LONG BEACH, CA (10.31.03)--A rift has opened between Snoop Dogg and his one time protege's, Tha Eastsidaz. According to the group, Snoop never paid the group royalties on two platinum selling records.

The group alleges that after they hired accounting firm Moss Adams LLP, the same accounting firm that Snoop uses, they discovered that they were owed in excess of $1 million dollars.

"I won't allow nobody to take my hard earned money," Big Tray Dee said. "If you want to take something, let's go head up and winner take all."

The group said that they were given a royalty rate of 2 percent and when they confronted Snoop about the unpaid money, he allegedly claimed that no money was made on their self titled debut and the follow up, Duces 'N' Trayz...The Old Fashioned Way.

After the audit, The Eastsidaz allege they found that Snoop had charged them $142,000 for two gold chains worn during the "G'd Up" music video.

The group claims the chains were gifts and that ten other people were given chains as well.

On August 6, 2001, Tray Deee wrote a letter asking for the unpaid royalties. He said that he received a response from the law firm of Leibowitz, Roberts & Ritholz, stating that all of the royalties were given to Snoop Dogg.

In November of 2001, The Eastsidaz and their manager Terry Carter met with Snoop at his Dogg House Studio.

During the meeting the group alleges that they explained to Snoop how they trusted him and that Snoop himself had been cheated out of royalties while working for Death Row Records.

Tray Dee maintains that Snoop agreed to give Tha Eastsidaz their own record label to release their third album through TVT Records and that Snoop would contribute three songs to the album at no cost.

The Eastsidaz say that they are still waiting for Snoop and claim that his silence is "an attempt to sabotage Tha Eastsidaz project."

Earlier this month the group says Tray Dee went to Snoop's house to return the gold chains and to again ask for the back royalties.

According to the group, security was alerted and Snoop "ran out the back door, hopped the fence, fell, busted his lip and ran into the mountains. The security guards opened fire on Tray Deee and left the premises before police could arrive, leaving Snoop alone on the mountain."

"Let's show the fans who you really are," Tray Dee continued. "Quit running like a coward behind your
security."

CHOLOMA, HONDURAS (10.30.03) -- "While Sean 'P.Diddy' Combs prepares to run the NYC Marathon 'for the kids,' the young Honduran women who produce apparel for his Sean John label are paid as little as $0.75/hr." That is the picth being used by The National Labor Committe to bring attention to its fight to better conditions at a factory in Honduras. The Southeast Textiles factory (better know as SETISA) is the focus of a major investigation being conducted by the NLC. According to a letter sent to P. Diddy's Sean John Clothing office in NYC, "all women employees face mandatory pregnancy tests, the factory's drinking water is filthy and dangerously contaminated, and workers must get permission to use the bathroom which lacks toilet paper and soap."

Although there has not been an official word to come out of the SeanJohn offices, according to officials at the NLC, workers at the facilty are preparing to testify against the Hiphop clothing line. Lydda Eli Gonzalez, 19, says she has worked at the factory since she was 11 and contends that "we have to get a pass from the supervisor and give it to the guard in front of the bathroom, who also searches us before we go in. You can go once in the morning and once in the afternoon. Also they watch the time, and if you are gone more than three or four minutes, they call you on the loudspeaker.

Real-Hiphop.com will keep you posted as the information on this story comes in.

PICTURE OF SETISA FACTORY  PIC #1  PIC #2

QUEENS, NY (10.30.03)-- A year has passed since a gunman clad in black walked into the Queens recording studio of Jam Master Jay and — possibly after greeting the rap legend with a hug — pumped a bullet into his head.

Since then, police say they have pursued "several significant leads," including some that suggest the rap legend died in a dispute over money. But Thursday's anniversary of a slaying that shook the music industry appeared likely to pass with the killer still at large.

Homicide detectives in Queens — where the pre-eminent DJ and founding member of Run-DMC was killed on Oct. 30, 2002 — say the case remains a top priority. They deny reports their hunt for the gunman has stalled.

"It's a very active investigation," Deputy Chief Michael Collins, a police spokesman, said Wednesday. "We're pursuing several significant leads."

The city, music industry notables and family members have helped keep the killing in the headlines by offering tens of thousands of dollars in rewards. Hip hop luminaries such as Russell Simmons and Sean "P. Diddy" Combs have been invited to mark the anniversary at a memorial service Thursday night near the murder scene in Queens.

But privately, investigators have complained that some witnesses have been uncooperative. And with no major breaks, the case has drawn comparisons to the unsolved slayings of rap superstars Tupac Shakur (news) in Las Vegas and Notorious B.I.G. in Los Angeles.

The 37-year-old victim, whose real name was Jason Mizell, spent his last moments lounging in his 24/7 Recording Studio the night of his death.

The DJ had gained fame working the turntables as Russell Simmons' brother, Joe "Run" Simmons, and Darryl "DMC" McDaniels rapped on hits like "King of Rock," "It's Tricky," and a Top 40 remake of Aerosmith's "Walk This Way." In more recent years, he had helped produce and promote lesser-known artists.

Witnesses said a large man wearing a black sweat suit and black hat appeared inside the studio and, according to a report in Newsday, embraced Mizell. He then pulled out a .40-caliber pistol and opened fire.

