Earlier this afternoon, 50 Cent released a “Public Service Announcement” via his website to speak on the lack of support his Street King campaign has received to date. The latest initiative, his 1 Like = 1 Meal campaign where every “Like” on Street King’s Facebook page feeds a hungry child has only received 300,000 “Likes.” The goal of reaching 1 million seems unlikely as there’s only 2 days left in the 7-day campaign.

Read 50’s PSA after the jump…..

50 Cent’s Public Service Announcement:

The world is so f***** up
People don’t seem to care anymore

People seem to have distanced themselves from other people’s problems, they have been programmed not to care!
Politicians are corrupt…So many companies are corrupt and taking excessive profits in certain sectors…….and we keep allowing this s*** to happen
There are 1 billion plus people living in extreme poverty. You know what that is? You don’t know if your getting your next meal, no shelter, no medical. You have no chance of hustling your way out of it!
We have been programmed to not give a s*** about these people!

Well I have woken up and Im not turning a blind eye anymore!

Im not playing the game anymore. Our Company CEO’s and politicians want us to keep our heads down and not ask questions. Not demand the truth
they don’t want us to care, they have trained us to turn a blind eye!
Because they control us and profit from us this way!
to push back at them questions and threatens their lifestyles.

Children are dying everyday from hunger. Its f***** up, its wrong and I am angry
Im not going to shut up or give up – f*** the system, its wrong.
wake up we are being used!

Innocent children are dying each day…. we need to shout out to companies, politicians that we aren’t playing their games anymore
We are waking up to their lies and deceitful dealings

Im angry, Im going to make a difference and no one is going to stop me
Join me if your tired of being used and manipulated
Make this world fair for everyone

50 Cent

Previously: 50 Cent Speaks On ‘Street King’, Rick Ross’ Health, Lil’ Wayne, & More With Angie Martinez

In today’s New York Times Style section, music industry mogul Steve Stoute took the liberty of taking out a full page ad to voice his displeasure with the NARAS (National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences) over the Grammy’s shutting out more popular artists to lesser unknowns in some of their big categories. This falls on the heels of last week’s 53rd annual Grammy Awards where artists such as Justin Bieber, Drake and most notably Eminem, lost out on wins such as Best New Artist & Album of The Year to less popular artists like Esperanza Spalding and Arcade Fire. In the past, artists like Kanye West and 50 Cent have experienced the same shut out for categories in which the masses felt they were clear cut favorites to win.

Over the course of my 20-year history as an executive in the music business and as the owner of a firm that specializes in in-culture advertising, I have come to the conclusion that the Grammy Awards have clearly lost touch with contemporary popular culture. My being a music fan has left me with an even greater and deeper sense of dismay — so much so that I feel compelled to write this letter. Where I think that the Grammys fail stems from two key sources: (1) over-zealousness to produce a popular show that is at odds with its own system of voting and (2) fundamental disrespect of cultural shifts as being viable and artistic.

Props to TheLifeFiles

You can read the full submission from Steve Stoute, after the jump….

Over the course of my 20-year history as an executive in the music business and as the owner of a firm that specializes in in-culture advertising, I have come to the conclusion that the Grammy Awards have clearly lost touch with contemporary popular culture. My being a music fan has left me with an even greater and deeper sense of dismay — so much so that I feel compelled to write this letter. Where I think that the Grammys fail stems from two key sources: (1) over-zealousness to produce a popular show that is at odds with its own system of voting and (2) fundamental disrespect of cultural shifts as being viable and artistic.

As an institution that celebrates artistic works of musicians, singers, songwriters, producers and technical specialists, we have come to expect that the Grammys upholds all of the values that reflect the very best in music that is born from our culture. Unfortunately, the awards show has become a series of hypocrisies and contradictions, leaving me to question why any contemporary popular artist would even participate. How is it possible that in 2001 The Marshall Mathers LP — an album by Eminem that ushered in the Bob Dylan of our time — was beaten out by Steely Dan (no disrespect) for Album Of The Year? While we cannot solely utilize album sales as the barometer, this was certainly not the case. Not only is Eminem the best-selling artist of the last decade, but The Marshall Mathers LP was a critical and commercial success that sold over 10 million albums in the United States (19 million worldwide), while Steely Dan sold less than 10% of that amount and came and went as quietly as a church mouse. Or consider even that in 2008 at the 50th Annual Grammy Awards, after going into the night as the most-nominated artist, Kanye West’s Graduation was beaten out for Album Of The Year by Herbie Hancock’s River: The Joni Letters. (This was the first time in 43 years that a jazz album won this category.) While there is no doubt in my mind of the artistic talents of Steely Dan or Herbie Hancock, we must acknowledge the massive cultural impact of Eminem and Kanye West and how their music is shaping, influencing and defining the voice of a generation. It is this same cultural impact that acknowledged the commercial and critical success of Michael Jackson’s Thriller in 1984.

