Vibe Magazine readers have crowned Eminem as the best rapper alive, voting began with 64 rappers going up against each other, eventually leading to Eminem beating out Jay Z in the final two contestants.
In a statement the rapper said, “it’s obviously an honor to have won the fans’ support by being voted the Best Rapper Alive, I don’t think that there is any one rapper that is simply the best, though. Everyone who was in consideration and many others are the best at certain things, and at what they do. But since Vibe’s offering the distinction, hell yeah, I’ll accept!”
Vibe will be rolling out Eminem’s win in their November 2008 issue. Presidential hopeful Barack Obama will grace the cover of that issue.
“Vibe is thrilled we could put the debate about the Best Rapper Alive in the hands of the fans,” the mag’s music editor, Sean Fennessey, said. “Eminem isn’t just one of the most successful MCs of all time, he’s also one of the most beloved. The proof is in the voting.”
Agree or disagree? I think there is far better rappers out there than Eminem.
source: Eminem Is The Best Rapper Alive, According To Vibe Poll [mtv]
Those born with a thirst for fame as well as an unfortunate (or boring) moniker face a tougher road to the A-list. So it’s no wonder that many celebs choose to drop their given name for something a bit more… catchy.
Of course, the gawking public isn’t dumb. They know the odds are slim that Sting was born with such an evocative handle. Each week we see an avalanche of searches for celebrity “real names.” Folks look up the obvious stage names (Larry the Cable Guy) as well as some that are a tad more subtle (John Wayne). Some of the lookups are met with disappointment. Madonna’s real name is, in fact, Madonna. Same deal with Prince.
Below we list the 20 top “real name” searches from the past week. Madonna and Tiger top the list, but you’ll find all sorts of actors, athletes, and musicians in the mix. Most people stick with the name they’re given. Celebrities are not “most people.”
We all know that Oprah is the shiz when it comes to making money. She commands the minds of underground armies of housewives everywhere. The Queen reclaims her perch at the top of the Forbes Power List for the second year in a row. Her minions sitting below fell short of the $275 million marker.
The Forbes Power List Top 10
1. Oprah Winfrey
2. Tiger Woods
3. Angelina Jolie
4. Beyoncé Knowles
5. David Beckham
6. Johnny Depp
7. Jay-Z
8. The Police
9. J.K. Rowling
10. Brad Pitt
Tiger Woods, not even making half of what Opie made, secured his second place spot at $115 million. Angelina Jolie is up there because her uterus is Brad Pitt’s playground and for bringing home $14 million.
I bet Obama is maniacally laughing on top of Mount Oprah thankful his diabolic plan of garnering the African American version of She-ra on his side is all going according to plan.
Source: Oprah, Brad and Angelina Top New Power List [People]
Thank God these two are finally official. The air of mystery as to whether or not Jigga was getting the milk for free or not was becoming monotonous.
Good ol’ People magazine was digging for the truth behind the nuptials and found that they Beyonce and Jay-Z filed their signed wedding license Friday in Scarsdale, N.Y. The Town Clerk, Donna Conkling, confirmed the date on the license as April 4, 2008. In a bit of no-no, it was filled nearly a week after the wedding date. The law requires it to be processed and the delay in filing could result in a penalty.
Donna reassures the magazine’s sources that the penalty will probably be waived. She also mentions that this issue happens frequently and no one really gets fined.
Thank God. We wouldn’t want these two out $25. That could buy a couple of packs of Huggies for their fictional baby.
Source: Beyoncé & Jay-Z File Signed Marriage License [People]
Poor Jigga just can’t keep his nose clean. After some questionable employment practices at 40/40 Club in Vegas, Jay-Z hit’s the press again. A $5 billion lawsuit has been brought to the doorstep of the rapper turned enterpriser. This time the allegation that he is profiting from slave trade.
Campaigner Clive Campbell and Brooklyn-based organization Da Black Defense League claim Ratner’s $4 billion project in the Atlantic Yards area - the construction of a new Barclays-sponsored arena for the New Jersey Nets basketball team, of which both Ratner and Carter are shareholders - is directly profiting from the slave trade.
Barclays Bank seems to be the source of the trouble. The financial institution has been at the center of slave trade issues for quite some time. While the finger pointing at profits from slavery has surrounded Barclays, not one claim has actually been proven.
The Atlantic Yards project has had shading dealings for some time. Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s budget revealed that was a doubling of the city subsidy for the project. The city’s direct contribution is already at $205 million. That is over 5% of New York’s overall budget surplus.
No comments have been made by Jigga’s camp, but you can guess that someone is getting a tongue lashing.
Source: Jay-Z Named In Lawsuit For Slave Reparations [Starpulse]
This proverbial human waste is hitting the fan for Jigga. His club in Las Vegas has something to rival Enron in the works. Or maybe some Queen has his or her thong in knot. Around 100 employees of 40/40 Club have been fired or jumped ship. The managers are even being taken out one by one. Of the 10 original head honchos that opened the club only 2 remain.
Finger pointing has started with Jay and his grudges. The “N” word was also reportedly used by Jigga according to disgruntled former employees. They also claim that along with being threatened and degraded the club’s inner workings are unprofessional. One manager met his end after questioning operational procedures. When a register turned up short on cash, 5 bartenders where fired on the spot. Word is that an overstaff was purposely overstaffed only to scale back dramatically.
Oooo, sounds like some shady dealings to me. I should be thanking these people while they are off creating havoc and gossip I am sitting here munching on my Kashi and maintain a job at the hands of their dealings.
Chad Butler, better known as rapper Pimp C, has died, apparently of natural causes, at the age of 33.
Pimp C, who spun searing tales of Texas street life into a key role in the rise of Southern hip-hop, was found dead in an upscale hotel on Tuesday. He was 33.
The rapper formed Underground Kingz with partner-in-rhyme Bun B while the pair were in high school, and their often laconic delivery paired with wittily dangerous lyrics influenced a generation of current superstars like Lil’ Wayne. T.I. had the group on as guests when he remade their 1994 song “Front, Back and Side to Side” for his “King” album.
To a mainstream audience, Pimp C was best known for UGK’s cameo on the Jay-Z hit “Big Pimpin’,” and for “Free Pimp C” T-shirts and shout-outs, ubiquitous in rap several years ago while he was jailed on gun charges. On Tuesday, his MySpace page had been changed to read: “C the Pimp is FREE at last.”
Born Chad Butler, Pimp C was found dead in a room at the Mondrian hotel, a longtime music industry hangout not far from the House of Blues on Sunset Strip, where he had performed Saturday night alongside rap veteran Too $hort. Capt. Ed Winter of the Los Angeles County coroner’s office said Butler had apparently died in bed.
“At this time there’s no signs of foul play,” Winter said. “It appears to be possibly natural, but pending autopsy and toxicology we can’t say the cause.”
Butler had been in Los Angeles to work on his next solo album for Rap-A-Lot Records, according to James Prince, the Houston-based label’s CEO. Manager Rick Martin identified Butler’s body, and said in a statement, “He was my best friend and I will always love him.”
Though they never enjoyed massive pop chart success, UGK’s early CDs are considered landmarks for the then-burgeoning Texas hip-hop scene, which also featured the Geto Boys. Signed to a deal with Jive Records, they released “Too Hard to Swallow” in 1992, “Super Tight” two years later, and “Ridin’ Dirty” in 1996, considered a rap classic.
Over laid-back beats, they laid out incisive details that remain Southern rap mainstays: descriptions of sex and conspicuous consumption, wood-grain steering wheels and triple-beam scales used to weigh drugs.
Butler led off Three 6 Mafia’s 2000 ode to drinking cough syrup to get high, “Sippin’ on Syrup,” with the lines: “I’m trill working the wheel. A pimp, not a simp. Keep the dope fiends higher than the Goodyear blimp. We eat so many shrimp I got iodine poisoning.”
Butler was jailed for three years in 2002; he had plead no contest to aggravated assault for brandishing a gun during an argument with a woman at a mall, then fell behind on required community service. UGK’s rise was derailed, but the “Free Pimp C” slogan caught on and an unauthorized album of Pimp C’s freestyle rhymes was released while he was in prison.
When Pimp C and Bun B finally put out an album this year, they felt such a need to re-establish themselves they titled their album “Underground Kingz,” as if to underscore a new start.
Critics praised the CD, which included the hit “International Player’s Anthem (I Choose You),” featuring OutKast. Pimp C’s verse riffs on high-class women and cars: “I’m pullin’ Bentleys off the lot. Smashed up the gray one, bought me a red. Every time we hit the parking lot we turn heads,” he raps.
Barry Weiss, CEO of Jive, said in a statement: “We mourn the unexpected loss of Chad. He was truly a thoughtful and kindhearted person. He will be remembered for his talent and profound influence as a pioneer in bringing southern rap to the forefront.”
Butler, who grew up in Port Arthur, Texas, came from a musical lineage. His father was a professional trumpet player, and the rapper studied classical music in high school. He even received a Division I rating on a tenor solo at a University Interscholastic League choir competition.
“That’s how I came up listening to everything,” he told The Associated Press in a 2005 interview. “Music don’t have no color or no face. It’s a universal language. I think being exposed to all that kind of stuff influences the way I make records.”
Butler is survived by a wife and three children.
Sad news.
Source: Rapper Pimp C found dead in LA hotel (AP/Yahoo) Photo credit: AP/David J. Phillip
Beyonce Knowles hasn’t had much luck on her latest concert tour. First people get burned from her pyrotechnics, then she bites ass on stage, and now her dress flies up, all the way up. Do they not have dress rehearsals for these things?
What others are saying:
The Superficial says, “And like a true performer, she just held down the top with her arm and continued jumping around like an ass dancing.”
mollygood says, “Last week, launching her fashion line in Toronto with an energetic dance routine, [Beyonce] gave hundreds of fans a peek at the breasts usually reserved for boyfriend Jay-Z.”
Source: “Beyonce Loses Top at Toronto concert Deja Vu” [youtube]
Seriously… do you think Jay-Z even knew that dog fur was being used?
A jacket from Jigga’s clothing line, Rocawear, allegedly has dog fur in its collar, even though it’s advertised as having fake fur. According to an investigation by The Humane Society of the United States, the Hunter jacket on Rocawear.com contains real fur from a raccoon dog, a dog indigenous to Asia that The Humane Society claims are skinned alive for the coats, hence the uproar.
As of today, the $265 coat was still a “featured” item on the Rocawear website. Late last year, a similar investigation found that raccoon dog fur was being used in a coat in rap mogul P. Diddy’s “Sean John” collection; that item was removed from stores within a few days.
Reps for Jay-Z and Rocawear could not immediately be reached for comment. The Humane Society said that it informed the company of the issue a week ago, but that they’ve taken no action.
Campaigner Clive Campbell and Brooklyn-based organization Da Black Defense League claim Ratner’s $4 billion project in the Atlantic Yards area - the construction of a new Barclays-sponsored arena for the New Jersey Nets basketball team, of which both Ratner and Carter are shareholders - is directly profiting from the slave trade.
Pimp C, who spun searing tales of Texas street life into a key role in the rise of Southern hip-hop, was found dead in an upscale hotel on Tuesday. He was 33.
