin

@YoungLitoBSB
https://twitter.com/YoungLitoBSB

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Ty Dolla $ign drops off the official music video for his "Or Nah" remix featuring Wiz Khalifa The Weeknd and DJ Mustard. Download it from iTunes https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/or-nah-feat.-weeknd-wiz-khalifa/id884361596.

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G-Unit emcee Kidd Kidd gives the green light to XXL to premiere his music video for "Die For." and the audio for "Tattoos Over My Bullet Wounds." Both songs are off of the New Orleans native's forthcoming mixtape entitled Fuk Da Fame.

@GrandzMuzik and @BudaDaProducer were behind the boards on "Die For.". "Tattoos Over My Bullet Wounds" was produced @YoungChu & @IamScorpDezel.

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Drake has become one of the biggest superstars in the world, but he's never forgotten where it all began. Lil Wayne invited him to the city in 2008 and eventually signed the Canadian to Young Money Records.

The rapper kicked of his Houston Appreciation Weekend on Thursday, June 12, by hosting 50 children from the Astros’ Urban Youth Academy at Minute Maid Park on Thursday night, June 12.

“It’s a really important weekend to me,” he said. “Houston is really where I birthed my entire career. This is where I sold out my first show. This is where I met Lil Wayne. This is where it all started for me.” I have it tattooed on my skin and in my heart. That was a line I was working on, on the way here. I just want to let you to know that it means a lot for me to be here today.”

The song "November 18" off of Drizzy's 2009 mixtape So Far Gone is about H-Town.

"I was really nervous, because I made a song for a city that I wasn't from, a brand of music that didn't necessarily belong to me, because I'm from Canada," he said. "And I got accepted. They listened to it, they loved it, they made it one of their anthems here."

"They're very proud of the culture here," he added. "You can play the biggest rap record in the world, but nothing's going to get more of a reaction than something that's classic Houston music, and I love that. It shows a loyalty to me."

The rapper posed for photos with Astros players and fans. Tonight he will perform before a packed crowd at Warehouse Live. Lil Wayne will be in attendance at the after party. On Saturday Drake will attend a premiere for the movie Think Like a Man Too and a poll party. The weekend will wrap up on Sunday with a basketball tournament.

Friday June 13th I'm performing at Warehouse Live for HAW. Going back to where it all began.

— Drizzy (@Drake) May 20, 2014

Mayor Annise Parker declared June 10 as "Drake Day."

Drake @ Minute Maid Park HAW 2014 (Houston Appreciation Weekend)

Drake speaks during Houston Appreciation Night at Minute Maid Park

Sources: Houston Chronicle, HoustonAstros.com and Rap-Up

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Oun-P continues to body everything instrumental he hops on. He boasts that he's the best rapper in New York during this freestyle over Drake's "0 to 100/The Catch Up" instrumental. Check it out up top and let us know what you think in the comment section below.

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Nitty Scott, MC & Greene Films team up to bring you an out-of-this-world music video for "U.F.O. (Unfiltered Offering)" off of #TheArtOfChill LP produced by Ty Real. Watch as Nitty prepares & performs in a spaceship of her own and look out for the full-length visual coming to a galaxy near you.

Director: John Greene of Greene Films
MUA: Holly Dalton
Nails: Mr. Luis Nails
Hair: Danielle Wright
Styled by: Franceleslia Millien
Wardrobe: WIA Collections

Purchase #TheArtOfChill on iTunes here: http://bit.ly/1lZppEH

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The New Music Cartel gets the green light to world premiere Styles P's music video for "Never Trust" featuring Big Pun's son Chris Rivers. Produced by Black Saun. Directed by E Joox.

Phantom and the Ghost. Available Now!

iTunes: http://smarturl.it/pjf4b0
Amazon Music: http://smarturl.it/qdqtqe
Google Play: http://smarturl.it/cupm8s

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SMS Promotions fighter Yuriorkis Gamboa will step back into the ring on Saturday, June 28, to face Terence Crawford in a lightweight championship boxing match.

The fight is the main event on HBO Boxing After Dark, beginning at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT. Gamboa told Bad Left Hook that he has trained hard for this fight and believes he has a winning strategy going in.

"Coming from Cuba, the guys were technical and had size, and I fought them a lot. Me, I've perfected my strategy to fighting these type of fighters. I think this will be a counter-vs-counter match. Objective is to get him to the middle range where I can use my speed. Logic says to carry a little more weight as you get older, so I'm comfortable fighting at this weight. The training camp is going perfect."

