07/23/03 | JD Confirms Deal With Dat Nigga Daz

       After Daz announced that he signed with Jermaine Dupri & So So Def, JD himself made an official statement: According to JD, Daz told him he was ready to start dealing with a major label again. "He wants to be on So So Def too," JD explained. "People want to be with somebody who understands how to make records. I was listening to Snoop's mixtape one night and Daz was really bussin'. I always liked Daz from day one. It's a talent that's just been sitting there that nobody's been doing anything with. The independent route is hard. I'm sure he likes doing it, but he wants to be with somebody that's going to care about him. Just like Roc-A-Fella signing ODB. Be a part of family." This collaboration holds the potential to bring Daz back to the mainstream. We'll see how things move on.

07/23/03 | "Ghetto, Gutter & Gangsta" Out Now!

       Mack 10 dropped his latest compilation "Ghetto, Gutter & Gangsta" yesterday on his independent label Hoo Bangin'. The album is a soundtrack to his DVD of the same name and marks his first release since completing his one album deal with Cash Money. The first single "Lights Out" by the Westside Connection & Knoc-Turn'al should hit TV soon. The DVD, which is distributed by Urbanworks Entertainment, chronicles Mack from ’93 in the hood before his deal up to his present baller status. The DVD also features concert footage of the Westside Connection who are currently in the studio working on their upcoming album "Terrorist Threats" due to drop in October on Priority Records.

07/23/03 | 2Pac To Hit College Classroom

       2Pac will be the subject of a class for the upcoming fall 2003 semester on the Seattle campus of The University of Washington. The course entitled "The Text Appeal of Tupac Shakur"will be taught by Georgia Roberts, a graduate student in the English department and a Teacher’s Assistant in the Comparative History of Ideas department (CHID). Roberts told The Source Magazine Radio Network "Hip-hop loses its power if we cease to make references between what the people are saying as poets and how we can educate people…A big question in my mind is why people are still completely fascinated by Tupac after all these years…part of the question can be answered by looking at his work on a deeper level…". The class will require students to read about 100 pages a week of text Tupac referenced in his lyrics including Franz Fanon’s The Wretched of the Earth, Mumia Abu-Jamal’s Live From Death Row, Machiavelli’s The Prince and Sun Tzu’s Art of War. Roberts added, "It’s time for our generation to study our poets…Tupac is the first person who comes to mind…he was an artist and a poet…once you start teaching that, it becomes real."

07/22/03 | New Yukmouth Single Arrives!

       Its finally here, Yukmouths first single from his upcoming album "Godzilla". The single is called "It’s Nothing To A Bo$$" and is BLAZIN!! Its gettin airplay on radio stations and Yuk is gonna shoot a video for this song, it should be out around the time the album drops. "Godzilla" is in stores August 5th. Here is "It’s Nothing To A Bo$$" in full length. Click here to order "Godzilla".

07/22/03 | More Exclusive Chuuch House Tracks

       As promised we got another banger from Volume 2 of the "Welcome to The Chuuch" mixtape series. This time a West Coast ReTwist of David Banner's "Like A Pimp", by Dogg Pound Gangstas Snoop Dogg & Daz Dillinger. Here is "Like A Pimp" & Stay tuned for more...

07/19/03 | Rakim Off The Math!!

       As most of you know by now, Rakim left Aftermath earlier this week, after rumours surfaced that he split with Dre and the camp. The rumour turned into a confirmed fact when MTVnews reported about this. Sad this had to happen and the project Dre & Rakim been workin on for so long will never come out in the way it was suppose to be heard. Here is the article from MTV:

When Rakim told the world two weeks ago that his collaboration with producer Dr. Dre would be full of surprises, who knew parting ways would be one of them?

The legendary rapper has split from Dre's Aftermath Records, just days after he told MTV News that the album was quickly starting to come together.A statement released by Rakim's manager on the Aftermath Web site announced that the MC and Dre's label, which is distributed by Interscope, have officially parted ways. An Interscope spokesperson confirmed Rakim's departure.

"He's already shopping a new deal. They mutually decided to go their separate ways." Zach Katz said in his audio statement.

A source at Aftermath told MTV News that the split was based on musical differences and that neither Dre nor Rakim was content with the direction the tracks were going in. There's no word yet on where the Rakim album, tentatively titled Oh My God, will land or whether any of the Dre-produced tracks recorded so far will be included.

Rakim, considered by many to be one of the greatest rappers in hip-hop, signed with Aftermath three years ago after Dr. Dre made public a desire to work with him. In that time, Dre has been busy overseeing the careers of Eminem and 50 Cent and working on solo material. Recently he signed Ice Cube and Eve to Aftermath with hopes of producing their upcoming albums.

At the BET Awards in June, Rakim seemed excited that the two had finally found time together in the studio. "Me and Dre, we about to do full-steam on it," Rakim said. "Hopefully we should have a single out towards the end of the summer, and the album will follow shortly after that. We finally got everything on track like we wanted."

Lose Rakim & Sign Busta Rhymes???

07/19/03 | Preview "California Cowboys"

       Chicano Rapper Down released an impressive solo album called "California Cowboys" last week. Opinions about Down might be divided but the long list of guest appearances save this album. He has heavy hitters like Mc Eiht, Tha Eastsidaz, Daz Dillinger, Bad Azz, Suga Free, Mc Ren, Kokane, Sen Dog, Shade Sheist, Kam and Snoop Dogg on the hit single "Boss Up". "California Cowboys" has production by Damizza, B-Real, Fingazz, Bear, C-Note and others. The album is in stores now, Click Here to Order.
Below is the full tracklisting including audio preview:

01. Intro (ft. Mac Minista)
02. Jalale
03. California Cowboys (ft. Bad Azz)
04. Boss Up (ft. Snoop Dogg)
05. I Wanna Go Home (ft. Sen Dog, Mc Eiht, Mellow Man Ace)
06. Chinge Su Madre
07. Gangsta Summer Intro
08. Gangsta Summer (ft. Daz Dillinger)
09. The Villain and The Homie Down (ft. MC Ren
10. Cali Ways (ft. Kam & Suga Free)
11. Interlude
12. Get Off My Back (ft. Tha EastSidaz)
13. Gangster Mac (Kokane & Shade Sheist)
14. Jalale Remix (ft. Bad Azz)
15. Outro 1:00
16. Bonus Track

07/19/03 | Boo Yaa Tribe Tracklisting

       The new Boo Yaa Tribe album is set to drop October 7. "West Koasta Nostra" has tracks with Mack 10 on the first single, WC, Kurupt, Knoc'TurnAl, Crooked I, Kokane, Short Khop, Eminem and others.

"It's all about mutual respect," Tribe's Godfather told MTV. "Eminem sees the struggle we go through and he wants to give back. A lot of people want to pay him big money to do this, but he feels us. His whole concept is that he only wants to fuck with real people. Our thing is we don't have no beef with nobody, so I wanted to bring it together. I got Death Row, I got Aftermath, all on one album.

Aside from the Eminem production on "911" all of West Koasta Nostra was produced by Battlecat.

"To me, he's still the most underrated producer out there," the Godfather said. "People use him to keep their album spiced, but we believed he can do the whole album. We wanted to do it old-school style with one producer. We want to bring the magic back into the music — everything's gone corporate."

Here is the full tracklisting of "West Koasta Nostra" with a few songs to preview (in mp3):

1. Bang On Feat. Mack 10
2. On Me Feat. Kurupt
3. State of Emergency Ft. Knoc-Turnal, Oyster Boy, King Lou
4. 911 Feat. Eminem, B-Real
5. Zodiak Kreep Feat. Gail Gotti
6. Heated Feat. Short Khop
7. Tha Kalling Feat. Murder One
8. N Full Motion Feat. WC
9. Legends (Boo Yaa TRIBE)
10. Carson City Feat. Fiji
11. Take Yo fade Feat. Crooked I, Eastwood, Kokane
12. Beautiful Thang Feat. Baby-Down

07/19/03 | CMW's Chill Goes Solo With "Chill Factor"

       Tha Chill of Compton’s Most Wanted will be releasing his first solo album "Chill Factor" on his independent label Big Futt Entertainment/Universal Records in September. The album will feature collaborations with Snoop, Tha Eastsidaz, RBX, and Nate Dogg and features his new single “Smoke This FNJ” with Jayo-Felony and his rhyme partner MC Eiht. Chill said, "We used the old Poor Righteous teachers joint and we laced it. It’s some raw hip-hop but we keeping it West Coasted out. It’s some ol’ gangsta rap solidified for the 2003."
Chill will also provide beats for upcoming albums by the Westside Connection, 213 and 8Ball & MJG.

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