Oh No D'Angelo

It's been 10 years since D'Angelo's last album Voodoo was released and just like every other fan out there I have been waiting ever since for a new one. So what's he been doing? Well he has been busy getting arrested several times, being involved in car crashes, putting on weight, losing that weight again...it's no wonder he hasn't had much time for music. And now....?

It seems that Michael 'D'Angelo' Archer and Those Dreamin' Eyes of his, decided that One Mo' Gin just wasn't enough and he wanted to get Higher. So he decided to go Cruisin for a Lady who might also Feel Like Makin Love. Well what he did next was not exactly Smooth because he ended up goin for a piece of the Devil's Pie.

If only he had looked Left and Right a few more times he might have realised the undercover cop. After gettin caught red handed trying to pay $40 for a hooker you can bet he was sayin Sh!t, Damn, Motherfcuker!

For the less musical official version see the story on BBC News.

Personally I don't care if he writes the whole of his next album being obese and high on cocaine whilst driving around crashing cars and picking up prostitutes...the guy is a musical genius and the world needs at least one more album!!

Guess Who's Bizzack?

Ok so in a million guesses you probably wouldn't have guessed who or what I was talking about but...drumroll please...one of my favourite websites ever is back online.

hiphopsite.com is a must visit, sorry scratch that, a must favourite for any self respecting hiphop fan. I was going to write a little history but DJ Pizzo (one of the site creators) has done such a good job himself that i suggest you read his here if you are interested.

I used to visit this site daily for its features such as News on the DL (a daily gossip/news column), In The Deck (reviews)and their renowned Best and Worst lists. It's a great thing to find a site that stays true to it's beliefs and no matter what pressure or money may be being thrown at it from certain quarters, sticks to its guns and gives an honest opinion. Because of this I always found their reviews to be on-point and would often buy albums off the back of their recommendations.

On the note of buying music, another of the reasons I visited the site so often was to buy music, yes they were based in Las Vegas and I have an HMV down the road but did HMV offer free mixtapes, hats, shirts and other goodies and all for pretty much the same price as buying from down the road (incl. shipping)? (The answer is no, by the way).

So albeit without the store (a victim of the massive changes in music retail), the site is back up and running and it may have a new lick of paint but the old soul is still there. In fact years worth of archived reviews and features have been uploaded so check it out and fill your boots.

Bye Bye Lily Allen

Just when I thought today was going to be as depressing as the weather is right now, I came across a bit of good news!

Lily Allen has apparently decided to 'disappear' for a while. Following wishes...I mean rumours, that she was going to quit the music scene Lily has confirmed that after March 2010 she will be taking a year or 2 off from music. During this time she is planning to set up a new record label and a fashion shop with her sister.

It hasn't been long since she decided to stop using the internet and blackberry as a means of enhancing her presence, saying "I've decided to stop being so hypocritical and consume things and pay for them. I buy music in vinyl and buy newspapers. I support the industry I'm in.

Riiight...ok...does she realise there have been at least 3 major formats to buy music on since vinyl? I guess they are not as 'cool' though hey?

I'm sure some of you will probably be thinking whoa why the hate?! Well I guess Lily is like olives covered in marmite, you either really dislike her or if you don't, you should!

My main issue is that to me she is one of these celebs who is famous for no particular reason, having no obvious talent. Yes she has released music that has sold masses but as someone I know put it best "she talks a good song". Can you even call that singing?

So anyway whether you are a fan or not there you go, Lily won't be around for a little while...excuse me whilst I just go and smile for a bit.

Jay-Z & Nas - Empire State of Mind Remix?!

Back when the tracklist for Blueprint 3 was announced, you may remember I got a lil bit excited because as I mentioned in my review, I expected Nas to be on it...I mean come on, it just makes sense!

Anyway I got over that, in time, and was nicely surprised with the Alicia Keys assisted version.

According to the rumour mill over at allhiphop.com though, there is a remix in the works featuring Nas which may be released next year. Word is that Nas was originally meant to feature but was unavailable at the time. Another reason could be that Jay didn't want his shine stolen if Nas came stronger (see Black Republican for example!).

