Doug E. Fresh is one of the most notorious hip hop legends that are still around and doing big things. He was the first human beatboxer ever. He interacted with various artists in his day and still have close contact with some, like Kurtis Blow, Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five. Now, he has an upcoming performance with other notables, such as M.C. Lyte, DJ Kool, Big Daddy Kane and Slick Rick. The performance will feature DJ Sean Knight and will be hosted by Uncle Rail. The show is being presented by Unique Entertainment of Merriville and Dallas. The performers at this show are only a few that have helped to set the foundation of hip hop, making it into a big movement that has influenced people in all walks of life.

Back in 1989, M.C. Lyte released an album called “Eyes on This”; the popular single from it was called “Cha Cha Cha.” She is going to be one of the highlights of the show. Fresh, too, delivered a hot single called “The Show.” He kept up with the momentum by releasing “Keep Risin’ to the Top.” Back in the day, Fresh claims that hip hop was all about celebration, which is indeed true. If you look at a lot of the singles that were released throughout the years, you’ll notice that a lot of them were party tracks and were played in the clubs a lot. They were feel good music. Doug E. Fresh feels that he helped to continue the the hip hop industry after the original guys started it. He also says that he learned a lot from the different groups that came out decades ago when hip hop was first established.

What do you think about gospel being implemented into hip hop? Some people are thinking, it’s about time something good and useful is being said in hip hop, but then there are others who may think that it’s pretty lame and that it won’t get far. It’s been proven that gospel hip hop isn’t a popular favorite and if you ask me, it seems a bit hypocritical. A lot of the preachers and rappers preaching in songs aren’t practicing what they preach. On the screen or in front of people, they are this way and then behind closed doors or when they “clock out” for the day, they become someone totally different (a lot of people may agree). For two people, gospel in hip hop is a revolution waiting to happen.

Terverius Black is an entrepreneur, who believes that hip hop gospel is something to invest in and grow. He even sold his first house in order to pay for the expenses to start up his Christian-themed entertainment company called Xist Worldwide Record Label with his partner Sean Simmonds. The 34-year-old took a big risk with this and the two believe that he could be like other top entrepreneurs like Diddy, Jay-Z and Russell Simmons. They all branched out from music to create other lines, such as clothing, shoes, TV shows, etc. Black and Simmonds have already branched out with a gospel cruise, film and reality television show. They’re also doing a syndicated 2-hour radio talk show. The company has sold over 500,000 hip hop gospel records digitally and in CD form. They are hoping to reach the “unchurched” people and give hip hop gospel a place in the music industry.

Rihanna’s new album “Rated R” is scheduled to be released on November 23rd and already, there are lots of speculation and excitement about it. In this album, she is portraying herself in a tougher image, unlike her previous glamorous self. On the music video of her single “Wait Your Turn” shows a grainy, sexy clip of Rihanna that shows her as a tough renegade. This is the type of image she and her music-video collaborator, Anthony Mandler, were going for. The video was shot in the middle of October on a cold day in the Big Apple. The first video is just a preview of what’s to come. The two talked about creating something that’s a bit more raw and gritty, so they decided to create a more “Street” video than a classic beauty piece.

They reviewed early hip hop videos and liked how they weren’t created with few resources — they mostly used their environment and surroundings; the textures and shapes. In the video Rihanna is wearing an eye patch and heels, giving a hard-edge feel to he usual glam self. Some of the videos that inspired her featured artists like Wu-Tang, Mobb Deep and Nas. The words behind the song were carefully thought up in order to create the same image audio-wise: aggressive bravado. Rihanna is a young artist that is always pushing boundaries. She has changed her identity so many times, so you never know what she’ll come up with next. She is a true artist, someone that knows how to transform the picture and make it into anything she wants to portray.

Hip hop has long since been related to the violence in African American communities and artists like Lupe Fiasco has been tooting the same note. Not sure if you heard about the Derrion Albert murder in Chicago — he was a teen walking home from school and got caught up in a gang fight and was beaten to death.The young man was not a gang member and he was a good student in school. Lupe Fiasco was on the Chicago radio station WGCI saying that it was a possibility that hip hop influenced that incident. Lupe is from the Windy City and says that it has to take some credit for it. He claims that there is a lot of violence in hip hop itself and it attributes much of the negativity that is found in the hood.

But this isn’t the only hip hop artist that thinks this way. Others like Nas, Twista and Common have the same views. They all condemn the “culture of violence” hip hop has established and is believed to have led the group of teenage gang members to commit that horrendous crime that day. Lupe also argues that the artists themselves are partially responsible for inciting various influences, from poverty to violent films. It’s true that hip hop does have some positive songs and messages out there, but the negative far outweigh the good. And the negativity in hip hop is a lot more popular because it is considered more “hard” or “gansta”. The communities are too at fault for taking hip hop too seriously and trying to implement them into their own lives.

We’ve heard those words before,”I’m going into retirement”, from sooo many different hip hop artists, such as Jay-Z, Master P, Eminem and so forth. But for some reason, they just can’t leave the game alone. They all come back one or two years later with a debut album. Jay-Z is by far the worst, if you ask me. He has retired like 4 times, but just keeps coming back. I don’t and won’t believe it anymore if he says it again. Now, it just seems like a big publicity stunt to get people to buy their CDs because it’s the last time they will hear from them.

Now, Lil Wayne is claiming that he will retire, but no time soon. His retirement plan says that he will stay in the game no longer than 8 more years.Wayne claims that he always said that he wouldn’t rap anymore after the age 35. Ha, he says that now. A lot of people agree that rappers and hip hoppers shouldn’t be old and should retire to allow new game to come into the industry. But Jay-Z being an old head, of course, doesn’t agree. He says that it shouldn’t be made easy for the youngsters coming into the hip hop game. If they want to be on top, they’re going to have to work hard for it. Heck, it wasn’t made easy for Jay. Back then, there wasn’t as much competition as there is now, even if a lot of them are low-level rappers. People like these stars because they make good club bangers. After Lil Wayne retires, he’s looking to own a basketball team.

So it seems hip hop artistLil Wayne has been quite busy producing these past two years — no not music…babies! With all of the rumors and speculation surrounding Lil Wayne’s and Nivea’s hook-up, it has been recently confirmed that the two are now expecting a baby. This will be Lil Wayne’s fourth child and Nivea’s first. Come to find out, she is so far along that they already know that it will be a Lil Wayne jr. Yes, a lil boy is on the way, how glorious. But this boy won’t get the blessing of being the first, he is actually the third son of Lil Wayne in a little over a year. And Nivea makes the fourth baby momma. Wow…hasn’t someone been busy? With all of this counting, you could easily get thrown off track. Okay, let’s try this.

Lil Wayne’s first son was born last October in Cincinattti and then in September of ‘09, his second son came from the actress Lauren London and now Nivea is having his third son. He has a daughter, Reginae, from an older relationship with his ex-wife Antonia “Toya” Carter. When Lil Wayne was asked if Nivea was pregnant with his child, his response was “Yessir”. Then one reporter stated, “Two women pregnant at the same time. Congratulations.” Lil Wayne replied “Three.” No, he doesn’t have three women prego at the same time, what he actually meant was that it would be son number three. Hopefully all goes well and he takes care of his children and be a bit more responsible. Marry one of these women at least!

The new album from the Black Eyed Peas is named The E.N.D. (say it isn’t so!), but don’t be sad because it’s an acronym for the Energy Never Dies. This is very true, especially when it comes to their performances. During their first show in Australia, the group clambered out onto the stage with wide-eyes, looking really loony as though they just escaped from the crazy house. It appeared as though the spaceship in the background delivered them from a different planet. Then a voice explodes from the speakers, it’s will.i.am, “Everything around you is changing, nothing stays the same.” The Black Eyed Peas are known for their whacky party bangers.

But if you look back in time, they weren’t always party-starters. In the mid ’90s, when they first got together, they enjoyed their moderate commercial success, which was produced from their mellow thoughtful hip-hop songs. Then in the new millennium, around 2003, they introduced Fergie as the front woman and since then the band has become one of the hottest in the world. They’ve become renowned for their party anthem songs, such as “Let’s get it started” (a remake of “Let’s get retarded”) and “Rock that Body”. They had everything that was expected of a stadium pop show, the huge projection screens showing red planet images and bright colored paisley prints political video montages that were pseudo-inspirational. Then, of course, there were the back-up dancers that were constantly changing their costumes.

The Black Eyed peas may not be the thinking person’s type of hip hop, but their catchy melodies and big, dirty beats are likable like that (think “My Hump”). I can’t wait to hear more of what they have to offer on their E.N.D. CD and the others to come.

This past Saturday, 50 Cent held his first ThisIs50 music festival, which was held on Governors Island (an old military base on the New York Harbor that’s being transformed into a public park). Along with G-Unit, other artists like D-Block, Red Cafe, Cory Gunz, the Diplomats and Maino performed. Fans at the premiere festival also saw an introduction of the newcomer Trav. Fifty Cent stated that the festival wasn’t for artists who necessarily had a single out because that would’ve been like a marketing spiff. And that wouldn’t have been a good representation for hip hop, which is what the whole festival was about.

Opening the show was Wale and Kid Cudi, who performed songs from their young careers, like “Chillin” and “Day N Nite”. Next, Papoose, Slaughterhouse, Cory Gunz and Trav entered the stage. Then Diplomats (performing “Gangsta Music” and “Hey Ma”), D-Block and G-Unit closed the show. The event brought together fans from all over New York. It was a great mix of artists (Jadakiss, Jimmy Jones, Juelz Santana); and a lot of people think that such artists can’t get together, but truth is, they all know they can make more money together than they can apart.

50 Cent performed his popular hit “I get Money”, along with others like “Baby by me” (his new single). When Fifty wasn’t getting the reaction he wanted from the crowd, he instructed DJ Whoo Kid to turn off the music. He then asked the crowd who they came to see; and then said that he was gonna take the crowd back because he knew they didn’t wanna “hear the lovey dovey sh–”, as he said. When the beat came back on, it was “What Up Gangsta”.

The show turned out to be so much of a success that he is planning to take it on the road.

As you may have all heard, Def Jam has been sold and taken over by none other than Jay-Z. Now, this may sound very nice, especially to all of you Jay-Z fans, but not everyone is feeling the same glory. KRS One, for instance, isn’t too thrilled about the news. He is known for always going against the system and big corporations that neglect and abuse the little people. So nothing is stopping him from targeting Def Jam. The record company was established by Russell Simmons and Rick Rubin back in the day when hip hop was fresh and new. Today, KRS One complains that hip hop has been damaged and that the Jay-Z take over of Def Jam may down it some more. I guess he figures someone like Jay isn’t the solution to hip hop’s ordeal.

Def Jam is the father and mentor of a lot of artists in R&B, pop and rap. It brought and still is bringing out lots of artists and many of the same artists are still signed under their label. KRS One told XXL Magazine that Def Jam single-handedly destroyed hip hop. According to KRS, everything from the lyrics, commercialized music and one artist being played on the radio all day is all thanks to Def Jam. There’s really no competing with Def Jam, so everyone else had to respect what the record label was doing. Hip hop groups like X-Clan and Public Enemy used to be with Def Jam, which were also against the system and big corporations, now Def Jam is a big corporation — how ironic.

Well, according to his twitter page and a couple of buddies pages (Tony Ya-Yo), the rap mogul 50 Cent has reportedly been admitted to the hospital. Now, supposedly, it all started when 50 was listening to a new album from Fat Joe, J.O.S.E.2. Fifty suddenly collapsed and when he reached the E.R. they gave him a cat scan and figured out what the problem was. His auditory cortex was damaged! Lol.

Obviously this is a joke, so don’t get all worked up. 50 Cent is being creative by using the web, where so many false claims are made, to make his own false claim against himself. Kinda smart if you ask me. The beef between Fifty and Fat Joe has yet to diminish. You can see the actual posting on Thisis50.com where you will also find a link to pirate Fat Joe’s new album — the link has a warning label that says “DOWNLOAD AT YOUR OWN RISK!” Very funny 50.

I wonder what Fat Joe has to say about this and if he’s gotten word on the link that pirates his album and the “fat” diss Fifty just gave him. If so, what will he come back with, if he decides to do a comeback? I’m sure he will — men just can’t eliminate that testosterone or allow their ego and image to get bruised, so there will be a swing back, I’m sure. Destroying careers is what Fifty likes to do and between me and you, I heard that his next target is Lil’ Wayne (I wonder what dirt he has on him!)