NEWARK, NJ (10.29.03) -- Since the first major re-launch in 2001, Real-Hiphop.Com has quietly become one of the world's premiere Hiphop websites. Bringing exclusive content including news, audio and video streams, and interviews-RH2 is constantly moving light years ahead of the competition. One major reason for the increase rush of users to the Real-Hiphop.com website is the addition of "Got Lyrics?" (the only video street battle series of it's kind) and the highly visited "Who Got Next" section of the site, which premier up-and-coming MC's in the game.

On Thanksgiving night (November 27, 2003), Real-Hiphop.Com will be hosting a Platinum Party in New Jersey to celebrate this historic moment in rap history. Stay tuned to Real-Hiphop.Com for more information about the party. Potential sponsors and promo-teams should contact the corporate office at 917.477.0227.

The Entire Staff at Real-Hiphop.Com would like to thank all of the fans for their continued support.

LAS VEGAS, NV (10.29.03)--Nelly and Michelle Branch might not have much in common musically, but personally they share quite a bit. Both were in Las Vegas on Monday attending the 2003 Radio Music Awards and were the victims of burglaries at the Aladdin Hotel.

Around 9 p.m. local time, while both artists were in attendance at the awards ceremony, their respective rooms were robbed, according to a Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department spokesperson.

Approximately $1 million worth of jewelry was lifted from the room of Nelly, and Branch's personal computer and some related equipment were also taken.

As of Tuesday morning (October 28), an investigation of the burglaries was still being conducted by the police department's Tourist Safety Unit. There were no other robberies reported at the Aladdin Hotel at the time.

While losing his valuables at the hotel, Nelly was actually winning a new one at the Radio Music Awards. "Shake Ya Tailfeather," the song he appears on with P. Diddy and Murphy Lee, won Best Driving Song. Branch, meanwhile, was a performer at the ceremony, which was broadcast live on NBC.

Other winners included Justin Timberlake for Artist of the Year/Top 40 Radio Award and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, who took home the Legend Award honoring lifetime achievement. Michael Jackson received the Humanitarian Award.

The Radio Awards are voted on by radio programmers and music directors around the country, honoring the most played songs on radio.

NEW YORK, NY (10.28.03)-- "[There's no] civil war going on at Bad Boy," the label's head honcho, P. Diddy, said Thursday about the rumored dissension in his company's ranks. "Bad Boy's stronger and tighter than ever."

Contrary to his assessment, if you listen to Brooklyn-based Bad Boy signees the Hoodfellaz, they'll expound on their displeasure with P.D. and the beef sounds familiar. Mirroring the turmoil P. Diddy went through with the LOX in 1998, now it's the Hoodfellaz who have gone public about their desire to jump ship.

"A lot of tension is building," the Hoodfellaz's oldest member, 21-year-old Don Morock, said last week about bumping heads with Diddy. "I just think it's time to part ways. We're hurt. We wanted to rock with him ... we thought he wanted to rock with us. Now this is how we're showing our anger."

The Hoodfellaz's biggest gripe is that they've been sitting in the wings since they signed with Bad Boy in 2001, shortly before Diddy's third album, The Saga Continues, was released. The trio, which also consists of Blassy and Poppa Sim, said it has recorded a whole catalog worth of tracks over the past couple of years and that Diddy has broken promises to officially release a single by them.

"He's talking about how he's running [the New York Marathon] 'for the kids,' " 18-year-old Blassy scoffed. "I got a kid, Morock got a kid, what about our kids?"

"On the real, we ain't eating over there," 19-year-old Sim seethed. "They're not paying bills over there. We with the richest man in hip-hop and we gotta do our own thing to get paper."

The main point the Fellaz want to communicate to their boss is that their music is a 'sure thing' if they receive the proper backing.

Diddy disagrees.

"The Hoodfellaz — they're like a young group that needed a lot of work so they didn't come out," Puff said bluntly, explaining why it has taken so long for the group to drop a record.

HOODFELLAZ (DA BAND DISS)  real media  windows

CHICAGO, IL (10.27.03)--Rapper Ja Rule had dialog with the Minister Louis Farrakhan on The Nation of Islam's farm last week.

The contents of their conversation will simultaneously be broadcast on 85 urban Clear Channel stations across the country.

Sources told say that the purpose of the meeting between Ja-Rule and Farrakhan is to mediate tension between the two men and encourage peace between their respective camps.

Big Tigga was originally requested to do the interview, but sources said that Farrakhan was chosen at the request of Irv Gotti.

Farrakhan spoke with 50 Cent on Thursday as well and will meet with him one on one in the coming weeks. Farrakhan will also meet with Irv Gotti and Chris Lighty, who manages 50 Cent.

"The reeducation of the public, which is the duty of all in leadership, will cause us to make demands on our artists, their managers, promoters and the owners of the recording, movie and television industries so that the public will be fed a better diet spiritually and mentally, as well as musically and artistically," Farrakhan said of the rap industry in January.

This is not the first time that Farrakhan, leader of the Nation Of Islam, has met with feuding rappers. Shortly after the murders of Tupac Shakur and The Notorious B.I.G., the Minister met with various artists, attempting to broker peace.

HOLLYWOOD, CA (10.27.03)--Scary Movie 3," the latest entry in the spoof franchise, enjoyed a record-smashing No. 1 debut by selling a better-than-expected $49.7 million worth of tickets in its first three days, according to studio estimates issued on Sunday.

In the limited-release world, prospects seemed bullish for "Brother Bear," the Walt Disney Co. cartoon that opened in one theater each in New York and Los Angeles before its national rollout on Nov. 1. The film earned $285,000, for a per-theater average of $142,500. By contrast, "Scary Movie 3" averaged a sterling $14,100, easily the highest in the top 10.

"Scary Movie 3" broke the record for an October release set last year when the Hannibal Lecter horror "Red Dragon" opened at No. 1 with $36.5 million.

It also sets a new record for Miramax Films, the Disney unit that released the film through its Dimension Films genre banner. Miramax's previous best was the first "Scary Movie," which opened with $42.4 million in 2000 and ended up with $160 million. The second film, released last year, opened with $20.5 million and finished with $71.3 million.

The movie owes it success to the number of hiphop stars that made cameo apperances in the movie including RZA, U-God, Raekwon, Fat Joe, Queen Latifah and even Ja Rule.

LOS ANGELES, CA (10.25.03)--This week Forbes released the list of the Top Ten Earning Dead-Celebrities. One official told Real-Hiphop.Com: "we had to expand our list from 13 to 19 this year to reflect a wide range of professions." Included in the list this year is Tupac Shakur. Since his death in 1996, Shakur's legacy has translated into more than 12 million dollars. Forbes has accredited these earnings to the recent biography released on Tupac, a number of recently released albums (which totaled to 3 million sold in the last 2 years), and the new film entitled "Tupac: Resurrection" which was produced by his mother Afeni Shakur. There will also be a soundtrack to this movie set to be released later this year.

Also featured on the list this year was, Bob Marley, Dale Earnhardt, and Elvis Presley who landed at #1 with $40 Million since his death in 1977.

NEW YORK, NY (10.25.03)-- Sitting in a Florida jail cell, fighting his deportation, Ricky "Slick Rick" Walters counts the days. He ran out of fingers a long time ago. The Hip-Hop Hall of Fame inductee is into his 17th month behind bars, with no end in sight despite extensive legal efforts and appeals from friends like comedian Chris Rock , actor Will Smithand the Rev. Jesse Jackson.

"It's the same old, same old," the voice behind the classic hit "La-Di-Da-Di" said by phone from a federal detention facility in Bradenton, Fla. "Wake up, eat breakfast. Do a little exercise, try to keep yourself together. Call your wife. "Stay positive."

It's tough in the face of endless negativity. Since his June 2002 jailing, Walters has awaited word on whether he can return to his home and two sons in the Bronx — or if he'll face deportation to his birthplace of England. He sees his wife, Mandy, just once a month.

Walters' supporters have called for the rap star's release pending resolution of his case. Others believe he is an undeserving victim of the government's post-Sept. 11 immigration crackdown.

"Of course that factored in," said hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons, whose Def Jam record label released Waters' classic album "The Adventures of Slick Rick" in 1988. "Fear and anger are the motivating forces in the government campaign against immigrants' right."

Walters, in more measured terms, agreed.

"I'm not a politician or a lawyer," Walters said. "I can just speculate on the reason. But I'll put it out to the public: Somebody waiting for months on a yes or no question, and there's no answer?"

It was spring 2002 when Walters, now 38, left Florida for a weeklong performance gig aboard a cruise ship. He was arrested by Immigration and Naturalization Service agents upon returning to port.

QUEENS, NY (10.24.03) -- Real-Hiphop.Com reported earlier this week that the family of Jam Master J has issued a $500,000 Reward for information leading to the arrest of the murderder of the famed DJ from RUN-DMC. It seems that the reward has created a number of credible leads in the case.

A key eyewitness to the shooting of Jam Master Jay has identified one of two gunmen involved in the sensational assassination of the hip- hop legend nearly a year ago. In a bombshell disclosure, Lydia Hyde, whose brother was one of the slain DJ's business partners, told detectives she was sitting opposite Jay in his Queens studio last Oct. 30 when two gunmen entered.

She said she recognized one gunman as an ex-con from her Hollis, Queens neighborhood - and provided cops with his name. Hyde told detectives he forced her to the floor just before his accomplice shot Jay in the head at point-blank range as he sat on a couch. She said she did not get a look at the triggerman.

Since providing investigators with the suspect's name, Hyde has been under police protection in a secret location, sources say.

Sources said Hyde decided to provide investigators with hard details a few weeks ago at the urging of rap-music industry acquaintances who want to see justice done. Investigators are trying to independently corroborate her explosive account, one they've added to a cauldron of evidence in a complicated murder case with a variety of potential suspects.

JERSEY CITY, NJ (10.24.03)--There are reports coming out of Jersey City that another hiphop artists was the victim of an apparent shooting. Rapper Joe Budden has revealed that he was recently the victim of an intended shooting incident, though he was vague about the details. "I'm very paranoid," Budden said. "Somebody just came up to my car the other day and tried to shoot but it jammed I don't know the reason, I don't give a f*** about the reason." Asked how he copes with the threat of violence, the rapper replied, "I can't say. I can't say how I'm going to cope with that." Budden's collaboration with Busta Rhymes, "Fire", is currently on the charts.

This incidents comes just a month after 50 Cent was the victim of a shooting that occurred right outside of the Double Tree hotel in Jersey City.

LOS ANGELES, CA (10.23.03) -- Actor Fred Berry, best known as "Rerun" on the 1970s TV show "What's Happening!!", has died, his business manager said Wednesday. He was 52.

