Former Dipset rapper/hook specialist Max B began his murder trial today (May 14) in Bergen County, New Jersey.
Prosecutors accuse Max, real name Charly Wingate, with plotting a botched robbery that left one man dead in September 2006.
According to Assistant Bergen County Prosecutor Martin Delaney, Max B conspired with his ex-girlfriend (Gina Conway) and a stepbrother (Kelvin Leerdam) to rob two men (Allan Plowden and David Taylor) at a Holiday Inn on Route 4.
The men were allegedly targeted because they carried around large sums of cash, and drove high-end luxury cars.
The night of the homicide, authorities claim Max B, Conway, and Leerdam ambushed Allen Plowden in his hotel room, duct taping him and a female companion.
When interrogated about the location of his money, Plowden is reported to have stated his partner David Taylor, staying two floors down, had the funds.
After forcing Plowden to make a call, Taylor was lured to the room and killed instantly via a point blank shot to the face.
The prosecution’s case rests largely on the testimony of Gina Conway, who has agreed to testify against her alleged co-conspirators.
In exchange for her testimony, she will avoid a life sentence and serve 18 years on armed robbery and manslaughter charges.
Attorneys for Max B and Kelvin Leerdam will counter that Gina Conway is an unreliable witness and the sole originator of the robbery plot.
At press time, Gina Conway is expected to take the stand next week.
Source:AllHipHop.Com
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Maxim magazine recently released its annual Hot 100 list, and we've got photos! Surprisingly, Megan Fox of "Transformers" fame only made second place on the drool-worthy list, while Olivia Wilde, an actress on the TV series "House," took the top spot for most-desirable woman.
Fans of the vampire flick "Twilight" will enjoy seeing Nikki Reed (No. 42) and Ashley Greene (No. 68) made the list as well. Do you agree with the outcome? Who do you think should be on the list?
While you're pondering those questions, check out our photo gallery of Maxim's Hot 100 for 2009, our sexy blonds, and for all the "Mother Lovers," take a peek at our gallery of hot celebrity moms.
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A Houston rap artist is being charged in wire fraud scheme involving Apple iPhones, according to federal officials.
William James Dennis — better known as Willie D of the Houston rap group the Geto Boys — was arrested Wednesday at Bush Intercontinental Airport where he was returning from an overseas trip.
Dennis appeared in federal court in Houston today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Mary Milloy. He is slated to appear again Friday, and prosecutors indicated they will fight his release on bail, contending he is a flight risk.
A wire fraud conviction carries up to 20 years in federal prison and up to a $250,000 fine.
Through a front company, Dennis received thousands of dollars from foreigners and promised to ship several foreigners bulk orders of iPhones, according to an FBI affidavit.
But he always made excuses, never delivered the goods and kept the money, authorities said. He eventually stopped responding to e-mail complaints, according to offiicials.
The Geto Boys became well-known in the 1990s for their groundbreaking gangsta rap albums that sometimes touched on disturbing topics. They had several albums that went gold or platinum and reformed in 2005 to record a popular reunion album.
Source : The Houston Chronicle
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Yonkers Hip-Hop star DMX is free after serving over 90 days in jail on drug, fraud, and animal cruelty charges, a representative confirmed with AllHipHop.com.
The rapper was released from "Tent City," aka the Maricopa County Jail, late yesterday afternoon (May 13).
DMX's conviction and prison sentence was a culmination of a 2008 filled with legal woes.
The rapper’s last arrest resulted in an extradition back to Phoenix after attempting to hide out in producer Scott Storch’s Florida mansion.
Originally, DMX, born Earl Simmons, was to serve only 90 days in jail.
His tenure was extended when he faced additional charges for allegedly assaulting a corrections officer over a food dispute.
During his incarceration, X revealed plans to start a Christian ministry upon his release.
"I'm gonna start a TV show called Pain and Perseverance, it's about how I can reach people that the average person can't reach because I'm grounded," he stated. "I'm going to give my first sermon, in the church. That's going to be incredible for me and hopefully the congregation of that church. I've completed my gospel album. On every one of my albums there's been a gospel song and prayer. Because of my image those songs are never made singles except my sixth album where they did 'Lord Give Me a Sign.'"
DMX was originally supposed to release a double album, one with his Hip-Hop comeback titled Walk With Me Now, the other a gospel album titled You'll Fly with Me Later.
Both projects remain in limbo.
At press time, DMX has not released a statement confirming his plans for the rest of 2009.
Source:AllHipHop.com
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When it comes time for Eminem to release an album, he always sticks to his tried-and-true formula. The first singles are comical celebrity takedowns, featuring Em's revved-up Slim Shady persona on a track produced by Dr. Dre (think "My Name Is," "Without Me" and "The Real Slim Shady").
On "We Made You," however, the lead single from Relapse, another beatsmith set the foundation for Eminem's return: Connecticut producer Doc Ish.
The Hartford native has worked with some of the underground's finest rappers, from AZ to Talib Kweli. But when he created the beat for "We Made You," he never imagined it would land in the hands of Marshall Mathers. He originally shopped the record — with the same hook, sung by Charmagne Tripp — to Red Café, before D12 member Bizarre picked it up.
But after writing his own version of "We Made You," Bizarre called Doc Ish with news that Eminem wanted the record. Because Bizarre is such a jokester, though, Doc didn't believe him. So he hung up on him.
