Krayzie Bone Breaks Away from Bonethugs-N-Harmony

Hmm! Krayzie Bone, one of the members of the rap group, Bonethugs-N-Harmony has officially left the group. This is crazy, cos i know krayzie used to be like the leader or something...not like he was the best, but he was like how RZA is to wutang clan. I think he feels the group don't have the same vision as he does. But to tell you the truth, they can't sell like they used to back in the days. I can remember the mid 90's, they had everybody going crazy. I was in High School, and i had there tape, from there second album, East 99, and i would bump it in my walkman all day. It used to be crazy to memorize their lyrics, but i made it my job, and i got a name from that. Because, they were the fastest rappers on the scene, and just generally new in their way of style.

Read Krayzie Bone's comment below-
"I will no longer be a part of Bone Thugs-N-Harmony," Krayzie revealed in a video. "Due to uncontrollable circumstances, it's basically time for me to move on and just start embarking on different endeavors I've already had planned in my life. Just trying to go to a whole other level in the music game, I am trying to grow and become greater at what I do." (Bone Thugs Promotion)

And there was also a word from Bonethugz as a group-
"Let's be clear, Bone Thugs n Harmony the band/brand did not and does not break up. A single member has parted ways on another mission in life and we wish him love and success," a spokes person told AllHipHop.com exclusively. "BTNH World Wide the brand continues to functions 307 days a year globally, and will continue to do so with respect to its business partners and the great Fan Family." (All Hip Hop)

Okay, that is still looking good, but krayzie, and maybe layzie were the most focused if you would ask me.

Rap Albums on The Billboard Charts

Whiz Khalifa's ROLLING PAPERS album is still the top selling Rap album on the charts. It sold 37,000 copies this week, bringing the total to 294,000 copies so far. I just hope he is able to go GOLD (500,000 copies sold) with this rate.

Lupe Fiasco's LASERS album sold 14,000 copies this week, and that brings his total sales so far of his third album to 334,000 copies sold. Hmm!!! I guess it is getting harder and harder for rappers to GOLD. I guess GOLD is the new PLATINUM...lol!

Diplomat member, Jim Jones sold 8,200 copies of his new album, CAPO. wow! I think that is low. He is now at a total of 29,000 copies sold so far of this album. Thank God it is on an independent label, so he is sure to make some pocket change off that; if not, it would be hard for him to recoup.

The grandfather of west coast rap, Snoop Dogg sold 7,8000 copies of his new album, DOGGUMENTARY, and the total now stands at 72,000 copies so far.

Drake's New Rugged Look

Drake has a new look; he is keeping a beared, and curly afro. I had been guessing he was trying to pull a jay-z stunt, and just change his outlook completely. Talking about rappers changing their looks, i remember when BOW WOW first dropped, and he could not wait to grow. And then, between his 2nd and third albums, he gained some dramatic height, and was as tall as Jay-D. But the thing is that he has remained at that height since then. Drake is just a year older than bow wow, but he could pass as his uncle...lol! Okay, i am exaggerating a little, but bow wow has a problem right now...even though he has dropped the "lil" from his name, people still look at him as a kid.

Anyway, back to the drake story, read more on it below-

Nicki Minaj then asked Drake about the beard-and-curly-hair look he's been rocking lately, and he revealed that it was for a film role. In January, it was reported that the former "Degrassi: The Next Generation" star was joining the cast of "Arbitrage," which is set to star Susan Sarandon and Al Pacino. However, Drake relayed that he has "decided to work on my album instead of doing that particular film." (MTV)

Lord of Ajasa Banned From The UK For 10 Years

Lord of Ajasa has been banned from entering the UK for 10 years. The Nigerian rapper, who grew into prominence in the mid 00's, has stayed relevant since then in the Nigerian music scene. I remember first hearing Lord of Ajasa back in college, i think 2005 or so. I thought he was brilliant, rapping in Yoruba. But, i think the heights he was meant to get to was attained by the late Nigerian rapper, Da Grin.

Read the full story below-

Apart from a perplexing dip in rating, indigenous hip hop act, Lord of Ajasa whose real name is Olusegun Osaniyi, is now confronted with another major problem that threatens to leave his career in the doldrums. The Akure, Ondo State native has reportedly been banned from entering the United Kingdom for the next 10 years! E-Punch sources say the artiste was banned when the British High Commission discovered that he presented fake travel documents when he first applied for a visa some time back but was denied.


A source close to the singer told E-Punch that a London-based music promoter had invited him over for a series of shows. They agreed terms and the unnamed promoter sent some documents which the singer was to present at the embassy. Sadly, he did not know the papers were fake. “When they denied him visa, he did not bother to appeal. He just took it philosophically that the trip was not meant to be. However, when he went back recently to apply for another visa, the embassy officials now brought out his file that he presented fake documents the first time. He was really very furious because he was innocent. It was the person in London that should be banned, not Ajasa.”


When E-Punch got across to the singer who burst into the music scene with his free-flowing, laidback lyrics delivered in unadulterated Yoruba language, someone who did not want to be named picked the call. He said it is true that Ajasa was banned from entering the UK but that he was working on getting a lawyer to appeal the ban. “If he had appealed the visa denial that first time, they would have told him his documents were fake but he didn’t and that is why this is happening. He has missed so many shows in London and that is the painful part. We will get a good lawyer to help us reverse the ban,” he says. Several attempts made to reach Lord of Ajasa on phone were futile.


By Adeshina Oyetayo
For E-Punch

Source

Producer of Lollipop is Sueing Lil Wayne For $20 Million

I can remember how big Lollipop was, and i think it ushered in the new Lil Wayne that took over the world in 2008. Now, the producer of that track is saying he has not been paid his due. I have been hearing about this issue for a while now, and i wonder why Cash Money would allow something like this escalate to this level. They need to consider what that track did for wayne. Of cos wayne has always been a fantastic rapper from the times of HOTBOYZ to his first two Carter albums, but Lollipop gave him that commercial break.

Read more of the story below, courtesy of hiphopdx.com-
In March of this year Deezle, the man who produced Lil Wayne’s hit “Lollipop”, filed suit against the New Orleans rapper and his Young Money/Cash Money label seeking $20 million. In the suit Deezle claimed that he was owed unpaid royalties from sales of the single and its parent album, Tha Carter III. Now, according to AllHipHop.com, Deezle has issued a statement regarding his lawsuit.

He says, in part, “After consultation with my team I have decided to make a statement as it relates to the litigation pending against Cash Money and Young Money. At this time I am owed a sufficient amount of money and will protect the rights afforded me by the State of New York. My team is of the opinion that the matter will be resolved in a timely fashion.” Deezle, born Darius Harrison, is also seeking $2.5 million in owed royalties for another Tha Carter III track he produced, “Mrs. Officer.”

In Deezle’s suit he states that Tha Carter III has sold six million copies, amounting to over $70 million dollars in revenue. Deezle won three Grammy’s for his work with Lil Wayne. Neither Wayne nor any of his representatives have commented on this new statement.

Old Jay-Z and DMX Battle

Okay, i don't have it, no one has it, but there was a rap battle between Jay-Z and DMX before both rap legends blew up. Sometime in the early 90's. Three people that were present have shared their views-

At some point in the mid-early '90s, at a small, smoke-filled pool hall in the Bronx, a Brooklyn-based emcee named Jay-Z battled an up-and-comer from Yonkers known as DMX. X, who cabbed in to town from Baltimore just for the event, stated in his 2003 autobiography that he had no original intentions of getting involved that night. He was there as a witness, who’d only enter the fray if absolutely necessary. And, soon enough, it was. “The people knew that were the top dogs of our crews,” he wrote, “and they wanted us to go at it and after a few more rounds, I just couldn’t stand to the side anymore. It was time to hold down the fam.”

To this day, details of the battle between Jay (who was an affiliate repping Original Flavor at the time) and DMX (who stood alongside an Uptown-based group called the Harlem Knights) remain murky. So HipHopDX caught up with three people who were in attendance—Original Flavor member Ski (n/k/a Ski Beatz), Jay-Z/Original Flavor associate Sauce Money, and Ruff Ryders co-founder Waah Dean—to learn more about what went down that night. Each of the three admitted that many of the specifics have faded from memory, but that they’d recall what they could.

Waah Dean: We did [the battle] on neutral grounds. Instead of doing it in Brooklyn or Yonkers, we did it in the Bronx.

Ski Beatz: When I rolled up, I was with Dame Dash, Tone Hooker, Jay-Z, and I think some of Dame’s people from Harlem—his crew called The Best Out. That was the name of his crew, from Harlem. I think Dame set [the battle] up. It was like a Brooklyn-Uptown/Harlem kind of thing. So we all met at the pool hall, in the Bronx.

Waah Dean: We heard some things about Jay-Z from Brooklyn, and from Dame, and we’d bump heads with their people every now and again. The word was out that we had these guys that was doing similar things—traveling to different areas and [battling]—so we knew in a matter of time we was gonna be in a place where somebody was gonna make the phone call, and say, ‘Yeah, we got this guy standing here, and they all wanna be here…’ and that happened. So we knew what was up. We didn’t really look for anybody, we just dealt with the situation as it was there. We knew [DMX] was one of the best, one of the greatest, so we wasn’t worried about no artist coming after him.

Sauce Money: Everybody who battled, I think it was myself, there might’ve been a girl—we had a girl, her name was Roughness—and T-Strong, and Jay. We had to get on top of the pool tables, so whoever’s battling, they’re standing on the pool table, going at it.