Neither fighter has lost as a professional. They have identical records of (23-0, 16 KOs). After dominating the featherweight division, Gamboa is fighting for the second time as a lightweight. At stake is Crawford's World Boxing Organization (WBO) Lightweight title.

The fight is being co-promoted by 50 Cent's SMS Promotions and Bob Arum's Top Rank.

"I was looking at the lightweight picture and I think this matches the two best lightweights in the world," Top Rank chairman Bob Arum, who promotes Crawford, told ESPN.com. "I believe the winner legitimately establishes himself as No. 1 in the weight class. The other thing that appeals to me is that we are doing this fight -- a real high-class fight -- in the heartland of the country and, hopefully, this can help bring back interest in boxing in a significant part of the country, where they don't get too many big fights."

50 is expecting nothing less than an action packed battle between the two world class fighters.

"Gamboa has been with me from the beginning. I got the opportunity to see his talents early on. He's here in Miami training hard and this is going to be a great fight."

**UPDATE** June 20

Added Yuriorkis Gamboa's greatest hits video from HBO up top. Check it out, this guy's a problem.

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Prior to the San Antonio Spurs destroying the Miami Heat in game four of the NBA Finals on Thursday, June 12, 50 Cent stopped by ESPN's 1st Take set in South Beach.

He chopped it up with Skip Bayless, Stephen A. Smith and Cari Champion about the high probability of Floyd Mayweather Jr. finally fighting Manny Pacquiao, Miguel Cotto destroying Sergio Martinez to win the WBC middleweight belt, SMS Promotions upcoming special edition of Friday Night Fights on ESPN Wednesday, July 2nd, Animal Ambition and Power.

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Veteran Chicago rhyme spitter Twista is preparing to release his ninth solo album entitled Dark Horse on August 12. Check out the cover up top and tracklist below. Features will be added soon.

Dark Horse Tracklist:

1. The Dark Horse 2. I Am Such a Mobsta
3. Devil’s Angel
4. Beast
5. Getting Paper
6. It’s Yours
7. One More Joog
8. Crisis
9. Burnin
10. Want My Love
11. Nothing Like Me
12. Me and You
13. 6 Rings

**UPDATE** July 1

The features for the album has been added: Twista gets assists from R. Kelly, Tech N9ne, Wiz Khalifa, Berner, Tia London, DJ Victoriouz, Dra Day, Tyme, Chief Keef and more. Pre-order the project now on iTunes https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/the-dark-horse-deluxe-version/id891148023.

Tracklist and Features:

1. The Dark Horse (feat. Tyme)
2. I Am Such a Mobsta
3. Devil’s Angel
4. Beast
5. Getting Paper (feat. Dra Day)
6. It’s Yours (feat. Tia London)
7. One More Joog
8. Crisis (feat. Tech N9ne)
9. Burnin (feat. Wiz Khalifa & Berner)
10. Want My Love (feat. DJ Victoriouz)
11. Nothing Like Me (feat. Gritz)
12. Me and You
13. 6 Rings
14. Throwin My Money (feat. R. Kelly)
15. D.O.A.
16. No Friend of Me (feat. Chief Keef & Stunt Taylor)
17. Got Away

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R&B singer Queenie Catora becomes the latest artist to remix Usher's popular "Good Kisser" single. Give it a listen and download up top.

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K. Camp brings his Slumlords crew of Dan Diego, Tha Joker Too Cold, Sy Ari Da Kid and Marissa together for a new mixtape. Features include PeeWee LongWay, Wale, Lil Boosie, YG and Too Short.

Tracklist:

1.K Camp-Slum Anthem Prod By Supreme Team
2.K Camp - Cut Her Off (Remix) Ft. Lil Boosie, YG and Too Short
3.Sy Ari Da Kid, Joker, Too Cold, K Camp Big,Fruit-However I Like Prod By Big Fruit
4.K Camp Feat Peewee Longway  -No Manners Prod By Bobby Kritical
5.K Camp-Sum B*tch Prod By Big Fruit
6.Dan Diego K Camp-Down Bad Prod By Nike Boy
7.K Camp Sy Ari Da Kid-Long Live The Kings 2 Prod By Tony Gardner
8.Marissa Feat K Camp-Rules Prod By Big Fruit
9.Joker Too Cold ,Sy Ari Da Kid ,K Camp-Leechin Prod By Big Fruit Bobby Kritical
10.K Camp-Don t Blame Me Prod By Will A Fool
11.K Camp Sy Ari Da Kid Joker Too Cold - WWYD Prod By Big Fruit
12.Sy Ari Da Kid-Under The Sun Prod By Christian Louxx
13.Damar Jackson Joker Too Cold-Shoot Up The Club Prod By Big Fruit Bobby Kritical
14.K Camp Feat Marissa - No Love Lost Prod By Nash B
15.Sy Ari Da Kid Feat K Camp - Popular Prod By Kato
16.K Camp Feat Wale - Off The Floor Prod By Big Fruit
17.K Camp - Turn Up For A Check

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Meek Mill steps away from the recording of his next album Dreams Worth More Than Money, to drop a new freestyle over Drake's "0 to 100/The Catch Up" instrumental. The Dream Chasers Records CEO disses his former artist Louie V Gutta, who he recently feuded with on Twitter over Louie getting his chain snatched in Atlanta.