Arlene Thornton said the actor died Tuesday at his home in Los Angeles. She did not have any details on the cause of death. The Associated Press reported that Berry died of natural causes. The AP said the county coroner was investigating, but that Berry's friends said he had been ill because of a recent stroke.

Berry played the jolly and rotund Freddie "Rerun" Stubbs on the sitcom, which aired on ABC from 1976 to 1979. He was also part of the cast of "What's Happening Now!", an updated version of the show that aired in syndication from 1985 to 1988.

More recently, Berry played himself in this summer's movie "Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star" and on an April episode of the NBC sitcom "Scrubs," according to IMDb.com

In a 2002 interview with People magazine, Berry said he keeps the "Rerun" character alive by appearing in his trademark red beret and baggy pants as a pitchman for various companies through his business, Celeb-Events International.

"I'm working on my career on a corporate level now," he told the magazine. "They have celebrity weekends where they bring me out to sell (products to clients)."

He also said he had lost more than 100 pounds in the years after the sitcom ended. Berry also was a minister.

"I'm not the ordinary orthodox pat-you-on-the-head type," he told the magazine. "I'm the type of minister that will get in your face. I'm real because it's a real world out there."

Born in St. Louis in 1951, Berry told People he was a millionaire by age 29, but fell into drug and alcohol addiction.

"The stress of success got to me. The fat jokes got to me. And I got heavily into drugs and alcohol. I was empty inside," he told the magazine in 1996.

In 1985 Berry kicked his addictions.

He is survived by two daughters and a son. He was married six times, to four women.

Berry told People in 2002 that was happy to be known as "Rerun."

"I'm still called 'Rerun' and I love it!" he says. "People ask me to dance every day, no matter where I am -- in the grocery store or in the boardroom."

DETROIT, MI (10.22.03)--Eminem's ex-wife Kimberly Mathers is wanted. On Tuesday (October 21), a Michigan judge issued a bench warrant for Mathers after she missed two court appearances in her ongoing cocaine possession case, according to the Associated Press. If Mathers is convicted of the felony cocaine possession charge, she could face up to five years in prison.

Mathers was freed on bail in July and ordered to undergo drug testing twice a month as a condition of her bond. She was scheduled to appear in Macomb County Circuit Court on Monday and failed to show up. The judge gave her until Tuesday morning to make an appearance and when Mathers didn't show up, a bench warrant was issued.

According to assistant prosecutor David Portuesi, it isn't likely that the police will search for Mathers.

Mathers' charges stem from a June traffic stop on Interstate-94 in St. Clair Shores, Michigan. Mathers was traveling with another woman, and during the traffic stop for allegedly failing to merge with other cars before a construction barricade, police found a white powder in her Cadillac Escalade, which was later confirmed to be less than 25 grams of cocaine.

Mathers was charged with felony cocaine possession, driving with a suspended license, and unsafe driving near a stopped emergency vehicle. She is expected to stand trial next month on the charges.

In July 2001, Mathers was arrested and charged with felony cocaine possession, but the charges were eventually dropped.

LOS ANGELES, CA (10.21.03) -- Rap trumped rockabilly last week as the latest album from hip-hop star Ludacris topped the U.S. pop charts and a new collection of Elvis Presley classics landed at No. 3, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

The third major-label set from Ludacris, "Chicken N Beer," sold 430,000 copies during the week ended October 12, a career best for the "Dirty South" rapper who made headlines last year with a controversial but short-lived Pepsi promotion deal.

Meanwhile, "Elvis 2nd to None," a follow-up to last year's chart-topping collection of Presley material, sold 181,000 copies its first week to enter the Billboard Top 200 in third place -- behind Ludacris and another rap act, OutKast -- some 26 years after his death.

Presley's latest posthumous sales figures paled in comparison to the debut of "ELVIS 30 #1 Hits," which posted first-week U.S. sales of 500,000 copies and shot to the top of the charts in more than two dozen countries.

Joe DiMuro, a senior marketing executive for Bertelsmann AG unit RCA Records, said the label was "very happy" with "Elvis 2nd to None." He insisted the album was "meeting all its expectations" as a sequel to the blockbuster success of "30 #1 Hits." That album went on to sell 9 million copies worldwide.

BROOKLYN, NY (10.21.03)--Dad Prez files civil suit in response to unlawful physical assault and arrest by police officers.

Hip Hop artist Stic of the acclaimed group dead prez and members of A-Alikes are filing suit against the City of New York as a result of the New York Police Department’s unlawful assault, arrest and detainment of the artists on September 27th, 2003.

While asserting their right to congregate in a public place, dead prez and members of the A-Alikes were taking pictures when approached by two police officers and asked for identification. Refusing to provide a coherent reason when asked by the artists why id was necessary, witnesses say the officers requested back-up and upon it’s arrival, physically attacked the men in broad daylight.

“I was harassed and attacked by the police in my neighborhood,” says Stic of Dead Prez. “There were no complaints and I wasn’t violating any laws,” he explained.

To date, there are no state or federal laws that deem it unlawful for one to question or deny the demand for identification by a law enforcement officer. Attorney Kamau Karl Franklin who will represent the artists in the suit states that “Even if we walk away with monetary compensation…which we’re almost guaranteed given the illegal detention, it’s important to be an example to other victims of police brutality, be they recording artists or everyday people.” dead prez, along with A-Alikes, the People’s Army and other fellow Hip Hop artists is organizing a call for action amongst New York attorneys, community leaders, political activists, musicians and supporters to help them fight back. “We can’t allow the daily occupation and brutality by the police against our community to go unchecked,” says dead prez artist M1.

On October 29, 2003 at 9:00 am, dead prez will hold a press conference before entering court that day to address the case.

QUEENS, NY (10.20.03)--After a year with no arrests in the murder of Jam Master Jay, friends and family of the hip-hop icon are taking matters into their own hands, launching their own investigation and offering $500,000 to shake loose clues.

Frustrated with the pace of a probe that has generated more rumors than leads, associates of the legendary record-spinner - whose real name was Jason Mizell - said they would hire a private investigator to assist cops who have run into a wall thicker than the one on 205th Street in Hollis, Queens, where a mural was painted in the slain deejay's honor.

"Any help we can get to solve this case is welcome," Mizell's brother, Marvin Thompson said.

"I don't want this to just go away unsolved like Tupac and Biggie's cases. I want a closure to this case, and I think the people want some closure to this case as well."

Rival rap stars Tupac Shakur and Biggie Smalls were murdered six months apart. After more than six years, their murders remain unsolved.

Mizell, 37, the track-mixing pioneer behind rap group Run-DMC, was shot to death by a masked gunman last Oct. 30 in the lounge of his Jamaica, Queens, recording studio, triggering what some have called a new rap war and a struggle for control of the hip-hop music industry.

NEW YORK, NY (10.20.03)--Eric B. & Rakim's groundbreaking album, Paid In Full is being re-released as a double CD set, featuring the original album remastered and a collection of remixes.

But Eric "Eric B." Barrier is not pleased with Island re-releasing the album, alleging that the label has never paid the duo for the legendary album and is filing a lawsuit against Island Def Jam Music Group, Lyor Cohen and Russell Simmons.

"We have never received a dime from Paid In Full, not one dime, despite it selling so well throughout the years," Barrier said. "We were managed by Rush Management at the time of the album being released. Lyor managed the day to day operations. I recently talked to Russell and Lyor about it. Their lawyers said it was too old for us to fight and that they could beat us in court."

Barrier said that before he considered legal action against Cohen, Simmons and the Island Def Jam Music Group, he attempted to settle the dispute out of court.

"I approached them to settle this dispute 9 months ago," Barrier said. "They have been exploiting these masters for years. It's just another way to f*ck someone. I'm going to sue everyone. They expect me to go up to the offices on the ole n*gga sh*t and go up against his head, but we aint into that. We are going to file the lawsuit against them and Island."

MIAMI, FL (10.17.03)--Wyclef Jean has been hospitalized for exhaustion and dehydration after becoming ill from food poisoning, a J Records spokesperson said yesterday.

"Apparently, he was on his way back from his promotional tour in Europe and got food poisoning," the spokesperson said. "It just seemed to snowball into something that made him very sick and put him in the hospital."

Jean came down with food poisoning on Tuesday, the day after appearing at the Source Awards in Miami. He was admitted to a hospital there yesterday, and is expected to be hospitalized through the weekend.

Jean is also said to be suffering from exhaustion after a heavy promotional tour for his new album, The Preacher's Son, due Nov. 4. "The doctor is recommending that he slow down a bit," the spokesperson said.

Jean, has canceled some appearances, including Tuesday's GQ Men of the Year awards. However, he is still expected to play a free show on Oct. 23 at New York's Times Square. It will be followed by a free concert later that evening at the city's Roseland Ballroom.

QUEENS, NY(10.17.03) - They have been very quiet since leaving Loud Records, but the infamous squad out of Queensbridge is getting set to make a comeback. Real-hiphop.Com has learned that Mobb Deep has just signed a new record deal and are preparing for the release of their sixth album.

"For all those that don't know, Mobb Deep just signed a private split deal with Jive records and the album should be dropping early 2004", according to Prodigy.

There is no word on when the single will be dropping or any information on the tracklisting but Real-Hiphop.Com will keep you posted.

In other hiphop news, Snoop will be releasing a new action figure next month. The nine-inch doll will come equip with four outfits, including a dapper pin-striped suit. This is the rapper's third doll to date.

WANNA CLAP ME (MOBB DEEP)  real media  windows

BROOKLYN, NY (10.16.03)--Jay-Z has declared war on a website trying to pass off their clothing as his Rocawear fashions.

Jay-Z and partner Damon Dash are furious with the www.Rocawear.tv site, insisting cyber bosses are tampering with their trademark infringement by ripping them off with counterfeit clothing.

The Rocawear bosses want the imposters to stop using the brand name altogether and they're calling for all counterfeit merchandise to be recalled from customers and destroyed.

The official website for Rocawear attire is www.rocawear.com

LOS ANGELES, CA (10.16.03) - Universal Music, the world's largest record company, will cut a total of 1,350 jobs in a restructuring aimed at saving $200 million a year in response to the protracted slump in music sales, a company representative said on Wednesday.
The restructuring at Universal Music, which controls nearly 30 percent of the U.S. music market, is the latest sign of a crisis in the record industry, which blames a three-year slump in sales on Internet song-swapping and home CD-burning.

Universal began trimming its payroll earlier this year, eliminating about 550 positions around the world. But it plans to cut another 800 jobs, including 190 in North America, between this week and early 2004.

