Well, I don’t think many of us saw this one coming. Music industry blogger Bob Lefsetz , has released an alleged email that Nas sent to Def Jam execs over their mishandling of his Lost Tapes 2 project. In the email, Nas (supposedly) claims that Def Jam will not count the album of unreleased material in his multi-album recording contract, offered him a mere $200k to promote the album, and trashes their abilities. Nas has not yet confirmed that he wrote the email. (Props to Nation)

“From: Nas
To: LA Reid, Steve Bartels, Steve Gawley, Michael Seltzer, Joseph Borrino, Chris Hicks
Subject: PUT MY SHIT OUT!

Peace to all,

With all do respect to you all, Nas is NOBODY’s slave. This is not the 1800′s, respect me and I will respect you.

I won’t even tap dance around in an email, I will get right into it. People connect to the Artist @ the end of the day, they don’t connect with the executives. Honestly, nobody even cares what label puts out a great record, they care about who recorded it. Yet time and time again its the executives who always stand in the way of a creative artist’s dream and aspirations. You don’t help draw the truth from my deepest and most inner soul, you don’t even do a great job @ selling it. The #1 problem with DEF JAM is pretty simple and obvious, the executives think they are the stars. You aren’t…. not even close. As a matter of fact, you wish you were, but it didn’t work out so you took a desk job. To the consumer, I COME FIRST. Stop trying to deprive them! I have a fan base that dies for my music and a RAP label that doesn’t understand RAP. Pretty fucked up situation”

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A movie project starring Eric from True Blood (Alexander Skarsgard)! *nom nom*…AND that sulky hunky football washup Tim Riggins from my favorite melodrama Friday Night Lights (Taylor Kitsch)?! *nom nom nom!*
Also….lovely fashionista singer Rihanna will make her acting debut on the film too. Ok. Feeling a lil’ trepidation…but still excited.
But wait, the movie is called Battleship? Please not a dumbed down version of Battlestar Gallactica! No? Phew…..um, it’s actually a movie based on the old Hasbro boardgame, Battleship.

Ugh.

There’s some hope because Peter Berg is directing. He’s that actor who was awesome in The Last Seduction, and since then has done a great job directing/producing Friday Night Lights, and a not so great job directing Hancock. (blech) But also interesting….it seems he’s also working on a “Cocaine Cowboys” feature film. Hmm.

Best Tweet Reply Today:

Wowza….now this I gotta see, for better or for worse….the good peoples at URB (hi Ray) report that Lauryn Hill will be headlining this summer’s “Rock the Bells” tour, and that A Tribe Called Quest may join Hill. Just think of the possibilities! (and let them cover up all the recent awkward moments that we may or may not have felt when watching Lauryn in the past few years.) I will be keeping hope alive and replaying Miseducation…(Recently I was in a store, maybe Club Monaco, and they were playing that Unplugged album. I definitely did not get the urge to buy any flirty dresses, in fact, I may have started sobbing for no reason. No bueno!) So, note to Ms. Hill’s show producer, let’s keep it light. Jazz fingers!

UPDATE:
Ack, URB! My weak heart!….turns out the “Rock the Bells” line-up was announced tonite in LA, and, dagnamit, no Lauryn and not A Tribe Called Quest! Perhaps this isn’t the complete list….but the acts that were announced so far include: Yelawolf, Brother Ali, Immortal Technique, The Clipse, Wiz Khalifa, Murs, Slick Rick, KRS One, Rakim, Wu Tang Clan.
(Does feel like a headliner could still be added here….right? maybe? no?…sigh)

Previously:
Lauryn Hill “World is a Hustle”
Lauryn Hill performs in Brooklyn….was it great or terrible?

More of the emotional roller coaster….after the jump

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Dream feat. Ludacris “Love King (remix)”
(although, I’m not really convinced that I even like this song. Personally, I love that “Speechless” record but maybe that’s a Ciara feat. Dream, not the other way around? In terms of “Love King” I prefer the version with Jeezy because it keeps the original beat.)

Compare and contrast after the jump…

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New Music: Eminem “Not Afraid” (Prod. by Boi-1da) (download)

New Music: Maino’s “Survival of the Fittest” (Prod. by Boi-1da) (download)

Mikey: So the NMC got wind that Em’s “Not Afraid” beat was actually used by Maino for a new record, “Survival of the Fittest”, that he was intending to include on his sophomore album.  While no official statements have been released from Em, Maino, or Boi-1da’s camp , Lowkey says Maino’s camp had no idea Em was using it…

(spotted on Vulture, via MTV)

Obviously I want to see this Judd Apatow movie, Get Him To the Greek, because Apatow feat. Jonah Hill, Russell Brand sounds like a sure thing. But I see why Vultureblog is skeptical about the hyping of Diddy’s funny. The problem with a Diddy cameo is that you never for even a second get to see past Diddy’s Diddyness. So whatever the role is…its Precious based on the Diddy by Diddy. Or Othello in a three-part Diddy as interpreted by Diddy.

That doesn’t automatically delete laugh factor…Apatow did well with Eminem’s cameo in Funny People, and Todd Phillips won (and then overmilked) Mike Tyson’s cameo in The Hangover….but in both of those cases, “the diddy-personality” played himself in the movie.

That said….the Dexy’s Midnight Runners’ song playing in the background is funnier than Puff, Jonah and Russell combined.

Last night, nuttin’ to do….Drake and his buddy Jas Prince on the tour bus….ustreaming….calling chicks around the world….putting on the smooth voice….asking innocuous questions of minor import….and making gals’ day year lifetimes with a lil’ love.

“I loooove you!” “Aight, I love you too”

But the lil’ impromptu double-dutch freestyle with OJ da Juuman adlibs was kinda cute….

watch after the jump…
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(Dre is still brolic, but somehow he seems different. What is it? spotted on Vulture)

After much speculation, and crafty April Fool’s day timing…..over the weekend, Dr. Dre and Interscope boss Jimmy Iovine “casually” mentioned the fact that at least one Dr. Dre duet with Jay-Z exists, and is probably one of these guys’ iphone ringtone. *drats!*
The besties were promoting the new Red Sox version of the Beats by Dre headphones, when the time-continuum-shifting announcement was just made, in passing. No big whoop.
The song is called “Under Pressure,” and believe you me, there will be much whoop made, and then nailed into your head for the next couple months like a new flu scare. So just accept that it’s the biggest thing of all time right now, and save yourself a losing battle.
That said, I wouldn’t exactly turn “Under Pressure” away if it knocked on my door with a bible. Helloo?

Unrelated/Related: so….basically, these Beats by Dre jammies are going to be the pricey audio version of a New Era fitted, huh? We’re going to see more special editions than trending topics. Okie doke.

Oh man…Sunday, Bloody Sunday.

MTV named the remaining top spots on their annual MTV Hottest MC’s in the Game list tonite:
#1: Jay-Z
#2: Lil Wayne
#3: Drake
#4: Kanye West

So…if you remember, the rest of the list is:
#5: Rick Ross
#6: Gucci Mane
#7: Young Jeezy
#8: Fabolous
#9: 50 Cent
#10: Raekwon

The top 4 is fine to me, but…

If folks put their regional biases and their standards for “artistic” excellence aside (just look in the comments for the ridiculous suggestions)….one could still make a strong argument that some of the MCs here don’t deserve the particular slot they’re in (or one at all?).
The easiest way to illustrate this…is by simply asking if each one of these MC’s deserves their slot instead of Eminem.

I’m not even a Eminem superfan, I prefered Cuban Linx 2 to Relapse. But I wouldn’t deny his marquee power…

In a Hollywood comparison, he’d be Tom Cruise here. Embattled, but still able to green-light a project with one nod, and still a scene-stealer in Tropic Thunder. For example, Eminem was the unknowing cornerstone of the “Forever” supercollabo, and he was the center of the MTV Movie Awards publicity cycle, lol.

Just my 2 cents…ok, back to watching Jerry, Elaine, Kramer and more on that Curbed.

PS: We’re all gonna agree to disagree, but in the comments, please don’t stoop to going overboard with the personal insults (towards the MTV crew, towards each other, or lil’ ole me, lol)…it doesn’t make your point more persuasive, it just makes my job harder. Thanks friends : )

I think mixed martial arts is an amazing feat of endurance, skill, training and cojones. But this is more WWE than UFC. On Dec 12, in Birmingham, Alabama, DMX is going to be fighting Eric Martinez, an Arizona music entrepreneur, who happens to be part of DMX’s new management team. Right. Martinez does at least have one fight under his belt though, which he won.

What’s significant to note is that MMA is unregulated in Alabama…so, that’s why this level of sideshow atmosphere is allowed. MMA blogs point out that Thunder Promotions is unscrupulous and once even staged a fight featuring a quadruple amputee Kyle Maynard. (which if it were quadriplegic vs quadriplegic, would make sense, but it wasn’t. come on)

And as for the main event of “Alabama Pride,” its Butterbean Esch (who appeared on Jackass) vs Tank Abbot. Last year, Butterbean fought a guy named Pat Smith, and below, was the result. I’ll save you time: at 0:54 seconds, peep Butterbean’s killer roundhouse kick. And at 1:41, the beginning of the end. (well, technically, 0:00 was the beginning of the end)