"He called me at a bad time, so when he was like, 'Marshall wants the record,' I was like, 'Yeah, right,' " Doc told MTV News. "He was like, 'No, seriously, I'm not playing.' And Bizarre is a comical dude, so it's hard to know if he's playing or not. I didn't have time that day; I was busy mixing a record for Saigon. So I basically hung up on him. So he called me back with his cousin, Gambino, from Hartford, and he's who I know Biz through. And [Gambino] was like, 'Ish, he's for real, he's not playing.' So they put me in touch with [Eminem's] management. I was still like, 'OK,' 'cause Bizarre plays jokes on people. But within five minutes, his management called, and they said they wanted the song. I believed in that song, but I didn't know it would make it to where it did."
The song was picked up in November of last year, and the video premiered last month on MTV.
The accomplishment served as a testament to Doc Ish's perseverance. In 2004, the producer, who suffers from lupus, endured heart problems that he struggled with into the beginning of last year. Once he finally got a grasp on things, Doc — a former rapper, who had to give up rhyming because of a lack of breath control from his condition — turned to producing with fervor. He still remains a part of his group, the Abnormals, consisting of Apollo Swyf, Colloso and Belly. But nowadays, he keeps his rhymes limited to short bursts.
In the meantime, Doc is working on a compilation album, Arbitration, that he hopes to release later this year. He's negotiating a deal for the project, which includes tracks with Sean Price, Kool G Rap and Bizarre.
He also, of course, hopes to land a track on Eminem's Relapse follow-up, due later this year.
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T.I. is finally rolling out those additional songs for the re-release of Paper Trail. On Wednesday, a record called "Don't Forget" hit the Net via the New Music Cartel, and Thursday Atlantic Records confirmed the song is the first of Tip's new singles.
"Don't Forget" is a goodbye-for-now anthem with Mary J. Blige on the hook. "Don't forget to remember me," Mary sings on the chorus. "Please keep me in your heart/ If we ever have to part." Tip lets everyone know that he is just "gone momentarily" and not to "bury" him.
"N---as jumped up, cheered when I got my time," he raps. "Like, 'Yeah. One more year I got to grind'/ But get me losing off your mind/ May I remind you/ Ain't a another n---a that been through what I been through.
"It's on when I get back, don't forget that," Tip added.
The King of the South and the Queen of Hip-Hop Soul are set to shoot the video for the new song at an undisclosed location. In previous interviews, Tip mentioned he was planning a collaboration with Fall Out Boy that was supposed to be on the original version of Paper Trail, and a possible remix of "On Top of the World" where he would include a Kanye West verse that was scrapped from the original version. Tip and Kanye recorded the song before Ludacris jumped on.
T.I. was in New York earlier this week where he spoke at an anti-gun rally with Al Sharpton and Ja Rule.
"When I get back — 'cause I will be back — you'll see me standing stronger, wiser and richer," he told the crowd about his impending jail sentence.
Source:MTV
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Beyonce and T.I. top the list of nominees for this year's BET Awards, slated to take place on June 28. Both artists snagged five nominations, with Beyoncé earning her handful with nods in Best Female R&B artist, two Best Video bids for "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" and "If I Were a Boy," Best Female Actress for her lead roles in "Obsessed" and "Cadillac Records" and the Viewers' Choice award.
Though he won't make the ceremony because he is slated to begin a 366-day prison sentence next week on weapons charges, T.I. equaled Beyoncé, with Video of the Year and Best Collaboration nominations for "Live Your Life," a Best Collaboration nod for "Ain't I" with Yung Dro and Young LA, along with Best Male Hip-Hop Artist and Viewers' Choice noms.
Among the other multiple-nominees are Keri Hilson, Lil Wayne and T-Pain, with four nods each. Hilson earned the most nominations for a new artist, racking up Best Female R&B Artist (which also includes Keyshia Cole, Jennifer Hudson and Jazmine Sullivan), Best Collaboration and Viewers' Choice along with Best New Artist, where she'll go up against Sullivan, M.I.A., Ryan Leslie and Kid Cudi.
The show will be hosted by Jamie Foxx, who is up for several awards, including Best Male R&B artist, where he'll face The-Dream, Leslie, Ne-Yo and T-Pain; Best Collaboration for his hit "Blame It" with Pain, where he's up against Hilson, Jim Jones, T.I. and Yung L.A.; and Video of the Year, which also features competition from Kanye West ("Heartless").
The Best Female Hip-Hop Artist race pits Lil Mama against M.I.A. and Trina, while the male category will be a showdown between Wayne, Rick Ross, Tip, Kanye and Young Jeezy.
The show is currently slated to feature performances from Ne-Yo and Maxwell.
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Dungy met with Vick last week at the federal penitentiary in Leavenworth, Kan., where Vick is serving a 23-month sentence for bankrolling a dogfighting conspiracy.
Dungy spoke Wednesday at a workshop in Indianapolis for offenders seeking jobs. He compared Vick's situation as he nears his release from prison to theirs.
Dungy didn't discuss details of his visit with Vick but told The Associated Press that the former Atlanta Falcons quarterback made a mistake.
Vick is to be transferred May 21 to home confinement in Hampton, Va., which is scheduled to last through July.
Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press
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Ok Ok This is the official shit. This mixtape is incredible. "Joell Ortiz Covers The Classics" Brought to you by Onsmash. Joell spits over 32 classic hip hop beats.Go ASAP and download this mixtape for free exclusively on ONSMASH!
http://www.onsmash.com/
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