Universal Music is a unit of Vivendi Universal and home to such stars as Eminem, Sheryl Crow and Ludacris.

"Like all responsible companies, Universal Music Group is continually evaluating its business in order to maintain the most efficient and competitive music company in the industry and be well-positioned for the future," the company said in a statement.

"UMG is in the process of instituting significant cost-cutting initiatives that take into account the realities of the declining music market to further rationalize the company's cost structure around the world," it said.

Universal Music had an operating loss of 42 million euros ($48.8 million) in the first half of 2003, while revenues fell 24.5 percent to $2.2 billion in that same period.

COLLEGE PARK, GA (10.15.03)-- Ludacris has signed a deal with Sole City Inc. and will design his own line of footwear, "Da' Hood Collection by Ludacris." The collection will feature athletic street shoes and boots and will launch in February of 2004.

The first shoe to hit the stores is titled "Da' Block."

Sole City will handle the production, distribution and marketing of the footwear line.

A portion of the proceeds from the collection will go to The Ludacris foundation and will then be distributed to various youth charities.

In other hiphop news, Wyclef Jean will stage a pair of free performances Thursday in New York, one of which is guaranteed to stop traffic. The veteran hip-hop artist will perform one song in the center of Times Square at Broadway and 42nd St. at noon.

MIAMI, FL (10.14.03)-- Rapper 50 Cent won two major awards, including album of the year, and Nelly and Lil' Kim also took home trophies at The Source Hip-Hop Music Awards. 50 Cent's album "Get Rich or Die Tryin'" won album of the year, while his hit song "In Da Club" earned him the award for single of the year for a male solo artist. He was not present at the show.

Nelly was honored as male artist of the year, while Lil Kim, who tied with Jay-Z for the most nominations with five, won female artist of the year.Among the stars on hand to watch, present and perform were Nelly, Lil' Kim, LL Cool J, Trina, Ja Rule, Fat Joe and Trick Daddy.

Lil' Jon and the East Side Boyz joined 50 Cent with two awards — artist of the year for a group and video of the year. Sean Paul won in the dancehall reggae category for "Dutty Rock."The show, which began Monday night and ended early Tuesday morning, will air Nov. 11 on BET.

NEW YORK, NY (10.13.03)--"Buying stolen properties, pimpin hoes, building crack houses and projects, paying protection fees and getting car jacked are some of the elements of the game. Not dope enough?...If you don't have the money that you owe to the loan shark you might just land yourself in da Emergency Room."

That is the description of a new board game being released in stores across the nation. It is being pitched as the "urban" version of Monopoly. But this board game has sparked much controversy in the "urban community". With game pieces that include a "basketball", a "weed plant", a "pimp", a "hoe", a "gun" and even a "bullet", many black leaders are not finding any parts of this game amusing. In fact, Real-Hiphop.Com has learned that the game is being pulled from the shelves of many department stores.

Blacks deserve a public apology from Urban Outfitters for selling Ghettopoly, a new board game that promotes "racial hatred," members of a civil rights group said yesterday. Cynthia Davis, national crisis director for the National Action Network, the organization founded by the Rev. Al Sharpton, noted that the retail store took the games off its shelves amid complaints, but she added that an apology had not been offered.

The game also disrespects a legendary civil rights activist by naming one of the properties, Martin "Luthor" King Jr. Boulevard. The creator of the game even goes as far as having a caricature of the famed civil rights leader scratching the front of his trousers and proclaiming "I have an itch."

The game's creator, David Chang, 28, whose family immigrated to America from Taiwan when he was eight years old, acknowledges the stereotyping charge but insists that the charges of racism miss the point.

"Ghettopoly is controversial because it's both fun and real life," Chang says on his website www.ghettopoly.com. "It draws on stereotypes not as a means to degrade, but as a medium to bring people together in laughter," he argues. "If we can't laugh at ourselves and how we each utilize the various stereotypes, then we'll continue to live in blame and bitterness."

HARVEY, LA (10.13.03)--Lawyers for C-Murder are preparing to file a motion for a new trial one week after the rapper was convicted of killing 16-year-old Steve Thomas outside a Louisiana nightclub.

Judge Martha Sassone of the 24th Judicial District Court in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, said that she will hear a motion for a new trial on October 28. In the meantime, C-Murder, whose real name is Corey Miller, will remain behind bars after being found guilty of second-degree murder on October 1, a crime that carries a mandatory life sentence.

Soon after the verdict was read, Sassone imposed a gag order on the jury as well as the defense and prosecution teams, restricting them from speaking to the press. Sassone said she couldn’t say when the gag order would be lifted.

Thomas was beaten and shot to death on January 12 during a fight outside the Platinum Club in Harvey, Louisiana. While two prosecution witnesses testified that Miller, 30, was involved in the beating of Thomas and that they heard the gunfire, neither actually saw the murder weapon. The defense brought in nine witnesses who said he was not involved in the killing. Those witnesses' testimony, however, gave differing descriptions of Miller's clothing and placed him in several different places in the club. The rapper, who is the younger brother of No Limit boss Master P, did not testify during the trial.

The victim was participating in an MC battle at the Platinum Club on the night of the shooting. Prosecutors portrayed him as an aspiring rapper whose bedroom was plastered with posters of his rap idol, C-Murder.

COLUMBUS, NJ (10.10.03) - The Recording Industry Assn. of America has filed an amended copyright-infringement suit against the owners of a flea market in Columbus, N.J., who the trade group claims "flagrantly and repeatedly ignored numerous demands to curtail the sale of pirated CDs and cassettes."

The suit was initially filed in June; the amended action-listing more than 7,500 works whose copyrights were allegedly infringed-was filed Oct. 1 in U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey.

The RIAA says piracy at the Columbus Flea Market, one of the largest on the East Coast, remains rampant despite three raids by police, in which 26 vendors were arrested and 16,000 allegedly illegal recordings were seized. The RIAA says it has sent five letters to the market's managers and met with them last year to offer training on how to eliminate pirated music.

Artists whose works were allegedly pirated include Christina Aguilera, Radiohead, Los Temerarios, Nelly, Madonna, Santana, Janet Jackson, the Rolling Stones and Los Tigres Del Norte.

The RIAA, which represents the major U.S. record labels, seeks the maximum statutory damages of $150,000 per copyright infringed. The defendants could not be reached for comment.

NEW YORK, NY (10.10.03)- Afeni Shakur, the mother of rapper Tupac Shakur, says she's touched the hip-hop community continues to be supportive, seven years after her son's death. "I always feel like I get special treatment. I never felt that I couldn't ask anyone for anything," Shakur told The Associated Press in an interview Wednesday.

"I respect them, I have a lot of respect for them. I like them. They're nice to me, and they're good to my son."

Shakur created Amaru Entertainment-Amaru Records after her son was shot to death in 1996, and the company has put together albums of his unreleased work. She's also an executive producer of a film documentary on his life, "Tupac: Resurrection," and oversaw a book of the same name, which will be published later this month. The movie will be released in November. Shakur says she's relied on help from rappers including Dr. Dre and Eminem to help keep her son's name, and music, alive.

"I'm conscious of the fact that I'm 56 trying to do my son's work," she said. "I don't know that we would have been able to keep an ethical, quality project without the hip-hop community caring almost as much as me."

QUEENS, NY (10.09.03)--With both "Crown" and "Clap Back" garnering buzz on mixtapes and beginning to be embraced by radio, it was up in the air which track Ja Rule would pick as the official first single from his Blood in My Eye LP, due November 4.

Apparently, Rule has chosen not to choose. A little over a week ago in Brooklyn, Rule shot the first video from his upcoming album incorporating both "Crown" and "Clap Back."

"It's a little of both, so you get to hear everything," the clip's director, Benny Boom, said on Friday. "When I heard 'Crown,' I was loving it because I heard the Sizzla song [it samples] before. When I heard 'Clap Back,' it reminded me of some real hip-hop sh--, the way cats is just rhyming to the beat and you hear them spit. The beat moves you the moment you hear it. It's like the food without all the additives."

In the video, Rule looks like he's been eating a little more food himself. He's still chiseled, but appears to have beefed up slightly. He alternates between being grimy — rapping shirtless with a 40-ounce bottle in his hand — and playing the playboy member of rap's hierarchy, rhyming with gorgeous girls by his side.

PHOTOS FROM "CROWN" VIDEO SHOOT jpeg

NEW YORK, NY (10.08.3)-- Forty years ago it would have been unthinkable to see the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart made up entirely of black artists.
This week, for the first time ever, the top 10 chart is comprised exclusively of black hip-hop and R&B performers, including superstars Beyoncé, 50 Cent and Nelly, alongside up-and-comers like Chingy and YoungBloodZ.

"This is obviously a landmark week for R&B and hip-hop artists, and black artists on the charts," says Billboard rap editor Rashaun Hall.

"It's been an ebb and flow for the last couple of years, and this is clearly the most dominant time. It's two genres whose time has come. Hip-hop dominates every other segment of pop culture, whether it's film or television or just music in general. It was just a matter of time before it took over the charts."

Unlike the Soundscan sales-based Billboard Top 200 album chart - whose top 10 this week features five hip-hop and R&B albums - the Hot 100 singles chart is based on a number of elements, including Nielsen radio ratings, Soundscan numbers and radio station playlists.

This week's chart is led by Beyoncé's "Baby Boy," which features reggae singer Sean Paul. While the other entries in the top 10 are all rap songs, two of them feature choruses by R&B singers, a trend that has grown over time in songs by rappers such as Ja Rule and may contribute to some of the crossover potential of hip-hop tracks.

"It's definitely a best of both worlds scenario," Hall says.

NEW YORK, NY (10.08.03)-- Almost a year after the murder of founding member Jam Master Jay (Jason Mizell), legendary rap act Run-D.M.C. will be celebrated Oct. 28 with "Ultimate Run-D.M.C." The Arista two-disc CD-and-DVD set features 18 audio tracks spanning the group's career as well as 14 video clips and a mini-documentary.

The audio portion of the package focuses on the group's hits from albums such as 1984's self-titled debut, 1986's "Raising Hell" and 1988's "Tougher Than Leather," with 13 of its tracks culled from those three landmark discs. But the collection also sports rare material, such as live versions of "Together Forever (Krush-Groove 4)" from 1984 and "Here We Go" from 1983. The latter has only seen previous release on the out-of-print "Rap 2" compilation on the band's longtime label Profile Records.

