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13 Oct 2010 20:21

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Music: Live your life: T.I. talked a guy out of jumping to his death (wow)

  • T.I. just happened to be in the right place at the right time.
  • Atlanta Police spokesman James Polite • Explaining how rapper T.I., a.k.a. Clifford Harris, convinced a man on the rooftop of a 22-story Atlanta hotel not to jump. The rapper reportedly came out of nowhere in the middle of police negotiations with the man and talked the guy out of the jump. T.I., known for both his chart-topping success and for going to jail at the peak of his career, will face a judge this week and may possibly get his probation revoked over drug charges in Hollywood. Wow, that guy leads a busy life. source

12 Jul 2010 23:24

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Music: Pitchfork plays turncoat on M.I.A. and her new album, /\/\/\Y/\

  • Right or wrong, the social contract is simple: If you bring the hits, we’ll put up with your #(&@. With
    /\/\ /\ Y /\, M.I.A. has broken that contract. And she could not have chosen a worse time to do it.
  • Pitchfork reviewer Matthew Perpetua • Ruining M.I.A.’s entire week with a 4.4 album review that simply savages the wildly experimental political rapper. She’s not had much good press of late, what with a New York Times Magazine article that simply did not put her in a good light (and a huge fight that revolved around truffle fries – no joke), and this review will likely compound her problems. When you fall from 8.9 to 4.4 on Pitchfork in the span of an album, it’s not helpful to your career. Just ask Travis Morrison. source

22 Jun 2010 00:29

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Music: Rapper turns death rumors (lemons) into PR opportunity (lemonade)

  • All these rumors that I’ve been shot are phony just like half the rappers in the game. I’m still here, promoting my R.E.D. Album, so when it drops, go get it or else you might end up dead like me (laughs).
  • Rapper Game • Dispelling the rumors about his untimely demise and at the same time getting his new album a little much-needed publicity, which he hasn’t had a lot of lately, because he’s Game (formerly “The Game,” which was way cooler). For a period today, “the game dies in shooting” was the top trend on Google, giving the rapper an opportunity to live to see some of that Tupac money. source

22 May 2010 17:05

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Music: Rapper Drake: I’m not a legend yet, but it’d sure be nice

  • That’s the most flattering thing in the world but at the same time, real, legendary status can’t be dictated by the people who are still here witnessing it.
  • Rapper Drake • On being calling a legend, already, before his first full album has come out. Dude’s riding a pretty large wave of hype right now, one that promises to only get larger as “Thank Me Later” comes out next month. Why the hype? Part of it is his everyman approach to rap. In his rhymes, he comes across as an average guy who just happened to become famous, a dude who says he didn’t cry when Tupac died but will when Jay-Z does. He’s not ready yet but he’s looking forward to getting there: “I’m young. I’m 23. This is too soon. I really want to grow and be that guy.” Not bad for the guy in the wheelchair on “Degrassi: The Next Generation.” source

05 Apr 2010 00:17

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Offbeat: We can rap movie titles just as effectively as this dude

  • 109 movie titles, five minutes. Despite that (and probably due to the fact that he fudged a couple of the fan-submitted movie titles, DeStorm’s rap is actually fairly coherent and pretty awesome. His beat sucks, but it doesn’t matter. Any dude who can fit that much into five minutes deserves a gold star and a cookie.

22 Dec 2009 21:39

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Music: T.I.’s out of prison, just in time for Lil’ Wayne to take his place

  • The Atlanta rapper was everywhere a year ago; will his star shine again? T.I., a.k.a. Clifford Harris Jr., was released from an Arkansas prison today and put in an Atlanta halfway house for three months. The “Whatever You Like” superstar was jailed on weapons charges – just like Lil’ Wayne is about to be. Won’t someone think of the larger-than life rappers? source

14 Nov 2009 01:15

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World: Russian rapper respect: Our favorite Vladimir Putin story EVER!

  • It would have been cool to record a joint track with Vladimir Putin because he is a legendary man and our idol. Let’s make so much noise in his honour that the whole world can hear.
  • Rapper Zhigan, in a rap (presumably in Russian, due to the odd rhyme structure) • Describing his adoration for Vladimir Putin, the most loved human being on planet Russia. The Russian president presented awards to Zhigan and other rappers on MuzTV’s “Battle for Respect,” a rap-battle show. And you know M.C. Poot just brought it HARD. “I do not think that ‘top-rock’ or ‘down-rock’ breakdance technique is compatible with alcohol or drugs,” he said, to cheers, despite the fact that what he said was incredibly square in any language. • source
 

13 Nov 2009 18:04

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Offbeat: The latest in the awful rapper game: BANGS’ Sudanese slang

  • We didn’t consider that there might be a rapper out there with skills even lesser than Boostalk‘s, but it appears Sudanese spitter BANGS has him beat. Sample rhyme: “Let’s sit in those two chairs alone/watching a movie/so we can see what’s going on.” So deep. On the plus side, at least we still have Chuggo. (Hat tip Andrew Sullivan)source

07 Nov 2009 11:17

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Culture: For rapper 50 Cent, it’s “get high-priced security or die tryin'”

50 Cent spends $20,000 a week on security. His Vitamin Water money is probably gone at that rate. source

06 Oct 2009 10:20

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Music: Remember Shyne? Of course you don’t. Well, he’s out of jail today.

Shyne was the fall guy in the J-Lo/P. Diddy shooting incident a decade ago. We completely forgot he existed. source