Waah Dean: There was no room in the building to stand at, so the only way to do it was to stand on the pool tables so everybody could see.

Sauce Money: The pool table was like a boxing ring. We were standing on opposite sides of the pool table going back-and-forth. While we were rapping, niggas were pulling out guns—all kinds of crazy shit.

Ski Beatz: People came in there strapped; people from the Bronx had guns, and people from Harlem had guns. Luckily it didn’t go down like that, but the atmosphere was Hip Hop, [and] at the same time, it was gangsta.

Sauce Money: I battled some nigga real quick, I don’t remember his name though.

Ski Beatz: I battled, man. They had me battling some kid. Some little boy. I wasn’t a gangsta rapper; I was just a rapper. This little kid was just talking about his trials and tribulations from the streets, so it was a weird battle. I can’t remember if I won or lost, [but] it was just a weird battle. I’m rhyming about Hip Hop stuff like microphones, and mic devices, and shit like that, and this kid is talking about crack and guns. And I’m like, "Yo, you’re like 10. What are you talking about?" They had us battling kids. That’s crazy! Young kids from the hood that were hungry. I’m pretty sure one of those kids that was battling is probably someone in the game now.

Waah Dean: [The opening battles] set the tone for the big dons to come in and do the job. It was a good look. A couple of guns were flashed, and things got a little extra with that, but it went well. It was a very intense environment. Jay and X went for hours, going in. DMX came all the way from Maryland for that battle.

Ski Beatz: It was dope. DMX, at the time, I had never really heard of DMX. I didn’t know who this kid was. But to hear him rhyme live, I was like, "This dude is really ill." He was really good. But the battle was good. Jay did his thing; DMX did his thing. You could tell people from DMX’s side were feelin’ Jay, and you could tell people from Jay’s side were feelin’ DMX. It was a mutual, "Okay, both these guys are dope."

Waah Dean: Jay-Z spoke a little bit more, X flowed more. Jay-Z more talked in his rhymes. Both came out on top at the end. They learned from each other a lot of different styles. When they left, it was a mutual respect. That battle lasted for about four or five hours.

Sauce Money: I think it went three rounds. Yeah, they did three rounds.

Ski Beatz: It was both of their styles at their purest forms. DMX was definitely on that barking, that whole thing. That was his whole persona. His voice was just raw. Jay was the big willie, hustler poster child king. Everything he was saying was just vivid, street shit that was incredibly well thought out and well put together. You know how Jay-Z is with his word choices. You know he’s street, but at the same time you could feel that he’s super intelligent, which just made it crazy. Both their styles was just coming crazy in that battle.

Waah Dean: It was so close that we kept it mutual. They would’ve gone on an extra five hours if we had let it be.

Sauce Money: It was more about what style of fighter you liked, was what would [decide] the outcome. We were kind of in X’s backyard. They said it was a tie, but that was bullshit. Jay ate that nigga. You can tell when somebody won a battle, when you’re in somebody’s backyard, and they’re calling it a draw. When you’re in somebody’s backyard, even when that person lose, they’re saying he won. Jay got so busy on that shit, they tried to say it was a draw. But it wasn’t no fuckin’ draw.

Ski Beatz: [One side is] gonna say DMX won, then [the other is] gonna say Jay-Z won. In my opinion, to me, Jay-Z just had a little more finesse because of his style. But DMX was incredibly dope. He could not take that away from DMX. [DMX] was a fuckin’ star.

Waah Dean: Dame had a little footage, but at that time we didn’t have anything copywritten and all that stuff, so we didn’t want our stuff out there like that.

Sauce Money: It was pandemonium. It was crazy, just crazy. It was almost like going to Vegas and watching the Mayweather-Paquiao fight.

Waah Dean: The best battle in the world took place between X and Jay-Z in the birthplace of Hip Hop, the Bronx. Cats that came from two different boroughs, came to the Motherland, and did their thing. You know?







Hmm! I think, judging from having listned to both artist for over 10 years, i think jay is more of a freestyle artist, But i do not know how they were back then, and i can not say who would have won.

Prodigy Talks About Squashing Beef With Nas

Prodigy of the Super Rap group, Mobb Deep had beef with Nas around 2001. I still don't know what caused the beef as they had been cool through out the 90's. In fact, they made a lot of beautiful songs in the 90's...from Family on Nas's Nastradamus album; to It's Mine on Mobb Deep's Murder Muzik album, and a whole lot of other great tracks.

Read what Prodigy had to say about squashing the beef below-
"We've beent talking since I've been home," P told DJ Whoo Kid referring to Nas. "We put that to the side to do this music. This music is crazy right now that we're working on. We did a couple of joints, you know what I'm saying? It's coming out crazy, man. The music is more important than anything, all the little petty bullsh*t, you know what I'm saying? So we good on that...It was all love, because n*ggas came up together. So it's nothing but love when we see each other..." (Radio Planet TV)