Rapper Gucci Mane, real name Radric Davis, was convicted of smashing a pool stick over a promoter’s head in 2005. He was ordered to perform 600 hours of community service and to refrain from using alcohol or drugs. Since then he has been arrested and charged with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, possession marijuana, and driving under the influence. All of these acts of course violated his probation and a judge sentenced him to 1 year in the big house.

Nardwuar the Human Serviette catches musicians and bands while they are in Vancouver, Canada for extensive, interesting, yet awkward interviews. His moniker consists of a made up word, Nardwuar, and a table napkin, Serviette. He brings books, dolls, and vinyl records to each interview that have meaning to each musician he interviews. The Human Serviette is probably the most awkward interviewer I’ve ever seen, which makes for great entertainment.

Nardwuar vs. NERD

More...

Most of you probably already heard about Kanye bringing out Jay-Z to perform to a beat that Kanye produced in Hawaii titled “Jockin’ Jay-Z” off “The Blueprint 3” during a Glow in the Dark Tour stop.

Jay-Z plans to have Kanye produce most if not all of the album. In other tour news, there was an alleged FAKE MF Doom at the San Bernardino stop of the Rock The Bells Tour. This is not the first account of an alleged fake MF Doom appearance. At this point, it is unclear as to the reason behind the fake MF Doom, but there are some theories, one relating to a marketing strategy to promote his new album and alter ego. If that isn’t the case, I’m not sure how Doom thought he could put out an imposter w/ such a dedicated following or how Guerilla Union let this one slide. Its also unfortunate that as fans were watching the Doomposter, NaS was performing on the other stage! Anyway, see/decide for yourself:

Part 1

Part 2

 

The “MAN on the MOON” KiD CuDi is a Cleveland native who may have caught your ear on the melodic Day ‘N Nite track.  What I like most about his music is his unique choice of “stoner-friendly” beats to rap over that Plain Pat (who is also his manager), Dot Da Genius, and Emile laced him with on the “A KiD Named CuDi” mixtape.  Along with beat selection, hypebeast-favorite DC representative Wale is featured on his “Is There Any Love?” track.  CuDi is getting a lot of love in publications such as URB, FADER, and Rolling Stones ever since touring with Fool’s Gold on their North American Tour as well as his big debut at Fool’s Gold’s SXSW Showcase playing next to the likes of Chromeo and Kid Sister.  With the trendy hipster image and key cosigners, KiD CuDi has caught the eye of many tastemakers.  This obviously means that… hipster rap got next!

 

For those of you who missed out on Lupe Fiasco in concert the past year, you can watch him streaming live at his gig in London at the Somerset House. ChannelBee.com streams concerts from all genres of music live on their site. The Lupe Fiasco show will be “aired” on July 14th. The band UNKLE will also be performing via the Internet on July 12th.

This is a great way to show concerts, I finally caught onto full concerts on the Internet after the Glastonbury show with Lupe Fiasco

and Jay-Z But now you can start watching it all live at ChannelBee.com (http://www.channelbee.com/move/music)

I’m really like the idea of artists putting out free digital mixtapes to promote themselves. Most of these tapes are good material with borrowed beats. First up is Dom Kennedy (myspace.com/domkennedy) from Leimert Park, California. He has been rapping for about 10 years and says he got his start by carrying the torch from his older relatives and the culture they grew up in. His laid back flow and laid back beat selection makes it for perfect listening on hot summer days which was exactly what I was bumping on my hour commute via Boston’s public transportation to work.

Dom Kennedy’s 25th Hour

Next up is a younger artist by the name of Charles “Sonic the Hedgehog” Hamilton. He’s got DJ Green Lantern, which is one of my most admired mixtape DJs (because he actually DJs), hosting and mixing the tape. Nothing but good old metaphors littered throughout the tape, but he claims that he is not like Lupe Fiasco because you can understand his shit. I doubt hes coming at one of my favorite lyricists of all time, but theres truth in that, hes a little dumbed down version that you can just listen to straight thru and get what hes saying.

Charles Hamilton’s Outside Looking 

Charles Hamilton, The Game, and Kanye West Freestyle

"East, Midwest, West pt. 1"

Honestly, I hate to admit it but I’m kinda siding with Soulja Boy more than Ice-T on this one. Although Soulja Boy could’ve gone about it in a little bit more of a mature, he definitely drops some real talk at the end of his tirade. Ice-T is not just going around complaining about the Golden Age, but making personal attacks towards another individual instead of working on making positive changes himself. I also gotta cite a video blog that Bow Wow put up about haters:

Instead of wasting your time complaining about others you should be doing something! Kanye West also sides with Soulja Boy in his latest blog entry:

“Soulja boy is fresh ass hell and is actually the true meaning of what hip hop is sposed to be. He came from the hood, made his own beats, made up a new saying, new sound and a new dance with one song. He had all of America rapping this summer. If that ain't Hip Hop then what is? A bunch of wannabe keep More...