My longtime peer Elliott Wilson has a new webseries on the Jay-Z x Life and Times youtube channel called “The Truth” where he addresses some hot topics in hip hop. This one is like a more polite video version of his “You Played Yourself” columns.

In the inaugural ep, he contends that a trio of veteran MCs who have released songs with zeitgeist rap lingo which sounds more tired than trendy. The three songs are LL Cool J’s “Rachet,” Eve’s “She Bad Bad,” and Fat Joe featuring Juicy J and Rick Ross “Instagram That Ho.” All of the choices repping this need to keep in step with the trending topics of the day (well, maybe not Eve’ song…but El calls out the faux-Rihanna production by Jukebox). Personally, the fad lingo of the songs doesn’t bother me so much. LL’s been doing topical slang raps his entire career…Sometimes they’re great documents of what was hot at the time like “Boomin’ System.” Sometimes, with “Headspring,” or “Fatty Girl,”not so much. Meanwhile Fat Joe’s “Instagram that Ho” is just borderline absurd. It’s gotta be purposefully humorous, right? Please? In some ways, songs like this mark the saturation point of a word or trend. The peak, to be followed by the decline. Kind of like….”Swagger Like Us.”

“I can’t really cosign any of these three songs. Eve is the least offensive….Fat Joe, is a minor misstep, Instagram is big but no filters can clean up that one. LL Cool J’s is the most offensive, “Rachet” is the most wretched.” -Elliott.

Watch “The Truth” after the jump
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Come on…seriously, these Egotripland guys are doing the best parodic work in hip hop. You remember the amazing Drake x Common “Imagine” parody? Or the Kanye x Jay-Z Alterate Group Names? Or the Egotripland x Miss Info collaborative post on Baby Blue Ivy? Well now, they’ve taken on the rumors of a Kanye West sex tape (or maybe 2 tapes) being shopped….

We know Kanye is a perfectionist about visual presentation, so maybe the footage is backlit and styled like a Kubrick clip….but if not, at least he’ll make the DVD cover art a masterpiece. Egotripland has created a few options ; )

The George-Condo one above is my personal favorite.
But check out 2 more gems…
And a link to see the full gallery…
After the jump
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I’m not covered in elaborate tattoos of Buckminster Fuller geodesic domes like I’d like to be…(I just don’t have the pain threshold nor the anti-social streak for it, lol)…But I’m still a fan of really well done body art, so I live vicariously through tumblr and instagram. And some of my favorite work is by a London-based Swiss-born artist named Maxime Buchi (his tumblr is MxMe, and his instagram is Mxmtt). Along with doing incredible beautiful pieces, steeped in archaic symbolism, woodcut texture, geometry and folklore…..Maxime is also 1) super cool, 2) multi-talented (he does graphic design for high end fashion brands), and 3) he’s a massive hip hop nerd!

So along with tattooing people around the world, and hanging out in Paris with Rick Owens and Ricardo Tisci…..Maxime and his creative pals also self-publish a 700-page (700 PAGE!) limited edition magazine called Sang Bleu (Blue Blood) which is filled with gorgeous fashion, sick and twisted subculture stories, tattoo culture, and even…Styles P!!!

This 6th issue of Sang Bleu Magazine is only available via pre-order, so upgrade your coffee table with a copy, here!

Lately, I’ve been so hype to see my Missinfo.TV family sharing my interest in art….so check out some of the images that I got from Sang Bleu Vol. 6….
Also, a short video trailer of Styles P talking to my boy Nick Schonberger (Complex editor, Sang Bleu contributor, and the author of  Forever-The New Tattoo)…
And check out some of Maxime’s amazing ink…including him working on me : )
After the jump!
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Another summer slipping away, but one of the highlights of Labor Day weekend is always our pal Atrak’s annual Fool’s Gold Day Off block party! I remember seeing Juicy J, Action Bronson, ASAP Rocky and more perform in past years. Each year the outdoor block party gets bigger and better…and this year, there’s a stacked lineup and a perfect forecast. I’ll definitely be joining Atrak, his brother Dave-1, and the rest of the FG family….
Veteran’s tip: get there early, wear sunscreen, no biting Mr. Goldbar.

Check out the full lineup and details on how to join the party…
After the jump
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(Q Parker of 112 tells the backstory behind a couple Bad Boy Classics)

The late 90s will forever be my favorite time in hip-hop. I know there was better music made before and after but the jiggy-commerical-thug era was so magical and cheesy, haha. How could you not love it? Undeniably, Bad Boy ran that time period. BIG, Puff, Mase, 112, Black Rob and the L.O.X. all had classic first albums in my book. Ma$e’s first LP, Harlemworld, in particular was one of my favorites. It had the chart toppers but also forgotten classics like “Playa Way” (feat. 8-Ball & MJG), “Cheat On You” (feat. Lil Cease & Jay-Z), and “Jealous Guys” (feat. Puff Daddy). During a recent interview which was definitely more of a candid convo with Q Parker of 112, I had the chance to get the back stories to a few of these forgotten Bad Boy classics.

“Jealous Guys”
Puffy was always obsessed with New Edition and pushed 112 to try and capture some of their swag. This lead to the New Edition sampled, hilarious last song from Ma$e’s Harlemworld. Q says he was really trying to show them how to get down like Bobby Brown and the boys.

“Cheat On You” (feat. Lil Cease & Jay-Z)
This was recorded at Jermaine Dupri’s crib. At the the time the cool thing to do was bringing chicks they were bagging to the studio. Eventually, this lead to the Bad Boy guys swapping girls without even realizing it. The scandalous studio session/orgy fests the Bad Boys had inspired this song.

“Miss You” (Notorious BIG feat. 112)
Q talks about how they had a unique writing process that lead them to write the hook with each member taking a line. This was actually produced by KG of Naughty By Nature. Biggie wanted to rock over a Diana Ross classic and always wanted to sample classics from his childhood.

Listen to “Cheat On You,” “Miss You,” and “Jealous Guys”
Check out some classic Bad Boy photos…
all after the jump…

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(Pharrell and his fiancee Helen Lasichanh at the Dark Knight Rises premiere)

Lots of action in real life Love and Hip Hop…and you know I like to add my two-cents when there are clarifications to be made, lol.
So let’s discuss the The Dream’s engagement. Pharrell supposed “new” engagement. And The Game…err…dis-engagement.

The Future Mrs. Skateboard P:

Let’s begin with our buddy Pharrell. He and his gal Helen attended the Los Angeles premiere of Dark Knight Rises this week, and folks noticed the ginormous jawdropping rock on her ring finger. While the cat is out the bag now, these two have actually been engaged for the while. Helen is lovely, down-to-earth, and has a totally effortless tomboy chic. The part-Laotian beauty is the perfect match for Pharrell’s art-and-fashion esthetic, and they have an adorable 3-year old son, Rocket : )

The Future Mrs. Radio Killa:

Meanwhile, who is the future Mrs. Terius Nash? Well, the day before the BET Awards this month, I heard The Dream had proposed to his new Korean-Canadian girlfriend Lydia Nam…while we were actually talking to his ex Christina Milian in the BET Radio Room. I didn’t have the heart to bring it up to her.

More details about The Dream’s future wife…
More photos of Pharrell and his fly fiancee Helen…
And The Game’s apology to his ex-fiancee, Tiffany…
After the jump
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(50 Cent, Lloyd Banks, and Tony Yayo before the millions)

Every hip-hop head who was born in the ’80s but grew up in the ’90s knows this may be one of the saddest interviews in G-Unit history. In high school, I can remember even the backpack rap kids were f*ckin’ with the G-Unit freestyles. They didn’t like the mainstream rap hits but appreciated the G-Unit remixes of those joints (“Take You To A Motel” and “8 Mile (Remix)” are classics). Banks’ absence at 50′s ‘Get Rich or Die Tryin‘ anniversary concert was a disappointing hint at the looming truth about the current status of G-Unit, the REAL G-Unit. By that I mean: 50 Cent, Lloyd Banks, and Tony Yayo. Whoo Kid and Young Buck deserve recognition, too, but the Big 3 was together since they were still slingin’ gold tops on Guy Brewer in Queens. Then in May, it hurt to hear 50 Cent say he hasn’t talked to Banks in about 9 months and to further bring to light how much the childhood friends have grown apart is 50′s most recent interview with Big Boy. In his most in-depth explanation of where he stands with Banks and Yayo, 50 makes it clear that he feels he has been carrying his “young brothers” for their whole careers and it was really up to them at this point to make something happen with with their futures. He says things like:

“‘I’ve enabled them to a point where they feel like they don’t have to do anything.”

“I end up doing their job, too.”

“They haven’t had a manager. I’ve been managing them for their entire careers.”

“That $8.7, $9 million a piece. I did that for them.”

“I’m telling them since the top of last year ‘yo you got to find managers.’

“Yayo has to do a lot more. He just doesn’t do what he’s supposed to do.”

“I don’t [G-Unit] is actually over. I think they have to get themselves together.”

Listen to 50′s full interview about Lloyd Banks and Tony Yayo…
Game’s filmed fight with another former G-Unit rapper 40 Glocc…
A Photo timeline of G-Unit’s rise and current position in hip-hop…
all after the jump…

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Amidst all of the big song drops today, there were also some really disturbing rumors running rampant that our friend Maino had gotten shot in the middle of a performance. Then there was the very scary youtube video which seemed to prove the rumor right. In the clip, you see Maino onstage, then at the very end, gunshots go off and Maino falls to the floor.

After a few worried text messages from myself and the rest of the Hot97 family, Maino called me to reassure us that he’s totally fine, not a scratch on him, walking around the mall with his son.
So what the hell happened?

Watch the video that sparked the shooting rumor, and get Maino’s explanation…
After the jump
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Stars are walking the red carpet for 2012 BET Awards right now (Mikey is sending us photos), and I’m live-tweeting the highs and lows of the pre-show (my favorite snarky past-time; ). Yesterday we posted Big Sean and Meek Mill discussing that Chris Brown Drake-diss.
But this year’s Best New Artist category features one of the strongest groups in a long time: ASAP Rocky, Big Sean, Meek Mill…and then Diggy and Future. And when I asked Rocky about his chances of winning tonight, he gave a very humble and magnanimous answer! Meek Mill returned the favor, and at the very end of this clip, Miguel gave his thoughts on his Best Male Artist nomination too.

ASAP Rocky: “I dont deserve to win this award…personally, I think it deserves to go to Meek Mill. He put in more work this year. I’m not saying he’s a better artist than me…but turn on your radio, turn on your TV. It’s Meek Mills (sic) all together…Next year, when I win all the awards and grammys, I’m gonna deserve it. I will win this….but I want it when I deserve it. I want it at the right time. Right now, I’m voting for Meek.”

Meek Mill’s reaction: “I said the same thing! I hope any of us win this. ASAP Rocky doin his thing, he got that newest biggest deal. He got his homies that he’s bringing….” (and other stuff that I need to check our on-air audio for because it’s hard to hear, lol)

Check out more from the MissInfo.TV x BET Awards….
After the jump
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Me and Mikey Fresh are out in Los Angeles this week, checking out the events and interviewing old friends backstage at the run up to this Sunday’s BET Awards. On Friday, we had a hilarious conversation with Timbaland (guess what, he hates everything), and a fascinating one with Faith Evans….

But today, while we were having a no-holds-barred chat with ASAP Rocky (soon come!)….Mr. North tipped us off to Chris Brown’s Drake-diss “I Don’t Like” freestyle.
So when Meek Mill (who was with Drake during his Club W.I.P. brawl with Chris Brown) and Big Sean (Chris Brown’s homeboy and collaborator) stopped by to chat, I had to ask them what they think of the latest round in the Chris Brown vs Drake battle.

Watch Meek Mill‘s surprised reaction to Chris Brown’s lyrics…
And hear Big Sean vouch for Chris Brown’s gangster…
After the jump…
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