Just so that I’m not showing partiality to hip-hop artists (although it would be an entirely different letter as to how hip-hop music has been totally diminished as an art form by this organization), how is it that Justin Bieber, an artist that defines what it means to be a modern artist, did not win Best New Artist? Again, his cultural impact and success are even more quantifiable if you factor in his YouTube and Vevo viewership — the fact that he was a talent born entirely of the digital age whose story was crafted in the most humble method of being “discovered” purely for his singing ability (and it should be noted that Justin Bieber plays piano and guitar, as evidenced on his early viral videos).

So while these very artists that the public acknowledges as being worthy of their money and fandom are snubbed year after year at the Grammys, the awards show has absolutely no qualms in inviting these same artists to perform. At first I thought that you were not paying attention to the fact that the mental complexion of the world is becoming tanned, that multiculturalism and poly-ethnicity are driving new meaning as to what is culturally relevant. Interesting that the Grammys understands cultural relevance when it comes to using Eminem’s, Kanye West’s or Justin Bieber’s name in the billing to ensure viewership and to deliver the all-too-important ratings for its advertisers.

What truly inspired the writing of this letter was that this most recent show fed my suspicions. As the show was coming to a close and just prior to presenting the award for Album Of The Year, the band Arcade Fire performed “Month of May” — only to… surprise… win the category and, in a moment of sheer coincidence, happened to be prepared to perform “Ready to Start.”

Does the Grammys intentionally use artists for their celebrity, popularity and cultural appeal when they already know the winners and then program a show against this expectation? Meanwhile the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences hides behind the “peer” voting system to escape culpability for not even rethinking its approach.

And I imagine that next year there will be another televised super-close-up of an astonished front-runner as they come to the realization before a national audience… that he or she was used.

You are being called to task at this very moment, NARAS.

And to all of the artists that attend the Grammys: Stop accepting the invitation to be the upset of the year and demand that this body upholds its mission for advocacy and support of artistry as culture evolves.
Demand that they change this system and truly reflect and truly acknowledge your art.

Steve Stoute

In an interview with Pyramid West (posted after the jump), Craig Davis, urban promotions director at Capitol Records, runs down his entire career biography….but then he gets to more current topics, and says that 50 Cent is now signed to Capitol/EMI along with Lloyd Banks.

“We got a really great roster…we just signed the 50 Cent deal over [at Capitol]….50 felt he needed to get out of the Interscope machine. He wanted to do a new change. So he got his release from there. We’re in negotiations with him, the deal just got signed very recently…and um, we got 50 Cent on our label. I think we’re gonna probably have Lloyd Banks as the first cut, and then 50’s gonna come out later on….”

Wow, Craig Davis! This is big news! Except….that it’s not true.
When I asked an insider if 50 Cent was now on Capitol/EMI….the answer was: “Hell no.“

Well, damn *GucciMane voice*

Now we all know that Lloyd Banks and Tony Yayo are indie right now, but as far as the big guy is concerned, he’s still fully in contract with Shady/Aftermath/Interscope, and still has a greatest hits album to release. But even beyond that…sources say he was not in talks to sign to Capitol himself.

This moment is better represented in song…

(Ron Browz “Jumping Out the Window” LOL)

Original interview between Craig Davis/Capitol and PyramidWest (spotted at HipHopDX)

Wow…this is no small gaffe on the part of the Associated Press. They reported that T.I. would have 305 days of house arrest credited to his prison term, so in effect, T.I. was looking at just 2 months in prison, instead of 1 year and 1 day.
Obviously,that sounded like a dream come true for someone convicted of having so many firearms (and with a prior record). And there were a lot of virulent responses from youse guys on the prior post.

But MTV News’ Gil Kaufman has cleared up the misunderstanding….The house arrest credit only applies to T.I.’s future house arrest requirement after he is released from Arkansas’ Forrest City Club Fed.

So even with good behavior, T.I. is only eligible for 55 days reduction from his sentence. He will most likely do at least 10+ months in prison.

Good catch, Gil!

MTV News explains:

“When The Associated Press reported on Sunday that T.I. — due to report to the Forrest City low-security federal prison in Little Rock, Arkansas, on May 26 — had been given credit for 305 days of home detention, “so his stay at Forrest City prison will likely be only two months,” the news agency may have misread the sentencing report. The story has since spread on the Internet, but according to Charysse Alexander, a spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia, it is not accurate.

According to Alexander, the rapper was indeed given credit for the 305 days of home confinement he served while awaiting trial in the case, but that has nothing to do with his prison sentence…..

more after the jump…

Alexander explained that, at best, according to federal sentencing guidelines, anyone who serves more than one year in prison is eligible for a 15 percent “good time” credit, which in Tip’s case could shave almost 55 days off his sentence.