The DVD will include video clips for a number of the band's best-known tracks, including "Walk This Way," "King of Rock," "It's Tricky," "Mary, Mary," "Rock Box" and the 1997 remix version of "It's Like That (Run-D.M.C. vs. Jason Nevins)." The disc, mixed in 5.1 surround-sound, also boasts a discography and a mini-documentary about the band.

The trio broke up in late 2002, following Mizell's death. Group member Darryl "D.M.C." McDaniels has been working on his solo debut, "Checks, Thugs and Rock'n'Roll," which is inspired partly by classic rock and pop music.

JERSEY CITY, NJ (10.07.03)--The boyfriend of Lil' Kim has been linked to a New Jersey shooting involving 50 Cent.

Damion Hardy, who has previously spent time in prison for witness tampering and shooting a police officer, lives with Lil' Kim at her Bergen County estate.

Police appear to be investigating Hardy as the shooting followed in the wake of a very public attack launched on Lil' Kim by 50 Cent on the New York radio station Hot 97.

Freestyling on the Funkmaster Flex show he rhymed: "I wrote 'Magic Stick'/I gave Kim a hit/then I refused to shoot the video, she threw a little fit/got emotional and sh*t/Now this I don't get/Why would I care about your emotions, you're not my beeyatch."

Concluding that the incident may have provided Hardy with a motive for firing shots at 50 Cent, Police have handed out his mug shot to witnesses of the shooting which took place at the Doubletree Hotel in Jersey City.

No one was injured in the incident but police found nine shell casings from two different weapons, suggesting that shots were exchanged between 50's entourage and a rival crew.

"We have some photographs, and we are trying to get people who were actually there to identify the people in the photographs," said Jersey City Police Captain Peter Nalbach.

"We believe 50 Cent was present, and we still want to talk to him."

50 DISSIN KIM ON HOT 97 real media  windows

HARLEM, NY (10.06.03)--"High-powered lawyers for Sean "P. Diddy" Combs lashed out at his former business partner yesterday, claiming he was blackmailing the rap mogul by implicating him in two murders. Kirk Burrowes, the godfather of one of Combs' sons and an ex-president of his rap conglomerate Bad Boy Entertainment, makes a series of shocking allegations as part of a $25 million legal suit against the high-living rapper.

It includes claims Combs and his rap conglomerate were behind the slayings of Suge Knight's bodyguard Jai "Big Jake" Hassan in 1995 and top performer Tupac Shakur in 1996.

Combs' lawyer Benjamin Brafman said Combs would not be "blackmailed into submission" by a "former disgruntled employee" looking for money.

He said the claims were "completely baseless" and had already been investigated by law-enforcement authorities.

Burrowes' lawyer John Bostany, who clashed with Brafman in a brief but heated exchange after a court hearing yesterday, claimed his client was "concerned for his safety."

He said Combs' legal team was "trying to escape answering for [Combs'] corrupt acts by making technical arguments."

NEWARK, NJ (10.06.03)--Queen Latifah has signed a multimedia deal with production company Creative Battery, promoter AEG Live and Vector Recordings, Billboard reports exclusively in the Oct. 11, 2003, issue. The one-off deal is for an album, 20-city tour and a television special and video release.

The album, due next summer, will be a collection of classic songs produced by Arif Mardin. Also collaborating on the set will be Monica Lynch, former president of Tommy Boy Records, and Joe McEwen, former senior VP/director of A&R of Warner Bros. Records. The album will be released by Vector.

"For this album, I will choose songs that have shaped me artistically and affected me emotionally," the Grammy-winning singer/songwriter/rapper says in a statement. Queen Latifah previously recorded for Motown and Tommy Boy.

The tour is set for fall 2004, followed by the release of a home video/DVD documenting the outing. Negotiations with possible television and cable network partners are in the works.

Established in 2002, Vector Recordings is headed by co-founders Jack Rovner and Ken Levitan and is also home to Damien Rice and former Black Crowes frontman Chris Robinson. "There are only a few artists out there with whom you can really create a true event," says Rovner, the former president of RCA Records. "It's a new world, and the music business is looking for new models. This project could be deemed as one of those new models."

On the heels of her mainstream crossover success in the movies "Chicago" and "Bringing Down the House," Latifah is currently filming "Taxi" with Jimmy Fallon.

TEANECK, NJ (10.03.03)--The police department of Teaneck, New Jersey, has a four-year-old warrant out for the hip-hop diva's arrest, stemming from a July 1996 bust at the home of the late rapper Notorious B.I.G. Lil' Kim (aka Kimberly Jones), was charged with marijuana possession, while Biggie was nailed for felony gun charges.

Notorious B.I.G. (aka Biggie Smalls, aka Christopher Wallace) was never brought to trial as he was murdered in a drive-by shooting in Los Angeles in March 1997. Lil' Kim, on the other hand, chose not to face the music on her weed woes and skipped out on her court dates.

Teaneck 5-0 issued an arrest warrant in 1999, but they have yet to actively follow up on it. Police Lt. Dean Kazinci told the New York Daily News that it hasn't been one of his priorities, but indicated that the Brooklyn native better stay on her own side of the bridge-and-tunnel system.

"If we locate her anywhere in the state of New Jersey the warrant will be executed," he said. "We just haven't come across her yet."

REAL-HIPHOP.COM has received a copy of the arrest warrant for Lil' Kim. To see a copy of the warrant, use the link below: