NobleMag

This economy issue is no joke. Looks like the ailing Source magazine has not been paying office rent. The magazine partially owned by Black Enterprise was served eviction papers today.

The Source Magazine

Rap icon LL Cool J has opted not to use an entire album of 50 Cent tracks, because he doesn't want his new release to sound like he's copying the G-Unit rapper. The twosome teamed up in the studio last year to work on beats and rhymes for LL Cool J's new album, which hit stores today, September 9. However, afterwards the pair put the hip-hop world on standby. Following months of working on tracks with 50 Cent , the rap veteran decided to take only the best cuts and went solo, according to PR-Inside.com. He says, "I'm not releasing the album he and I were working on. I took a few songs for Exit 13 and scrapped the rest. That's due to the fact that I don't think people want to hear me rhyming like 50." In related news, LL Cool J was recently added to Janet Jackson's upcoming "Rock Witchu" Tour. (smart move on both he and Janet's part) The Queens-bred native will hit the stage starting September 25. [source]

ll cool j, janet jackson, 50 cent

Pop star Mariah Carey sets the record straight in an exclusive interview with E! Online about her semi-split from working partner Benny Medina. Carey says, she has found a different role for her longtime talent manager and will now be representing herself. Carey and Medina, who have worked together for more than five years, both say that they will continue to collaborate. Medina's Handprint Entertainment will continue to develop content for, and with, the singer, but Carey's own Maroon Entertainment will be managing her career. Initial reports from Page Six and the New York Daily News said on Tuesday that Carey, 38, had dumped Medina, stating possibly that Medina had been "courting" his former client (and reported Carey rival) Jennifer Lopez. But Carey and Medina turned to E! to clear up the speculation and explain the terms of their new relationship. "Press Reports have not been accurate," Carey said. "Benny Medina and I will continue to work together on projects both present and in the future. I'm loking forward to working with Benny on what we have been developing, and to his continued involvement in my creative life." Medina, who recently parted ways with Usher, says, "Being as involved as I have been over the last five years, I am reminded how great teamwork leads to great success. This affords me the opportunity to work on some great projects with Mariah, including the upcoming tour, an HBO Christmas movie and a variety music show for CBS, as well as to pursue some of my other [productional] interests," he tells E! in a statement. Pop star Mariah Carey sets the record straight in an exclusive interview with E! Online about her semi-split from working partner Benny Medina. Carey says, she has found a different role for her longtime talent manager and will now be representing herself. Carey and Medina, who have worked together for more than five years, both say that they will continue to collaborate. Medina's Handprint Entertainment will continue to develop content for, and with, the singer, but Carey's own Maroon Entertainment will be managing her career. Initial reports from Page Six and the New York Daily News said on Tuesday that Carey, 38, had dumped Medina, stating possibly that Medina had been "courting" his former client (and reported Carey rival) Jennifer Lopez. But Carey and Medina turned to E! to clear up the speculation and explain the terms of their new relationship. "Press Reports have not been accurate," Carey said. "Benny Medina and I will continue to work together on projects both present and in the future. I'm loking forward to working with Benny on what we have been developing, and to his continued involvement in my creative life." Medina, who recently parted ways with Usher, says, "Being as involved as I have been over the last five years, I am reminded how great teamwork leads to great success. This affords me the opportunity to work on some great projects with Mariah, including the upcoming tour, an HBO Christmas movie and a variety music show for CBS, as well as to pursue some of my other [productional] interests," he tells E! in a statement. [source]

mariah Carey

The third time is a charm for BET asactor/comedian Katt Williams returns to host the third annual BET HIP HOPAWARDS. Taping on Saturday, October 18 at the Boisfeuillet Jones AtlantaCivic Center in Atlanta, this exciting primetime special will pay homage tourban music and culture, and will premiere on the network on Thursday,October 23 at 8:00 p.m.* Performers, nominees and show talent will beannounced later this month.

Known for his signature permed hair and over-the-top style, actor/comedianWilliams has become a true comedic force in entertainment, and appeared onpopular BET shows like COMIC VIEW, THE BLACK CARPET and 106 & PARK, as wellas at events such as RIP THE RUNWAY, the BET AWARDS and THE COMEDY AWARDS. Hehas received an overwhelmingly positive response from critics and continues toreceive stamps of approvals from the urban and mainstream community alike forhis brilliance and ingenuity on screen and on stage, including being named"hottest new comedian" in Rolling Stone magazine, as well as praise fromAfrican American comedic icons such as Steve Harvey, who says, "He's one ofthe hottest comedians in the country." Williams recently completed his100-city national tour, and will release his It's Pimpin Pimpin DVD onTuesday, November 11.This year's BET HIP HOP AWARDS returns with its Hot 16 challenge, apartnership with BET.com, uber-producer Jermaine Dupri and MySpace in whichusers will enter an online rap battle for a chance to win a VIP trip for four(4) to the 2008 BET HIP HOP AWARDS and an in-studio session with Dupri. Onlineviewers have until Monday, September 15 to vote for their favorite entries andhelp determine the five (5) finalists. The finalists' videos will then beposted on BET.com on Wednesday, September 17 for users to vote for theirfavorite before Wednesday, September 24, with Jermaine Dupri determining thegrand prize winner.Last year's BET HIP HOP AWARDS drew an impressive 2.5 rating, whichtranslated into 3.3 million viewers and was the #1 hip hop themed telecast onTV for the second consecutive year, according to Nielsen Media Research.This year, BET once again teams up with Cossette Productions, the famedproducers of the GRAMMY Awards® and the seven record-setting BET AWARDSshows, to handle production of the telecast. Stephen G. Hill, BET ExecutiveVice President, Music and Programming, along with Lynne Harris-Taylor, BETVice President of Specials, are executive producers of the telecast.

katt Williams

Filed Under: Does DETROIT have $15 Million?
"It's so Cold in the D" (You will piss on yourself after watching this video)

The Detroit nightclub where rapper Yung Berg was attacked last month has been named as a defendant in two lawsuits related to violent incidents at the venue, according to reports. The 22-year-old, Chicago-based rapper was alledgedly beaten and robbed at the infamous nightclub. Young Berg, whose real name is, Christian Ward cancelled his contract for a performance on Aug. 23 at the Summer Jamz festival, sponsored by Radio One Station 102.7, after the beating. Detroit rapper Trick Trick described Young Berg's beating in published remarks, claiming, "I saved that n----'s life." Other insiders, however, claim that the incident was a setup by Trick Trick, who is believed to have ties to Plan B. The most recent suit, a wrongful death suit, was filed against Plan B Nightclub, Inc. and two of its bouncers on August 15, just one week before Berg's notorious altercation. The lawsuit was filed by attorney Jerome Goldberg on behalf of 22-year-old Perry Deshawn Freeman, who was alledgedly shot in the back by Alwalie Barber and/or Steven Ray Gatson in February of this year, reports AllHipHop.com. Court documents reveal that Barber and Gatson are accusd of firing lethal hollow-point bullets at Freeman as he ran from them behind the downtown Detroit venue. Following Freeman's death, police documents claimed that he had fired the first shot after being asked to leave the venue for dancing on the table. However, police records showed no evidence linking the gun Freeman allegedly possessed to the victim, nor did they show any proof that he had fired a gun. Neither bouncer has been prosecuted to date. Goldberg is seeking monetary damages in Freeman's death as well as a jury trial. An earlier lawsuit filed against Plan B Nightclub seeks compensation in the amount of $15 million in the attack of plaintiff Victor Smith, who was alledgedly beaten by members of the club's security staff in April. In the action filed by Smith's attorney Thomas Randolph, several of Smith's friends corroborated his account of the beating, which, left him physically and mentally affected. According to Smith's friends, the victim was taken into a private room by the bouncers, after he complained that a female patron had spit on him. They went on to say that they were restrained by other bouncers guarding the door, but could hear sounds of a struggle in the room. They later found Smith unconscious and injured outside the club. The Smith lawsuit goes on to ask that the "corporate veil of secrecy" on Plan B be explored, as the club does not seem to have a state or city liquor license or permit. Reports have named Detroit rapper Trick Trick, who has featured the club in his videos, as one of the nightclub’s owners. [source]

Young Berg

Rapper T.I. insists he'd still be a free man, not looking at a year behind bars, if he had trusted his instincts during a gun deal that went bad. The hitmaker was caught in possession of illegal firearms and marijuana last October after entering into a dodgy car park exchange with weapons dealers who turned out to be undercover federal agents conducting a sting operation. T.I. - who spent the end of last year, Christmas and the New Year under house arrest in Georgia awaiting trial, was set up by a bodyguard who had been arrested four days before. And now the star, real name Clifford Harris Jr., regrets not walking away from the deal when he started thinking something was wrong. He tells Rolling Stone magazine, "I had a feeling in the back of my mind that something wasn't right. They (dealers) weren't talking right. "But I thought I was above situations like that. I was on some, 'Nah, that can't happen to me' s**t." And despite the charges against him, which landed T.I. with 1,000 hours of community service and a pending year-long jail sentence, the rapper insists he was building up an illegal weapons arsenal for personal protection following the death of his best friend Philant Johnson, who was shot to death outside a Cincinnati club in 2006. He adds, "After my partner died, I kinda had a 'take matters into my own hands' mentality. It provided a certain sense of paranoia. "When you're paranoid, and you've already been through certain things, your judgment tends to be jaded." [source]

T.I.