The confusion may have stemmed from mixing the credit for home confinement with the prison sentence, which are separate terms, Alexander said. Once T.I. completes the prison term, he will still have to serve out the remainder of his home confinement, she said, which will amount to about two months…”

Celebrity Drama 10/22/08 part 1:
CD WED 1 8PM 102208.mp3

Celebrity Drama 10/22/08 part 2:
CD WED 2 9PM 102208.mp3

In the previous post, we learned that Sarah is a young Vietnamese/Caucasian Ohio resident, who splits her time between the University of Cincinnati and working as the mall as a nail tech. There are reports of Weezy/Mrs. Carter tattoos, and proud pregnancy photos on a now defunct myspace page. But what does the mother of the newborn Tiger Woods of rap look like?

Here is a glimpse of the elusive “Sarah” from Necole Bitchie. Read more of Necole’s take on Sarah-Gate here and on Stylerazzi.

After the jump, another photo…..

UPDATED: more photos of the real Weezy F. Baby mama

(Thanks to the Twitter-pal Stylerazzi)

All of New York City (and the connected hip hop universe beyond as well) is on fire because of a song that was sent to my co-worker DJ Kay Slay tonite. The song starts with Uncle Murda, and then Hov comes in and says this:

“Gangsta, Gangsta, how you wanna do this? I clap n—as down for yappin’ all foolish, ain’t no stopping this Roc-a-fella movement. The name is Jay Guevera, homie, who are you? and, if your off-beat DJ, anything he play sound familiar? I’ll wait ’til Pharell say, “Play ‘em.”**

Now I’mma have to diss you, Joe. You can get a smack for that, matter fact, the gats will blow….your toy squad will get squashed, Boy–yard dee, you’re lost in the sauce partly because your boss ain’t a leader. He’s a follower. No, I’m not coppin’ ya album or your single, most likely you’ll go copper…”

(**using Pharrell’s own voice)

“He Asked For It” by Uncle Murda, feat. Jay-Z (from thisis50)

he asked for it f uncle murder.mp3

The song is hot. The beat is fire, the Brand Nubian hook is crazy, Murda’s verse is hard, and of course Hov’s verse is classic, vintage, gully Hov.

Maybe because it’s exactly that…..vintage.

ACCORDING TO [EDIT: AN INSIDE SOURCE]:

THAT’S A FREESTYLE OFF A MIXTAPE FROM AROUND 5 YEARS AGO. MIGHT HAVE BEEN AROUND THE TIME OF S.CARTER [The sneaker and mixtape]. AND DJ KHALED WAS NOT ADDRESSED IN THE VERSE AT ALL.

And thankfully, Just Blaze has also stepped in with his voice of reason….

“So for some reason people think this “new” Jay/Uncle Murda thing is a Fat Joe Khaled dis. It’s not. It’s also like 8000 years old and somehow dude got his hands on it and put a verse on it. Now that I recall, it’s Blueprint 2 era..I was going to use this verse for the S.Carter Remix CD but we couldn’t get the Pro Tools in time. Don’t fall for the okeydoke.”

So who is trying to use Jay-Z’s status, reignite an old beef with Fat Joe, and create a non-existant beef with DJ Khaled?

Either someone who is super thirsty to heat up their career. Or someone who is super thirsty to get at Fat Joe.

Either way, that s—t is fraudulent and wack.

More analysis after the jump….

And if you’re still not convinced, then let’s ask ourselves some simple questions….

Question: Why would Jay-Z drop a diss verse towards Fat Joe now?

Many of us know about the tension between Hov and Joe in the past. There was an incident in the 90’s outside of Club Carbon. There was a stand-off over a championship game at the Rucker in 2003. But there hasn’t been any negative confrontations between Hov and Joe in the past couple years.  Meanwhile, Hov has ignored far more direct shots fired from folks like Jim Jones, Joe Budden, even from LL Cool J and Lil Wayne.  And the timing of that Rucker Park standoff matches up with Hov’s statement that the verse is about 5 years old. 

Question: Why would Hov diss DJ Khaled?

There no history of beef between Jay-Z and DJ Khaled. In fact, Hov and Khaled were actually together just days ago in Miami. Khaled was even a guest at Hov’s pro-Obama event.

Question:  Who is Jay referring to when he says “your off-beat DJ”?

Probably no one. That whole part of the verse  is from “I Ain’t No Joke,” where Rakim spits, “Your offbeat DJ, if anything he play sound familiar, Ill wait til E say ‘Play em,’ so I’mma have to diss and Bro, you could get a smack for this. I aint no joke.”

Question: Why would Pharrell jump in on a beef track against Fat Joe and Khaled?

Or better yet, when has Pharrell jumped in on any beef track against anyone? Doesn’t make sense.

Other clues that its old? He talks about Terror Squad and calls them Toy Squad. There is no Terror Squad any more. He calls himself Jay Guevera. That is an old nickname.

However, the verse from Uncle Murder seems current. Especially since it references Stack Bundles’ death.

I hate stunts.

here’s the thing, folks.

If you’re soft like bone marrow**, then don’t be going up to the guy in the room from Brooklyn, talking that fly s–t about, “yo, I heard you was talking reckless about me!”

Especially when he’s the guy who did the yard in the pen.

Especially especially when you just lost weight on that involuntary Detroit diet we all heard about.

Just doesn’t seem like that’s the right time/place to try to make a movie.

But look on the bright side, yung man….it could have been worse. Luckily, the big guy didnt bother with your replacement sparkles. And luckily….when you covered up after the first serve, you avoided the backhand.

**and no, this person’s steez is not representative of ATL or his hometown.

Ok, Jay….how bout I explain it this way….

Your life of being careful and frugal will now benefit those who were reckless and exorbitant.

back in the day, the government bought out 225 billion dollars in bad loans. They were later able to sell them…..for 140 billion.

um. $85 billion dollar loss. Not really a good thing.

(this time around….it’ll be way worse)

Ye: Gimme dat camera! Give a Black man a chance… to walk past all the non-Black people waiting in line! I…want…dat…camera. Man!

Pap1: You can’t have it! (Oh s–t, is this really happening?) Give a pap a chance…to make a living walking the line between harassment and photojournalism! Dude!

DC: What’s that guy have, Ye? (Candy? Shoes? Bape? I want some….)

Lady 1: Boarding pass?

Lady 2: (Damn, California gay rights.)

Ye: I got it! Don, this dude got exclusive photos of Kanye West! I’mma post them on Kanyeuniversecity. Firrsst, Bitches! (….wait a minute.)

DC: (damn, it’s not Bape) Ok, gimme the hand off…meet you in the Premier Lounge. Wi-fi!

Pap1: Oww, my hand! (Doesn’t he get photographed all the time?… the Skycap told me Kanye West was here….is this not Kanye West? Designer bag? Check. Bling? No!…uh oh.)

Lady 1: No, that’s not your boarding pass.

Lady 2: (Oh, wait, they’re not gay. They’re rappers. No, thank you. I’ll just wait over here.)

(more after the jump)

DC: We wrassling photographers and this lady is really sweating a boarding pass! Go away!

Lady 1: Just doing my job, sir. (…cotdamn first-class ticketholders) I.D., please.

Ye: At least we got that camera….wait…its ugly as s–t.  I hate ugly things. Throw that s–t on the floor! Smash that s–t! Yuck!

Pap1: Dude! Do you see this? I’m gonna be famous!

Pap2: Yeah, I see you! You doing it real big! Scream more. (This is even better than catching Fabolous passed out with his mouth open)

Ye: (Ok, time to jet. Just blend…blend….nothing to see here…)

Lady 2 to Lady 1: You just gonna let them walk away like that?

Lady 1: Just doing my job.

DC: Hold up, what you doin?!

Pap2: (uh oh….its Kanye West’s….bodyguard. He’s smaller than I expected.) Huh? Me?

Ye: (blending….doing good)

DC: Oh, you think you slick! Well what if I grab this small fuzzy foam piece that’s on top of your camera? What if I snatch that, break it off with one hand? Now what!

Pap2: No, man, no! Please! (that would be the external mic…yes, snatch that sh–t. thank you)

Pap 2: is that Pastelle?

DC: whatchu think? uhh! (fire)

DC: That just happened. I’m out! (this mark won’t be posting any video of us fighting in the airport, beleeedat.)

Pap2: Oh my god, I have got to get to my computer. Best day ever.

Security1: Don’t move, everyone! What the hell is going on here…now that the something that was going on here a few seconds ago is over and all 3 of the actual people involved are no longer here! We ran here as soon as we could tell that something was over!

Pap2: Owunno….I’m just standing here with this camera. How would I know?

Security1: Oh, of course…I’m so sorry. Thank you for chosing American.

thank you to Jmack and the fellas of HoodHype for a nice audio interview with the homie Joe Budden. Lol, oh, Joe….the freedom of not owing anyone must be so refreshing, lol.

hoodhype-joebudden080208.mp3

“I feel like Nas touched on the whole hip hop is dead thing, but when he did, it was just an empty statement from him, he never stood firm on why that was the case or how you can fix it or who is responsible….and me being an unsigned artist and not giving a f–k about what anyone thinks about what I’m saying….I figured I was the perfect person to deal with it.”

“I can’t find anybody who can tell me how many albums ‘Reasonable Doubt’ sold its first week.”

“‘Padded Room’ is like Mood Musik’s cousin…I dont think there’s more than 3 punchlines or metaphors or similes on there….I’m my only competition at this point…”

Padded Room, Sept. 30 : )