B.I.G. Lawsuit Against Los Angeles, LAPD Dismissed

B.I.G. Lawsuit Against Los Angeles, LAPD Dismissed
Friday, April 16, 2010 12:13 PM
By Roman Wolfe

(AllHipHop News) A federal has judge dismissed a lawsuit filed by the mother of the later rapper Notorious B.I.G., which blamed the city of Los Angeles and the LAPD for her son’s death.

On Monday April 5th, Judge Jacqueline Nguyen dismissed the lawsuit without prejudice, after an eight-year wrongful death lawsuit in federal court.

Notorious B.I.G., born Christopher Wallace, was gunned down in March of 1997, after attending an after party during the Soul Train Awards in Los Angeles.

Although it has never been proven, the wrongful death lawsuit claimed that Marion “Suge” Knight conspired with Amir Muhammad, the alleged triggerman and LAPD officers Rafael Perez and David Mack, to murder Notorious B.I.G.

B.I.G. had been feuding with Tupac Shakur, who was gunned down on the Las Vegas strip six months earlier, in September of 1996.

In March of 2006, U.S. District Judge Florence-Marie Cooper ruled in favor of B.I.G., awarding the family a $1.1 million dollar judgment against the city.

In May of 2006, Judge Cooper dismissed the previous ruling in the case, after discovering the family had information they told the court they did not have access to.

In June of 2006, the city of Los Angeles claimed B.I.G.‘s attorneys went to “absurd lengths” to "satisfy their ambition to extract hundreds of millions of dollars from the city.”

From AllHipHop.com

http://allhiphop.com/stories/news/archive/2010/04/16/22173252.aspx

Rap Legend Eric B Blasts Nicki Minaj After Encounter

Rap Legend Eric B Blasts Nicki Minaj After Encounter
April 17, 2010 11:04:00 AM CDT | by Krysten Hughes

Legendary rap icon Eric B recently announced that his recent introduction to newcomer Nicki Minaj did not go as planned. In a rant on Twitter, Eric B wrote "Go fuck yourself" addressing the rap Barbie.

Reports are detailing that Eric B attempted to get a picture with Nicki for his daughter at a concert meet and greet. However, when the Hip Hop pioneer met Young Money's first lady, she disrespected him by treating him like a groupie, as though he had snuck past security to meet her.

Nicki Minaj, who has received positive feedback from her series of mixtape releases since 2009, has not released a statement in regards to Eric B addressing her behavior.

From HipHopDX.com

http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/news/id.11056/title.rap-legend-eric-b-blasts-nicki-minaj-after-encounter

Hip Hop Album Sales: The Week Ending 4/11/2010

Hip Hop Album Sales: The Week Ending 4/11/2010
April 14, 2010 10:04:00 AM CDT | by Allen Jacobs

After the first week of April shaking up the charts, last week was more about releases settling into place. Usher gave up his #1 to Justin Bieber, as divorce ode Raymond v. Raymond adjusted comfortably at #2, losing by a margin of 10,000. The LaFace Records project could likely touch gold next Wednesday, with a strong third week outing.



Monica held #6 for a third straight week with her Still Standing. The J Records artist crossed the 250,000 mark, with an album that features production from Missy Elliott and Jim Jonsin. Monica's Atlanta neighbor Ludacris, who appears on Still Standing, also crossed the 250,000 mark Battle of the Sexes. The DTP/Def Jam release also held his #11 spot from the week before.

Erykah Badu slid five spots to #9 with her acclaimed "part two" release in her New Amerykah series. The championed follow-up maintains her production roster Hip Hop-based luminaries such as 9th Wonder, Madlib, Sa-Ra Creative Partners, Georgia Anne Muldrow and the late J. Dilla.

The Black Eyed Peas budged to the #13 spot with The E.N.D. The release is soon to turn a year old, having already found double-platinum domestic status for the veteran Interscope Records group.

* Please note: figures below approximated to nearest thousandth.
Top 200 Album Sales (Top 5 Hip Hop/R&B)

Rank Artist Album This Week Est. Total
2
Usher
Raymond v. Raymond
92,000
422,000

6
Monica
Still Standing
38,000
304,000

9
Erykah Badu
New Amerykah Part Two
30,000
140,000

11
Ludacris
Battle of the Sexes
26,000
310,000

13
Black Eyed Peas
The E.N.D.
25,000
2,411,000


Lil Wayne took his Rebirth to gold this past week. The experimental Auto-Tune-heavy release crossed the 500,000 unit mark domestically, making it a rapper's first 2010 release to do so. Currently serving on Rikers Island in New York, Wayne has yet to release a statement on the benchmark.

Wu-Tang Clan member trio Ghostface Killah, Method Man & Raekwon's Wu-Massacre fell 25 places to #37. Crossing the 50,000 unit mark next week, the warmly-received project features special packaging and production from RZA and Mathematics.

E-40 had three chart entries last week. The double-packaging of Revenue Retrievin' left the Top 200 this week, and Revenue Retrievin' Night Shift pulled in front of Revenue Retrievin' Day Shift , the inverse of last week's results. Between both releases (at #100 and #108 respectively), the Vallejo veteran sold nearly 10,000 units last week.



On their descent from the charts, two former adversaries almost shared chart real estate last week. In his Interscope departure, 50 Cent's Before I Self Destruct is stretching to reach gold. The G-Unit release came in at #188, while Terror Squad deejay, Khaled carried his E1 release Victory past the 50,000 mark. The release has cracked radio with the Snoop Dogg-assisted southern anthem "All I Do Is Win."

The 18th album from Too Short, Still Blowin', did not crack the Top 200.

Rank Artist Album This Week Est. Total
25
Lil Wayne
Rebirth
15,000
505,000

37
Method Man, Ghostface Killah & Raekwon Wu Massacre
11,000
49,000

100
E-40
Revenue Retrievin': Night Shift
5,000
17,000

188
50 Cent
Before I Self Destruct
2,500
436,000

194
DJ Khaled
Victory
2,400
52,000

From HipHopDX.com

http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/news/id.11035/title.hip-hop-album-sales-the-week-ending-4-11-2010

New Game Track "400 Bars" Leaks

New Game Track "400 Bars" Leaks

The highly anticipate new Game single "400 Bars" was leaked this morning.

Download Here-

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=FCUJCEBV

Let me know what you think. Post your comments below.

Al Goody

Shyne Officially Makes Rap Comeback, Releases "Messiah"

News: Shyne Officially Makes Rap Comeback, Releases "Messiah"
Monday, Apr 12, 2010 8:58PM

Written by Cyrus Langhorne

Former Bad Boy artist Shyne has officially made his return to hip-hop with the release of his new song, "Messiah."

The track officially debuted Monday (April 12) night.

"I got the city on my back," Shyne raps. "Pretty women in the sack, rollin' in the Rolls/Sit, sittin' in my lap/This is not a rap fool, this a not an act/Welcome to New York blood, this is where it's at/Snitches take a nap with the fishes and the rats/Buried in the dirt where the witnesses is at/Hear the whistle when I clap from the missile that I pack/Once you violate, like a ribbon, it's a wrap/From Gangland to the Oval Office, next ten years I'ma control the market.." ("Messiah")
Shyne's new track has already received praise from various music outlets and critics.

The beat is incredibly gutter, but Shyne's voice alone is going to shake up the Big Apple. It's commanding and distinct. He automatically catches your attention, and there's no trace of rust in his flow. I predict that NYC is going to be cheering for Shyne for quite some time. Swizz Beatz already told us weeks ago that he would lace Shyne's album, and who knows who else will contribute to Shyne's comeback? He's still one of the most respected in the game. (MTV)
The rapper was originally set to debut his first post-prison track on DJ Khaled's Victory album.

"He fit me into his schedule and I appreciate it," Khaled said about Shyne. "The thing is, the record got leaked. Some hacker actually leaked it and it messed me up because when they leaked it, the publishers on the production of the track -- came at me and tried to come at me on some legal stuff so I couldn't even use it on my album. That's why I hate these hackers. They ruin surprises -- but at the end of the day, at least the streets got it and we fed the streets." (Jessie Maguire)
Last February, music executive LA Reid inked Shyne to a recording contract with Def Jam.

"I have come here to stand by Shyne and to officially kick off our partnership with Island Def Jam Music Group and Gangland Records and so it is really an honour to be here, really very special place. I am here because great people are worthy of travelling many many miles for it and I come here to say that your country is great and I hope you guys know that this is a great man from your country who deserves this kind of respect and who deserves this kind of support. So that is why we are here." (7 News Belize)

From SOHH.com

http://www.sohh.com/2010/04/shyne_officially_makes_rap_comeback_rele.html

Game's "R.E.D." Album Set To Release June 15

Game's "R.E.D." Album Set To Release June 15
April 11, 2010 12:04:00 PM CDT | by Jake Paine

After announcements that Game's fourth official major label album, R.E.D. would release as early as February of this year, the Compton emcee's reunion project with Aftermath Records has delayed twice. This weekend, Rap-Up.com announced that The Black Wall Street founder will release the project on June 15.

As of right now, that puts Drake and Game in competition of each other, though neither artist has spoken on the matter yet. At present, Game's album, backed by the Cool & Dre single, "Shake" , features confirmed production from Pharrell, Dr. Dre and others.

From HipHopDX.com

http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/news/id.11015/title.games-red-album-set-to-release-june-15