So i'll be keeping my ear out and let's be hoping it happens. Until then here's one of the few examples we have of 2 of the greatest on the same track together.

Michael Jordan is a Jackass

(You may need to pause the video until it has loaded a while to view it smoothly)

After all the tales that have gone around in the past about the 2nd most famous MJ in history, Chamillionaire shares the story of his own face to face experience. Let's just say he doesn't give a shining endorsement of a man who is a hero to millions.

I've got to admit i've never been a big fan of Cham's music, not because I don't like it, I've just never picked it up really, he comes across well here though. A lot of rappers nowadays are jumping on the video blogs but it's good to see one who can put himself across and tell a good story, and without cursing! A big difference from some others who can't even speak coherently...hold tight Lil Wayne!

Lilly Allen Hero by day Pirate by night..

So earlier this week Lily Allen was hailed for her heroic crusade to save the music industry well, it seems she has been flouting her own very public views on distribution of copyrighted material by circulating a mixtape featuring artists' work without their permission.

The Lily Allen mixtapes – two 50-min mixes use snippets of artists including Jay-Z, Beats International and The Kinks – were previously available on Lily's blog, although they seem to have mysteriously disappeared recently.

Lily has responded by saying: "I made those mixtapes five years ago. I didn't have a knowledge of the workings of the music industry back then. Anyway the snippets of songs you hear on those mixtapes are about 30 seconds to one minute in length, in traditional mixtape style."

Hmm – as far as I know, permission is still needed before you distribute (unless It my own mixtape).The star has been slated across the web for her seeming double-standards, in the light of her suggestion that illegal file-sharers should have their bandwitdths squeezed.

But it now seems that Lily's own anti-filesharing blog, has been closed down.

Is that the sound of furious backpeddalling we hear?

What do you think?

Is filesharing killing music?

Kanye West and Soulja Boy Link Up

In what may seem like an unlikely pair, Kanye West and Soulja Boy are currently working on producing tracks for each other's upcoming albums.

When he's not touring on the "America's Most Wanted Music Festival," Soulja Boy has been working on creating tracks for Kanye's fifth album.

"I'm working on Kanye's next album right now. We working together on production because he makes beats and I make beats," said the 19-year-old rapper to Rap-Up.com. "Right now I'm remixing a couple of records for him."

Soulja Boy isn't coming away from the arrangement empty-handed, as Kanye is going to produce for him in return, contributing to Soulja Boy's upcoming The DeAndre Way. "I'm actually working on Kanye's album while he's working on my album."

Last year, Kanye defended Soulja Boy when Ice-T criticized him infamously. "Soulja Boy is fresh as hell and is actually the true meaning of what hip-hop is supposed to be," he blogged at the time. "He came from the 'hood, made his own beats, made up a new saying, new sound, and a new dance with one song. If that ain't hip-hop, then what is?"

Meet My Friend Pain

Quinton “Rampage” Jackson of UFC fighting fame has been tipped to play Mr T aka BA Baracus in the long awaited A-Team film.

Like Mr.T he is a devoted christian and has appeared in several acting roles, but now may have landed the jackpot.

At 6’1” and a former UFC light-heavyweight champion, can u say "I pity the fool"?!

Liam Neeson (Hannibal) and Nip/Tuck star Bradley Cooper (Face) have already been confirmed for the movie.

Rumors were running around that 50 Cent and the Game were in the running to play BA…thank the lord this didn't happen!

Don't Call It a Comeback / 2 Sequel Or Not 2 Sequel

Newsflash! Hollywood’s running short on idea’s for films so what do they do?…oh lets re-make some films…here’s a roundup of some that are in the works.

Battle Royale – Big Asian movie is getting a Western remake.

The Evil Dead – One of the most loved horror films is getting a facelift.

Knight Rider – Please try to forget the recent TV crap. The original creator of Knight Rider – Glen A Larson – is working on the screenplay.

Conan The Barbarian – They’re still working on this one. I mean I heard about this years ago and the person then tipped to play him was Triple H (yes the guy with no neck from WWE).

The Thing – One of my most loved horror films. Beg they don’t ruin this (why Hollywood, why must u even touch).

