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Very interesting...

Beyonce is in trouble. Not days after rumours surfaced that she's managed to talk her other half into leaving Def Jam and starting a new label with her has the professional booty shaker been hit with a lawsuit by the UK's own piece-of-toast-over-seeing-a-ghost singer Des'ree. Why? Beyonce has covered Des'ree's song 'I'm Kissing You' and released it on the re-issued version of Bidet without obtaining proper clearance.

In the lawsuit filed in Manhattan Federal Court, Des'ree and her reps claim that Bouncy, along with her record company people, originally tried to work out a deal to use the song but weren't happy with Des'ree's conditions: which included not being able to change the title or make a music video for the song. Ms Knowles and her camp allegedly took no notice and recorded the song and video without permission AND renamed it "Still in Love (Kissing You)."

Be interesting to see how this one pans out. Des'ree's got a history of suing people over her songs - she's previously sued Janet Jackson for 'Got Til It's Gone' (which was heavily influenced by Des'ree's 'Feel So High') but will she win this one? Will she see a ghost? Or will she have her preferred piece of toast? As soon as I know any more, I'll let you know.

Major league shouts to and all at Blacktronica and Zaid and the crew at - it went down last week in London - Klash, JME, Skepta, Just Blaze and Brent Rollins were brought together to create a track and artwork in front of a live audience as part of Playstation 3's 110 Sessions. Check JME's video of the event
**WARNING/SHOCK/HORROR: K-Lash swears in the following clip**:

If you want to hear the and see all the photos, jump over to .

Personally, while this kind of thing isn't unique to the UK, it's essential for our scene's growth and what I hope it does is help to get people working together. The one thing we don't do in the British Hip Hop scene is collaborate enough - the deejays don't put out joint mixtapes, the artists don't work with people outside their camp, the producers make beats for only a few artists - and I hope that it doesn't take Blacktronica and Spine putting together a project like this or Just Blaze being flown in to make the beat to get Boy Better Know and Terrafirma into the studio again. What do you think?

While the internet community wait with baited breath to hear the outcome of the 110 Session between Just Blaze, Klashnekoff, JME and Skepta ( are gonna have the exclusive at the end of this week) I finally got round to listening to the whole of the .

Just breaks down his process in the studio, how he makes beats, what is his equipment of choice and his thoughts about the music industry. Check the podcast via the link above or the video of the lecture .

Well worth listening to/watching as is any of the Red Bull Music Academy lectures especially if you're looking at getting into the music industry.

**UPDATE - If you want to see/hear what went down when Just Blaze went to work in front of an invited audience with Klashnekoff, JME & Skepta click here**

and controversy go together like glove and hand - most recently the controversy is over this:

The video for his new single 'Sirens' looks heavy heavy heavy! Instead of the video taking the cliche route of 'road yout being chased by 5-0', Dizzee and director (who's also done videos for rock acts Kasabian and Franz Ferdinand) have very cleverly flipped the script and it shows him being hunted like a fox on a fox hunt. The feel of it is really cinematic, really well shot, really expensive! Exactly the kind of video that we should expect to see from the likes of Dizz in the UK.

HOWEVER

Other than the obvious (that the hunt party should be looking for MC Nuts rather than Dizzee) - some idiots "critics" have taken the concept completely the wrong way and are claiming that the subtext is racist - that the video is about white people hunting black people.

I think it's quite blatant that the video isn't trying to say that in any way - it's just cleverly flipping the image we're expecting to see with the fox hunters replacing the police and Dizzee replacing the fox but what do you think?

The Cumbria Tourism board in Northern England have decided they'd like to use Hip Hop to appeal to the next generation of Lake District visitors so they've put together a music video featuring a rapper celebrating one of the area's greatest exports - the poet William Wordsworth.

Only this isn't any kind of rapper, oh no, it's a rapping giant red squirrel called MC Nuts doing a "Hip Hop" version of Wordsworth's Daffodils poem: to see the video.

I for one am boycotting the entire Lake District after this just on principle! Who's with me?

RIP Calvin Lockhart.

on that advert for cider where the guy gets "long lasting refreshment"?

If so, he joins the list of 'Where Are They Now' black music artists we have in the UK that I've seen in a random place. My aunt once saw Billy Ocean at a train station. Not long ago, I saw Kele Le Roc at an outdoor basketball court (although this was less random - it was for Est'elle's video shoot!)

What artists have you seen in unlikely places?

I'm really feeling the new Mark Ronson album 'Version'.

Hip Hop kid and "male Paris Hilton" (on account of his families wealth rather than him also starring in a series of porno films and lack of knickers photos) has ditched the harder Hip Hop sound of his last album 'Here Comes The Fuzz' for a funkier, live band feel.

The concept for the album is a simple one: do a load of indie cover versions in a funk/soul style with a load of well known singers and/or regular collaborators so you get Lily Allen covering the Kaiser Chiefs over Barry White style funk beats; Amy Winehouse covering The Zutons over Motown drums, pianos and horns and even Stig's mate Robbie Williams doing a passable Charlatans impression over James Brown style funky drumming and even though the concept sounds like a trendy mag's ultimate dream but it actually really works.

Check the album out and let me know what you think - am I losing my touch or is this album heavy?

According to Variety, Jermaine ,Tito and LeToya have got a new reality TV show coming out in the states called "Pop Dynasty". Reports say that it's an American Idol type show with the 3 Jackson's acting as judges looking for the next Jackson 5.

After Tito's performance on 'Just The Two of Us' over here earlier in the year (you know, that show where actors and sports stars murdered sang duets) I'm surprised that he's involved as at times, it seemed as though he couldn't actually speak. I thought Jermaine would have had his fill of reality TV too after the Celebrity Big Brother fiasco... We'll have to wait and see.

In related news, we finally have proof that LeToya and Michael *aren't* the same person:

D Block and LOX soldier Styles P is coming to the UK at the end of this month.

He'll be playing various shows across the country and I'll be supporting him on the Nottingham date alongside Cappo, Konny Kon (Broke N English), Stylah (Poisonous Poets), Shifty Spirit and more.

If you want to be there, I have2 pairs of guest list places to the first 2 people who can tell me the name of The LOX's debut album AND the label it came out on. You have to be over 18 to win and you'll have to be able to get yourself to and from Stealth in Nottingham on 22nd April but if you think you know, email me with your answer.

While we're talking Styles P & The LOX - Jadakiss has announced that there will be another LOX album in the stores before the end of the year. In an interview with Hot 97 he announced that the album is nearly finished and that they're currently in talks with another label to release it since they're no longer on Ruff Ryders/Interscope. (ahem, Koch) The album will be the first Lox album that Diddy doesn't get paid from...!

Get entering and good luck!

Check this:

Blacktronica and Playstation 3 present "110 Sessions" in association with
An exclusive masterclass featuring Just Blaze, Brent Rollins, Klashnekoff, Skepta & JME

Held in London this Friday (April 13th), the project will see Just Blaze produce a song with Klashnekoff, JME & Skepta in front of an invited audience. All while this is going on, graphic artist Brent Rollins will simultaneously create the record's artwork using a Playstation 3. Wow.

Major braps to everyone that put this together - this is some groundbreaking ish! If you want to be there...

Read the rest of this entry

Snoop's like everyone's wayward uncle or cousin who always seems to be in trouble with the police. :

"Rapper Snoop Dogg was charged on Tuesday (April 10) with sale or transportation of marijuana and possession of a gun by a convicted felon, a case that stems from his October arrest at a Los Angeles airport.

The 35-year-old performer, whose real name is Calvin Broadus, could face up to four years in state prison if he is convicted on both charges.

Broadus was arrested on Oct. 25 after police at Burbank Airport, near Los Angeles, stopped him for leaving his car too long in a passenger loading area and found a gun and marijuana in the vehicle.

Prosecutors said they were unable to prove that the gun found in Broadus' car that day belonged to him, but that a later search of the performer's home turned up another firearm. He is charged with being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm because of his 1990 felony conviction for possession of drugs for sale.

In November, Broadus was charged with possession of a deadly weapon after police found him carrying a collapsible baton through security at Orange County's John Wayne Airport. And in March, Stockholm police arrested Broadus for suspected narcotics use."

Can a month go by without Snoop being arrested for something?

Shout outs to all the crew at myspace uk - they're doing some really good stuff over at their official UK urban page . They've started to do something called "artist on artist" where they get two artists - one English, one US - to interview each other about their lives, careers and all that's inbetween. The first one is between Diddy and premiership baller and wannabe music mogul Rio Ferdinand. Check it here:

Very interesting...

Become a friend of the site to get access to part 2 of the interview, and while you're at it, make friends with - but which artists do you want to see on future 'Artist on Artists'? Duurty Goodz and 50 Cent? Leona Lewis and Whitney Houston? How about Jamelia and Beyonce?

Part 2353212345 in the ongoing saga between the internet, Dipset and G Unit - have posted what they claim is Cam'ron's rhyme book:

Check a couple of excerpts:

Hilarious - you gotta love these internet mockeries! Dipset fans - you mad cos Ohword are stylin on ya?!!! How long will it be before Cam'ron does a diss song called F Oh Word.com?!

Freakum Dress: