By D.L. Chandler

On January 25, the first State Of The Union address of 2011 was slated to be delivered at 9pm EST by President Barack Obama, perhaps one of the more important speeches that the nation’s leader would ever undertake given the turbulent direction of the country. Just one hour before the speech, two leading voices for young people joined forces in Washington, D.C. to discuss what the so-called hip hop generation can do to better their standing in the world politically and socially.

AllHipHop.com and The League Of Young Voters joined together to host an event and panel discussion at the New Organizing Institute titled “State Of The Union 2011: Roadmap To Progress” with a subtheme of “Helping To Plot Your Course.” Chuck Creekmur, the founder of AllHiphop.com, Chloe Hillard, Managing Editor of VIBE Magazine and Rob “Biko” Baker, executive director of The Leauge Of Young Voters all lead the USTREAM broadcasted panel discussion that featured some of the brightest minds in the realm of youth-led political activism. With on location reporting from AllHipHop.com’s Gina Torres, the event showcased a renewed and energized voice from the hip hop generation. Read More...

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By D.L. Chandler

Dr. Dre’s long-awaited first single from what is reported to be his officially announced final studio LP Detox finally hit the waves in its proper mastered form after an early rough draft leaked this past November.

“I Need A Doctor” featuring long-time collaborator and songwriter Eminem, is dominated by the Detroit rhyme spitter with Dre delivering his bars heading into the song’s climax. Eminem’s urgent verses amid vocalist Skylar Grey’s haunting vocals clash violently with the rock-styled drums and dramatic keys. The theme of doctor and patient somehow meshes closely with the metaphor of mentor and student. Read More...

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By Paul Cantor

Following the MTV premiere of her new video “Moment 4 Life” last night (January 27th) , Nicki Minaj sat down with Sway for an exclusive Q&A session. In the midst of it, Sway asked about the Lil Wayne-assisted remix to “Roman’s Revenge,” which leaked online January 17th. After its release, it was widely speculated in hip-hop circles that Wayne was returning a diss to Jay-Z (“Life is a puzzle, Jig-saw/ all I do is win, my name should be Victor/ old ass rappers, I’m still the s--- …”) for his subliminal shot on H.A.M. (“really, you got Baby money”). Nicki steered clear of commenting on the alleged dis, but did speak on Wayne’s presence on the track itself.

“Wayne sounds to me like a little monster,” Nicki told Sway. “His voice is like a little monster. So I can picture him in like a dungeon. And I can picture him with a straight jacket just being super super crazy.” Read More...

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By D.L. Chandler

Nicki Minaj fever swept across the U.K. all last week as the fashion-forward rap star undertook a dizzying press tour and media blitz, all while becoming the darling of the U.K. press.

On the last weekend of her visit across the pond, the charismatic rapper sat with BBC Radio 1's Tim Westwood and quelled the ongoing rumors that she and her Young Money compatriot Drake are an item, although she flirted with the idea, if only briefly.

"I think [our children will] definitely have my personality. My mother-in-law will be super beautiful, so that's good 'cause Drake's mom is freaking amazing. I love her," Minaj said. "They’ll have Drake's intelligence, they'll have his sarcastic wittiness that I love about him, and they'll have his songwriting skills." Read More...

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By Paul Cantor

Waka Flocka's been in the news lately, and it’s not because of his music.

The rapper's house was raided by Georgia police last Thursday (December 16). TMZ reports the cops investigation had to do with prostitution, but instead turned up weapons and a small amount of weed. Wacka appeared on Hartford’s 93.7 for an interview with Jenny Boom Boom on (December 17) and addressed the matter.

“I had to go to court for traffic tickets and when I was coming out the court I had to use the bathroom,” he explained. “So my manager G Boy, he’s like, ‘Police just raided the house.’ I’m like, ‘For what? They wanna find some CDs? What they wanna come here for?’ They stupid. They knew everybody name too. Groupie cops, man. I think they wanted some autographs.”

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By Vanessa Denis

Lloyd Banks dubbed his movement Blue Fridays months back and made free music available to his fans leading up to the release of his album The Hunger For More 2. With the release of HFM2 on Monday, the question whether he'll continue to release new music on Fridays has been a hot topic.

"As far as the Blue Fridays go, I'm gonna keep going up until the last Friday," Banks explained. "So maybe Black Friday, I'll stop there, but that's just that phase. I'll go into a whole new series."

The Blue Fridays shall continue but, with a new series title, a decision that should keep him a topic of rap discussions and continue to solidify his return to the rap game.

The Punch Line King started Blue Fridays as a form of promotion for HFM2, his comeback album since his sophomore Rotten Apple, release with G-Unit/Interscope back in 2006.

Read More...

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By Chris Yuscavage

Unlike some of Twista's lightning-fast rhymes, the message behind a new documentary put together by the motormouthed MC comes across loud and clear: Enough is enough.

Though he just released his eighth album, The Perfect Storm, last week, the Chicago-bred rapper is already looking forward to his next project—a flick called Mr. Immortality: The Life and Times of Twista that will hit the streets December 7 and feature Twista reflecting back on his career and taking a closer look at the violence that has plagued his hometown over the course of the last few years.

"Our city is in trouble right now with 52 people shot in one weekend in July alone," he says at one point during the documentary. "In April, there were even talks about having the National Guard come out and take to our streets...It's hard for a lot of people out there right now and nobody can help make it easier for Chicago's neighborhoods except for the people who live in it."

The Windy City rapper goes on to cite other specific stats about the increased violence in the city and also calls on his hometown to unite in order to "make it safer for the older people who's been living in these neighborhoods for years."

Directed by Vlad Yudin—the same guy who put together a documentary about Big Punisher's career back in 2008 called Big Pun: The Legacy—the video will also examine how Twista went from earning a spot on the local Chicago rap scene in the early 1990s to landing in the Guinness Book of World Records in 1992 as the world's fastest MC to later enjoying commercial success alongside fellow Chi-Town rhymers Kanye West and Common. But the brunt of the 90-minute documentary will be spent analyzing the violent culture that exists in Chicago and talking about what needs to be done in order to end it.

"It's never too late to take back our streets," he says at one point. "And when we do, it's gonna only make it easier for everybody."

In other words, he's had enough. Who's with him?

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By Steven Roberts

One of the dope things about "RapFix Live" is that artists get to interact with their fans and those fans get the chance to shoot questions at their favorite MCs. Sure, Twitter provides a similar opportunity, but does Twitter bring you Sway and a big comfy couch? This past Thursday's episode proved that point when a high-profile "fan" tweeted in to ask a question.

During Sway's interview with Pusha T and CyHi The Prynce (who appeared via Skype), Bun B tweeted @mtv news to ask CyHi how he met his mentor, DJ Greg Street.

"Wow that's Bun B? Shouts out to Bun B, CyHi said. "Mama I made it!"

"To me, Greg Street is an angel," Cy responded. "I was actually in a group and, you know, the situation didn't go through so I started doing my solo thing. One night, I was in the club and I came on to perform and people said I messed the vibe up in the club."

CyHi said Street took him under his wing and showed him around the Atlanta music scene, helping him to build the skills that would eventually get him noticed by Kanye West.

"He said, 'I'm going to be your DJ, I'm going to do everything for you, because I f--- with you. I f---ed with you when you were in the group.' He took me to King Plow [one night], and I opened up for Pusha T and the Clipse and Yelawolf, and the crowd just accepted me so much better there."

There you have it, Bun.

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