Download here http://linkmixes.com/qjoxmmz3tha4.

Follow Meek Mill @MeekMill on Twitter and Instagram

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Rich Homie Quan and Young Thug drop an official music video for their song "Get The Fuck Out My Face." Directed by Be El Be. The FKI-produced track is off of Quan's mixtape entitled I Promise I Will Never Stop Going In. Download it now from Datpiff http://www.datpiff.com/Rich-Homie-Quan-I-Promise-I-Will-Never-Stop-Going-In-mixtape.553953.html.

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BAGHDAD (Associated Press) — Islamic militants who seized cities and towns vowed Thursday to march on Baghdad to settle old scores, joined by Saddam Hussein-era loyalists and other disaffected Sunnis capitalizing on the government's political paralysis over the biggest threat to Iraq's stability since the U.S. withdrawal.

Trumpeting their victory, the militants also declared they would impose Shariah law in Mosul and other areas they have captured.

In northern Iraq, Kurdish security forces moved to fill the power vacuum — taking over an air base and other posts abandoned by the military in the ethnically mixed city of Kirkuk. The move further raised concern the country could end up partitioned into Sunni, Shiite and Kurdish zones.

Three planeloads of Americans were being evacuated from a major Iraqi air base in Sunni territory north of Baghdad, U.S. officials said, and Germany urged its citizens to immediately leave parts of Iraq, including Baghdad.

President Barack Obama said Iraq will need more help from the United States, but he did not specify what it would be willing to provide. Senior U.S. officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter by name said Washington is considering whether to conduct drone missions in Iraq.

The U.N. Security Council met on the crisis, underscoring the growing international alarm over the stunning advances by fighters from the militant group known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.

Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki had asked parliament to declare a state of emergency that would give him and his Shiite-led government increased powers to run the country, but the lawmakers failed to assemble a quorum.

The Islamic State, whose Sunni fighters have captured large swaths of territory in Iraq and Syria, aims to create an Islamic emirate spanning both sides of the border. It has pushed deep into parts of Iraq's Sunni heartland once controlled by U.S. forces because police and military forces melted away after relatively brief clashes, including in Iraq's second-largest city of Mosul.

Skirmishes continued in several areas. Two communities near Tikirt — the key oil refining center of Beiji and the city of Samarra, home to a prominent Shiite shrine — remained in government hands, according to Iraqi intelligence officials. The price of oil jumped to above $106 a barrel as the insurgency raised the risk of disruptions to supplies.

In its statement, the Islamic State declared it would start implementing its strict version of Shariah law in Mosul and other regions it had overrun. It said women should stay in their homes for modesty reasons, warned it would cut off the hands of thieves, and told residents to attend daily prayers. It said Sunnis in the military and police should abandon their posts and "repent" or else "face only death."

The Islamic State's spokesman vowed to take the fight into Baghdad. In a sign of the group's confidence, he even boasted that its fighters will take the southern Shiite cities of Karbala and Najaf, which hold two of the holiest shrines for Shiite Muslims.

"We will march toward Baghdad because we have an account to settle there," he said in an audio recording posted on militant websites commonly used by the group. The statement could not be independently verified.

Baghdad does not appear to be in imminent danger of a similar assault, although Sunni insurgents have stepped up car bombings and suicide attacks in the capital recently.

While ISIL fighters gained the most attention in this week's swift advances, it was increasingly clear that other Sunnis were joining the uprising.

Several militant groups posted photos on social media purporting to show Iraqi military hardware captured by their own fighters, suggesting a broader-based rebellion like that in neighboring Syria.

In Saddam's hometown of Tikrit, overrun by militants Wednesday, witnesses said fighters raised posters of the late dictator and Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri, his former deputy who escaped the 2003 U.S.-led invasion and eluded security forces ever since.

Fighters loyal to his Naqshabandi Army as well as former members of Saddam's Baath Party were the main militant force in Tikrit on Thursday, said a resident who identified himself by his nickname, Abu Mohammed, out of concern for his safety. He said about 300 soldiers surrendered near the governor's office — a spectacle captured in multiple amateur videos posted online.

Lawmaker Hakim al-Zamili as well as two senior intelligence officials, who were not authorized to talk to the press, confirmed the involvement of al-Douri's group and other former Baathists and Saddam-era military commanders. That could escalate the militants' campaign to establish an al-Qaida-like enclave into a wider Sunni uprising and lead to breaking up the country along ethnic and sectarian lines.

Feisal Istrabadi, a former Iraqi ambassador to the U.N., said the rapid fall of Mosul and Tikrit required trust from the local population — something ISIL or al-Douri wouldn't necessarily have on their own.

"Ordinary citizens feel disenfranchised and have no stake in the state anymore," he said. "This is an alliance of convenience where multiple disaffected groups have come to defeat ... a common foe. "

With its large Shiite population, Baghdad would be a far harder target for the militants. So far, they have stuck to the Sunni heartland and former Sunni insurgent strongholds where people are already alienated by al-Maliki's government over allegations of discrimination and mistreatment. The militants also would likely meet far stronger resistance, not only from government forces but by Shiite militias.

Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr and the Asaib Ahl al-Haq Shiite militia vowed to defend Shiite holy sites, raising the specter of street clashes and sectarian killings.

Baghdad authorities tightened security and residents stocked up on essentials.

"Everybody I know is worried for the safety of his family as the militants are advancing to Baghdad," said Hazim Hussein, a Shiite shopowner and father of three.

Another Baghdad merchant, Mohammed Abdul-Rahim, a Sunni, lamented that the "future of this country looks more dim than any time in modern Iraqi history."

Hundreds of young men crowded in front of the main army recruiting center in Baghdad on Thursday after authorities urged Iraqis to help battle the insurgents.

Security officials said the Islamic State fighters managed to take control of two weapons depots holding 400,000 items, including AK-47 rifles, rockets and rocket-propelled grenades, artillery shells and mortars. A quarter of the stockpiles were sent to Syria, they said.

The advances by the Sunni militants are a heavy defeat for al-Maliki. His Shiite-dominated political bloc came first in April parliamentary elections — the first since the U.S. military withdrawal in 2011 — but failed to gain a majority, forcing him to try to build a governing coalition.

"We do have a stake in making sure that these jihadists are not getting a permanent foothold in either Iraq or Syria, for that matter," Obama said in Washington.

Al-Maliki and other Iraqi leaders have pleaded with the Obama administration for more than a year for additional help to combat the growing insurgency.

Britain and France said it was up to Iraqi authorities to deal with terrorism and worsening security, while Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the rapid advances by the militants proved the invasion of Iraq 11 years ago had been a fiasco.

"What is happening in Iraq is an illustration of the total failure of the adventure undertaken primarily by the U.S. and Britain and which they have let slip completely out of control," Lavrov was quoted by Russian state news agencies as saying.

In Shiite powerhouse Iran, President Hassan Rouhani blasted the Islamic State as "barbaric." Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif offered support in a phone call with his Iraqi counterpart, Iranian TV reported. Iran has halted flights to Baghdad because of security concerns and has intensified security on its borders.

The U.N. Security Council urged a national dialogue including all political and religious groups in Iraq but took no action after discussing the crisis and hearing a closed briefing from the top U.N. envoy in Iraq, Nickolay Mladenov.

Diplomatic efforts were underway to free 80 Turkish citizens held by militants in Mosul, an official in the Turkish prime minister's office said. The captives include 49 people seized in the Turkish consulate Wednesday, said an official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.

Kurdish fighters from the ethnic group's autonomous enclave in the north showed signs of taking a greater role in fighting back against the ISIL. Their role is a potential point of friction because both Sunni and Shiite Arabs are wary of Kurdish claims on territory.

Kurdish security forces known as peshmerga took over an air base and other posts abandoned by Iraqi forces in Kirkuk, Brig. Halogard Hikmat, a senior peshmerga official told The Associated Press. He denied reports the whole city was under peshmerga control.

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Schreck reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Associated Press writers Qassim Abdul-Zahra in Paris, Aya Batrawy in Dubai, Desmond Butler in Istanbul, Nasser Karimi in Tehran and Bassem Mroue in Beirut contributed to this report.

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Follow Adam Schreck on Twitter at www.twitter.com/adamschreck

Obama: Not ruling anything out on Iraq

Iraq desperate for options against ISIS

Iraq Kurds take Kirkuk as Sunni militants surge toward Baghdad

Mass exodus in northern Iraq as Sunni rebels surge towards Baghdad

Photo sources: Associated Press, Reuters, National Post

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