Death Wish - Sylvester Stallone is set to step into the role made famous by late great Charles Bronson in a remake of Michael Winner’s violent original. Stallone is set to write, produce and star, and production is planned to start at some point this year.

Hellraiser – That thing with the pointed things on his head, would be nice to see a remake of this.

Clash of the Titans – with all the special effects nowadays this should be big.

Akira – Love the manga but ummm on the live action idea. Adaptation is believed to be being handled in two parts, and Leonardo DiCaprio has been linked with the project. It’s still at the scripting stage.

The Birds - Should be re-named the pigeons, cha.

A Nightmare On Elm Street - His been given a facelift and productions starts very soon….i’ll be wearing my black and red stripes jumper for this one.

Howard Stern’s Porkys - The ones who have never heard about this film before think American Pie back in the days.

Red Sonja - Well if we gonna do Conan The Destroyer we might as well make this. (Hollywood why?)

SEQUELS
The Brazilian Job: Nope not a film about waxing, the follow up to The Italian Job is still on the cards, and it’s got a 2009 release date marked. Jason Statham, Mos Def, Mark Wahlberg and Charlize Theron are attached, as is director F Gary Gray.

I, Robot 2: No news on weather Will Smith will star it this. Ummmm can u say straight to DVD if he’s not!

I Am Legend 2: The first one was a let down so it would be interesting to see where they will take this, or to see if Will Smith will star in this one.
Beverly Hills Cop 4: The thought is, if Die Hard can do this why can’t this…errr BHC 3 was crap that’s why.

National Treasure 3: umm err why? But then again I guess it will pay the light bills (Nicolas Cage has let me down of late)

Cars 2: Why would you, its was weak.

Toy Story 3: Oh hell yes, please do. After all the delaying the go ahead has the green light.

Jeepers Creepers 3: If this is true then hurry up to explain the damn thing man cha.

Silent Hill 2: Please hell no the first one was a pile of dog turd on the street, waste of time and money plus my effort to even mention this.

The Descent 2: I liked the first for don’t ruin it or I’ll blog the hell out of you!

Ghost Rider 2: A surprise hit last year, Marvel is developing a follow-up to the Nic Cage comic book flick, and tentatively has 2009 marked for release. No director is thus far attached.

The Untouchables: Capone Rising: Should be one to watch.

The People Under The Stairs 2: You what? After how long? No sign of any Wes Craven involvement, straight to DVD yeah.

Ace Ventura 3: No Jim Carrey equals no point to even do the film.

War of the Worlds 2: The Next Wave: No big stars and will go straight to DVD in the basement bucket.

Jurassic Park 4: How long have they been on about this? Just do it and get it over and done with. If so let me have hands on the project and start killing the dinosaurs.

A Fox That Wears the Trousers

I’m not one to normally write about couples but this story made my eyebrows lift up.

Okay here we have Megan Fox (the winner of how many times can I bend over in the Transformers 2 film) and her off/on boyfriend formally from Beverly Hills 90210 (don’t get me started on that show with not a black person in sight).

Okay, back to the news, they met in 2004 and started dating, news is now that they have agreed to an open relationship but the terms are is that she can date other men but he can’t date other women (this is where I say wtf) so she can do what she likes and he can’t unless his into guys (oh) not saying that he is but they just said no other girls on his part (ummm) anyway I guess she is the boss and she run tings.

It’s claimed that Megan has six months to decide if she wants to wed him. (I think a lot guys will be in line before the 6 months then)

All I can say is dam what happen to double standards...

What you think...?!

It's a Boy...Called Knight

Kelis & Nas have named their son Knight. The estranged couple who are currently in the middle of an acrimonious divorce welcome their first child into the world

Nas was not present at the birth as he was barred. Gossip website TMZ reports: “After a performance in New York last night (21.07.09) where he told fans he was hammered on champagne, Nas tried to roll by Kelis’ hospital room around 1am this morning (22.07.09). But we’re told Nas was turned away because he was too wasted.”

Nas tut tut…. Kelis filed for Divorce in April and the reasons being irreconcilable differences. Kelis has hinted about him cheating and tired of Nas’ verbal abuse.