On Point

IT'S THE REMIX... BITCHES!

2005-07-31T02:14:00.000+10:00

alright, alright... I know I have ignored this Blogsite for a long time so I'm back like crack to get shit crackin'!

once again it's on!

check out these pics from the recent Brisane show of THE ROOTS to begin with and look for events postings in time to come.

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and not forgetting the GURU tour a couple of months back...

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CHUUCH!

ON POINT // Sun. Nov. 21 2004

2004-11-21T19:04:00.000+10:00

[ON TOUR]
Former X-ecutioners member - [MISTA SINISTA] only has two shows left on his Australian tour and one of them is right here in BNE. THIS THURSDAY NIGHT (Nov. 25) @ the Empire Hotel’s Moon Bar! Sinista then heads across to PER. for a show on Sat. Nov. 27 @ RnB Superclub (Metro).

Ninja Tune’s [MR. SCRUFF] drops an epic five hour set THIS THURSDAY NIGHT at Family, full of bouncy reggae, classic hip hop, deep soul, rare funk, dance floor jazz, heavy beats and leftfield electronic nuggets. Scruff will also head to other Australian cities with shows scheduled for; Fri. Nov. 26 – PER. (Ambar Mills), Sat. Nov. 27 – SYD. (Parklife) and Sun. Nov. 28 – MEL. (Revolver).

Despite Che-Fu and the Krates having had to pull out of their planned Australian tour, Deceptikonz members – [MAREKO] and [SAVAGE] will continue with their own tour to promote their solo albums. The Deceptikonz duo will hit BNE. on Nov. 27 for a special show presented by Blackbeat and Babble-On Productions at Ignition (383 Adelaide St.), supported by Big Boyd, Lazy Grey and Fader F*kerz. Tix are $20 / 18+ event. For more info on Mareko and Savage head to www.dawnraid.co.nz

Crazy fresh dope DJ – [PAUL NICE] will head to Australia in early Dec. for the first time for his ‘Definition of Nice’ tour in support of his recent album - ‘Journey to the Centre of the Beats’, with shows set for Wed. Dec. 01 – MEL. (HonkyTonks), Fri. Dec. 03 – SYD. (Boogie Down) and Sat. Dec. 04 – ADE. (Suga) – no BNE. show! Paul Nice has been around since 1997, when he released ‘Beats Annonymous’ to acclaim from turntablists such as Q-Bert and MixMaster Mike… Paul Nice went on to produce joints for Biz Markie, Talib Kweli, Black Thought, Masta Ace, Guru, Lord Finesse, Nightmares On Wax, The Beastie Boys, Foreign Legion, Swollen Members and Planet Asia to name a few. Those who attend Paul Nice’s ‘Definition of Nice’ shows can expect a mad mash-up of Hip Hop, Funk, Disco and Boogie!

Here’s another hot tour hitting Australia… [THE NEXTMEN], [DYNAMITE MC], [STEINSKI] and [DJ SIGNIFY] are set to undertake a national tour downunder with shows on: Fri. Nov. 26 – Byron Bay, Sat. Dec. 04 – ADE. and a special performance at Adventjah in BNE. on Sun. Dec. 05 (@ Botanic Gardens + Riverstage).

The AND1 mixtape recently hit Australia but now the original showmen of Basketball are set to return to Australia to celebrate their 75th anniversary this year... The [HARLEM GLOBETROTTERS] have played in 117 countries around the world to over 120 million fans throughout their 75 year history – the Globetrotters last entertained Australian fans in 1999 and will head to Australia in late Nov. for shows in Cairns – Sat. Nov. 20, Canberra – Sun. Nov. 21, Wollongong – Wed. Nov. 24, Newcastle – Thu. Nov. 25, Sydney – Fri. Nov. 26, Melbourne – Sat. Nov. 27 and Adelaide – Sun. Nov. 28… No Brisbane show?! For more info on the Harlem Globetrotters Australian tour head to www.dcegroup.com or www.harlemglobetrotters.com

To celebrate the establishment of DJ Peril’s new [STREET ELITE] label, 1200 Techniques will lead a national tour featuring NZ’s Dei Hamo and Street Elite’s own Suburban Intellect. The Street Elite Tour hits BNE. – Thu. Dec. 02 (the Zoo), Geelong – Fri. Dec. 03 (The Preston), MEL. – Thu. Dec. 09 (The Evelyn), SYD. – Sat. Dec. 11 (Gaelic Club) and Byron Bay – Sun. Dec. 12 (Great Northern Hotel). For more info head to www.streetelite.com.au

One of the original pioneers of “mashed-up remixes” - [DJ Z-TRIP] and the most recent signing to the Quannum label - [LIFESAVAS], are headed to Australia in Dec. for a series of shows around the country… Lifesavas will be dropping joints from their recently released album – ‘Spirit In Stone’ whilst Z-Trip will just be slamming joints together on the 1s and 2s, check them out in the following cities; BNE. – Sat. Dec. 04 (the Rev), Byron Bay – Sun. Dec. 05 (the Great Northern), SYD. – Wed. Dec. 08 (Metro), MEL. – Thu. Dec. 09 (Prince of Wales), ADE. – Fri. Dec. 10 (Traffic) and PER. – Sat. Dec. 11 (Monkey Bar).

With two years having passed since his last national tour, the Bay Area’s underground champion - [SAGE FRANCIS] is set to return for a Dec. tour, hitting… SYD. - Tue. Dec. 07 (the Basement), BNE. – Thu. Dec. 09 (the Rev), Meredith - Sat. Dec. 11 (Meredith Music Festival – Vic.), MEL. – Tue. Dec. 14 (Corner Hotel) and Wed. Dsec. 15 (Manchester Lane – spoken word show).

Thanks to Illusive Entertainment and Frontier Touring… [CYPRESS HILL] are hitting Australia in Dec. for their “Still Smokin’ national tour supported by Bliss n Eso and Figg Kidd including shows in; MEL. @ Festival Hall - Fri. Dec. 10, SYD. @ Hordern Pavillion - Sat. Dec. 11, ADE. @ Thebarton Theatre - Sun. Dec. 12, PER. @ Metro City - Mon. Dec. 13, CAN. @ ANU Bar - Wed. Dec. 15 and BNE. @ the Arena - Tue. Dec. 16 (w/ special guest Big Boyd). Tickets go on sale Wed. Oct. 13… for more info on Cypress Hill’s Australian tour hit up www.illusive.com.au

Bizarre, Kon Artis, Swift, Kuniva + Proof - better known as [D-12], are headed to AUS. in Dec. for a national tour without their main man – Eminem, but backed by a live band and supported by NZ artist – Dei Hamo. Shows are scheduled for… Dec. 11 – PER. (Robinson Pavillion), Dec. 13 – MEL. (Festival Hall), Dec. 15 - SYD. (Hordern Pavillion) and Dec. 18 - BNE (River Stage) - Tickets are $74.80!

The planned [K-CI + JOJO] show at the Arena has been cancelled but fear not, Mercury nightclub have saved the day and picked up the show for Sat. Dec. 11! Doors open at 8pm for this exclusive event which will see Brisbane’s own Xy + Jessie, 315, Levi f/ Lethbridge and DJs Master D and D-Luxx supporting tow of R&B’s greatest. Tickets go on sale Mon. Nov. 22 through Ticketek or Mercury nightclub, $40 + b/f (general admission – 800 only) or $70 + b/f (VIP access to V.I.P. lounge and possibly meet K-C- + JoJo after the show – 70 only). For more info call 0433 187 632 or 0433 177 478.

The rumoured [BONE THUGS-N-HARMONY] tour of Australia looks likely to be confirmed very soon with BTNH set to perform in SYD. on Mon. Dec. 18, ADE. on Fri. Dec. 29, CAN. or MEL. on Sat. Dec. 30, DAR. or BNE. on Sun. Dec. 31, MEL. or BNE. on Mon. Jan. 01 and PER. on Tue. Jan. 02. More info here in ON POINT as soon as everything is confirmed…

[DE LA SOUL] are headed back to Australia to lavish upon us some of the finest Hip-Hop there ever was! Dave, Pos and Maseo have an ADE. show scheduled for Dec. 29, will appear at the Falls Festival (VIC./TAS.) between Dec. 30 – Jan. 01 and the Summafieldayze festival on the Gold Coast – Sat. Jan. 08.

The second release of bands for the 2005 [BIG DAY OUT] has been announced with more Hip-Hop added to the mix…. Along with the Beastie Boys, Butterfingers and The Streets - Atmosphere, Scribe + P-Money, Deceptikonz and Hilltop Hoods have been added. The 2005 BDO kicks off in Auckland on Fri. Jan. 21 and then heads to Australia for the remainder of shows – Sun. Jan. 23 @ Gold Coast, Wed. Jan. 26 @ SYD., Sun. Jan. 30 @ MEL., Fri. Feb. 04 @ ADE. and Sun. Feb. 06 @ PER. For all the latest on the Big Day Out head to www.bigdayout.com - BDO will make one more announcement in a month’s time with more acts…

According to SYD.’s Showtime Entertainment we can expect to see [MONTELL JORDAN] in Australia for a series of club shows through Jan. 2005. Look out for that one and other shows from Showtime at their website – www.showtimeentertainment.com.au

Hot off the release of their new album, ‘Destiny Fulfilled’, Michelle, Kelly and Beyonce a.k.a. [DESTINY’S CHILD] are headed to Australia in Apr. 2005 for their second Australian tour - “Destiny Fulfilled… And Lovin’ It”. The “bootylicious” trio will play BNE. – Thu. Apr. 21 (BEC), SYD. – Sat. Apr. 23 (Superdome) and MEL. – Tue. Apr. 26 (Rod Laver Arena). Be quick to get your tickets as they went on sale Mon. (Nov. 22) through Ticketek – 131 931, more info at www.coppel.com.au or www.mydestinyschild.com

The proposed Dec. tour by [RAHZEL] and [DJ JS-1] has now been postponed until Feb., this will now allow promoters in other cities the opportunity to pick up shows on the tour as the Dec. tour only had a MEL. show confirmed for the incredibly talented and entertaining “Godfather of Noize”.

On the tail of the AND1 and Globetrotters tours Paul Dainty Corporation are reportedly planning to bring out an [NBA LEGENDS] tour featuring Earvin “Magic” Johnson, “Sir” Charles Barkely, Clyde “the Glide” Drexler and a few others…

[XZIBIT] is rumoured to be hitting Australia in Mar. to tour in support of his new album – ‘Weapons of Mass Destruction’ and to host the inaugural MTV Australia Video Awards on Mar. 03 (according to reports). Xzibit is also slated to host the MTV Europe Awards before heading to Australia in 2005…

After months of rumours and conjecture, [NELLY] appears to be finally visiting Australia in Aug. 2005 (not sure if the St. Lunatics will tag along) – seems pretty far off from the recent release of ‘Sweat’ + Suit’ though.

Other Hip-Hop and R&B acts rumoured to be planning tours of Australia include; [BRIAN McKINGHT], [XZIBIT], [KANYE WEST] + [TALIB KWELI], [JANET JACKSON], [DILATED PEOPLES], [USHER], [TIMBALAND], [NELLY] + the St. Lunatics, [JAY-Z] (or S. Carter), [REDMAN] + [METHOD MAN], [THA ALKOHOLIKS], [HUSSEIN FATAL] and an undisclosed show you never thought you’d see here in Australia… Keep your eyes and ears peeled as On Point will bring you all the news as to whether or not these shows go ahead.

[QUIKSHOTZ]
The second annual [VIBE AWARDS] took place in L.A. last week (Nov. 15), but you could have sworn it was a Source Hip-Hop Awards show as the event was marred by a huge melee in front of the stage right before Dr. Dre was to receive his VIBE Legend Award… Snoop Dogg an legendary producer – Qunicy Jones stood onstage to present Dre with his award when suddenly punches and chairs were being thrown near Dre’s table. Santa Monica PD officers were quickly on the scene and it was soon determined that the fight broke out after an individual later identified as Jimmy James Johnson punched Dr. Dre in the face after pretending to ask Dre for an autograph, Johnson was subsequently stabbed in the ensuing melee (which Dre was see throwing fists in) and suffered a punctured lung after being attacked by several people – David Darnell Brown a.k.a. G-Unit member - Young Buck surrendered himself to Santa Monica police after a bench warrant was issued for his arrest in relation to the stabbing incident at the VIBE Awards. Buck was allegedly identified on videotape as one of three men holding a knife during the incident and now faces charges of attempted murder and assault with a deadly weapon. Buck was released on US$500,000 bail but will be arraigned in L.A. on Dec. 20. Buck is amongst one of several men sprayed with pepper spray by police and is likely to be charged with assault with a deadly weapon along with two other unnamed individuals. According to rumours, the Game and Mobb Deep were witnessed going to war for Dr. Dre after the sucker punch… Once the incident was quelled Dre stepped on stage and received his award, but was visibly shaken according to reports. As expected, Death Row Records CEO – Marion “Suge” Knight is strongly tipped to have had a hand in planning the attack. Apart from the incident with Dr. Dre the rest of the VIBE Awards were said to have gone off smoothly, except for a few artists leaving the ceremony early, most noticeable of those being Alicia Keys who was not present to receive her Artist of The Year Award or perform as previously scheduled. As far as winning awards, Alicia Keys and Terror Squad shared the big winners spot with two apiece. The VIBE Awards closed with Jadakiss performing the remix of ‘Why?’ with Anthony Hamilton, Styles and Common, with his quick wit in top form Common spat a improvised addition to his verse asking “Why did O.D.B. have to meet the lord? / Why did we (have to) come and rip it at the Vibe awards?”.

The 32nd Annual [AMERICAN MUSIC AWARDS] took place last week (Nov. 14) in L.A. with Usher cleaning house, scoring four AMA’s from his five nominations, whilst his fellow ATLiens (I know he was he born in Chattanooga, Tennessee but he lives in Atlanta) – OutKast, picked up three AMA’s. During the ceremony Rap and R&B artists such as Alicia Keys, Kanye West and Snoop Dogg f/ Pharrell Williams all performed. Kanye West had a big sulk backstage during the ceremony saying “I feel I was definitely robbed, I was the best new artist this year, so get that other bull out of here… I don't know if I'll be back at this awards show next year", as he felt he was snubbed for Best New Artist as Country artist – Gretchen Wilson took out the prize. During OutKast’s acceptance speech for one of their three awards Big Boi (who was without Andre3000) gave a shout out to Ol’ Dirty Bastard who had only passed away the day before, Big Boi also revealed after the AMAs that he and Andre3000 hope to have a new album out by Jun. and are looking to collaborate with Kate Bush for a track on the album.

Not surprisingly, U.S. acts dominated the list of winners at the [MTV EUROPE AWARDS] held in Rome last week – with OutKast topping the winners, picking up three awards and usher, Alicia Keys, D12 and Black Eyed Peas also picking up awards, the only European act to win a major award were UK act Muse who won for Best Alternative Act. MTV’s ‘Pimp My Ride’ host – Xzibit, emceed the event from Rome’s Tor di Valle, which played host to performances from Eminem (who was anned from doing his planned Michael Jackson impersonation), Beastie Boys, Usher + Alicia Keys (‘My Boo’) and Nelly amongst others.

Medical examiners in NYC performed an autopsy on [OL’ DIRTY BASTARD] last week after his death and were unable to find any unnatural cause of death but are still awaiting toxicology reports to determine whether there were any drugs present in his system, it has been rumoured that ODB had been up for two days straight with the aid of cocaine and prescription drugs. Hopefully a conclusive reason for ODB’s death will be reached by next week… The reports of ODB collapsing in the studio have been revealed to be inaccurate according to ODB’s son – Barson. ODB was apparently complaining abut his chest hurting but was actually sitting on the floor, he asked for help to get to the couch and wanted some water but the water brought for him wasn’t cold enough so he went to sleep but never woke up. ODB was laid to rest last week (on Nov. 18) in Brooklyn, NY in a private service, which was followed by a public memorial service attended by thousands of ODB fans. ODB’s estate is to be split up amongst his seven children to wife – Icelene Jones, whom expects a bitter legal struggle as ODB left no will and is survived by thirteen children, five of which are not from his marriage to Icelene. In related news… Executives at SpikeTV are determining what to do with his reality series – ‘Stuck on ODB’, which was filmed in Jul. as contestants tried to stay within ten feet of ODB for five days to win a cash prize.

Never one to stray too far from controversy, [R. KELLY] was recently named at the middle of an extortion racket headed by 38 year-old Chicagoan – Derrick Mosley, who claimed that he had video tapes of Kelly engaging in sexual acts with the wife of New York Yankees batter – Gary Sheffield and another unnamed woman. Mosely has subsequently been arrested and charged with extortion and operating a scheme to defraud. Mosley had contacted Sheffield’s agent to negotiate a US$20,000 pay off not to release the videos and hire Mosley (who claimed to be a minister) to help Sheffield’s wife atone for her sins! The tapes apparently feature Sheffield’s wife – DeLeon Richards (28), with R. Kelly when she was 18 years old and in the middle of a relationship with Kelly. Richards was a Gospel singer and has the unique distinction of being the youngest person to be nominated for a Grammy Award at aged 5. Representatives for both Richards and Kelly have neither denied that their clients may infact feature in the videos but Kelly’s representatives did express that the contents of the videos were consensual acts between two adults.

Building on their fantastic discography, which currently contains; ‘Speakerboxxx / The Love Below’, ‘Stankonia’, ‘Aquemini’, ‘ATLiens’ and ‘Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik’, [OUTKAST] is reportedly entitling their Jun. 2005 release - ‘Ten The Hard Way’ and declare that the album will be a triumphant return to “Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik” with ten hard-hitting joints. Andre and Big Boi are also still hard at work on their HBO film – ‘My Life In Idlewood’, which OutKast will release an accompanying soundtrack for.

Reports of a fully-fledged reunification of [A TRIBE CALLED QUEST] continue as the group, once again including Jarobi, recently played a show in Baltimore, Maryland with Naughty By Nature (sans KayGee) as their opening act. The show featured a 22 tracks set from ATCQ, which included a guest appearance from Skillz on ‘One, Two Shit’ and shout-outs to the Wu-Tang Clan and Fugees regarding their recent reformations.

[MARIAH CAREY] has revealed the title of her upcoming Def Jam album… ‘The Emancipation of Mimi’ will be a stripped back collection of R&B/Pop tracks with subtle Rap influences featuring a more subdued Mariah, who this time will relax her “vocal acrobatics” for a more straight down te line delivery. ‘The Emancipation of Mimi’ is scheduled for a Mar. 29 release with the Neptunes produced ‘Say Something’ featuring Snoop Dogg set to be the lead single. Jermaine Dupri has produced ‘Get Your Number’ and ‘Shake You Off’ whilst Mariah wrote and produced the power ballad – ‘Mine Again’, Kanye West, Nelly and Twista also appear on ‘The Emancipation of Mimi’.

When Jay-Z dropped ‘The Black Album’ is was remixed to death with every man and his dog dropping reworked versions of Jigga’s finale… well five months ago [DARK SHADEZ] dropped ‘Jay-Z: The Latin Album’ which sees Jayhovah rhyming over latin beats and since its release the album has sold 60,000 units with no advertising or marketing campaign. The Dark Shadez production crew have got Jay’s nod of approval, getting to meet him at his 40/40 club in NYC. You can pick up Dark Shadez’s ‘Jay-Z: The Latin Album’ on eBay.

Apart from an obscure Lord Tariq track, Nas and Jay-Z have never shared a track until now… Producer Milio has put together an album entitled [‘GOD’S BLACK’], which sees Jay-Z and Nas go head to head on each of the album’s eleven tracks which also feature AZ, Macy Gray, Big Kap, Fatman Scoop, DJ Clue, Havoc, Notorious B.I.G., Lil’ Kim and Celine Dion. ‘God’s Black’ is exclusively available from www.sandboxautomatic.com

Tionne Watkins and Rozonda Thomas, better known as [TLC] members “T-Boz” and “Chilli” have found a home for their new realty series – “R U The Girl with T-Boz + Chilli”, American television network – UPN, has picked up the reality series, which will help find a replacement for deceased TLC member Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes. The series would see “T-Boz” and “Chilli” put a group of hopefuls through weeks of challenges to earn a chance to perform live with TLC and participate in a recording session. UPN has only ordered eight episodes of “R U The Girl with T-Boz + Chilli” with casting to begin soon…

One of the two remaining original Destiny’s Child members - [KELLY ROWLAND], may beat Beyonce to the church as she has announced plans to marry Dallas Cowboy’s player – Roy Williams in Mar. 2005! Apparently Williams popped the question in May this year and the couple are only announcing it now as the date nears. Kelly is already discussing having kids and perhaps putting down the mic to become a schoolteacher… she has also discussed plans to build a daycare centre – getting a lil’ too far ahead of herself there?

Rumours are abuzz that Destiny’s Child member – [MICHELLE WILLIAMS] may follow LeToya, LaTavia and Farrah and become former members of Destiny’s Child… Rumour is that Michelle’s alleged plan to pursue a career as a Gospel artist conflicts with Destiny’s Child’s image. There was also an odd incident on BET’s ‘106 + Park’ recently, which saw Michelle fall during a dance routine whilst Kelly and Beyonce watched her fall without helping her. Despite mounting evidence, keep in mind that this is just a rumour – but did anyone else notice the lack of screentime Michelle gets in the video for ‘Lose My Breath’? Is it just because she can’t dance?

As previously reported in On Point, Beyonce Knowles’ younger sister [SOLANGE KNOWLES] recently gave birth to her first baby but without her husband, college football player - Daniel Smith, present. It’s now been revealed (by Daniel) that Solange’s father – Matthew, had arranged a “quickie” wedding for his youngest daughter in the Bahamas with a promise made to Smith that he would receive US$1 million and an anullment after 30 days if the marriage didn’t work out!

Former ‘American Idol’ contestant – [LATOYA LONDON], (who was ripped off!) has signed a deal with independent Jazz label Peak Records with plans to being recording an album of reworked covers in Jan. 2005 with aim for a Jul./Aug. release.

Former Lost Boyz frontman – [MR. CHEEKS] has dropped a new solo LP (Nov. 19) entitled ‘Ladies & Ghettomen’ through his own Legal Drug Money Records and Australian label – Barcode Records has picked up the Australian distribution making the album available locally through JB Hi-Fi stores nationwide. ‘Ladies & Ghettomen’ features a guest spot from Truth Hurts and production from Pete Rock on a few joints.

Although he’s been quiet for a moment now, former Dogg Pound member - [DAZ DILLINGER], hasn’t been living in a cave… after catching the drama of last week’s VIBE Awards, Daz has issued a track containing his views on the whole situation entitled ‘The Vibe Awardz Theme’, which can be downloaded as an MP3 from www.dubcnn.com. You can check out more on what Daz is up to at www.dazdillinger.net or www.dpgrecordz.com. Also look out for Daz’s new independant album – ‘Tha Dogg Pound Gangsta LP’, in Feb. 2005. Not sure what’s happening with Daz’s ‘SoSo Gangsta’ album for SoSo Def…

[GAME] has dropped a remix of Ja Rule’s comeback hit ‘New York’, with some classic lines such as "I got 100 guns, 100 clips / I'm in New Yooork! I roll with another 100 Bloods, 100 Crips / everytime I'm in New Yooork!" Look for that Ja vs. 50 beef to flare up as Ja need’s to move some copies of ‘R.U.L.E.’ as it has sold ONLY 190,000 copies in its firs week stateside – his lowest opening week ever!

Only fourteen months after the release of his debut LP – ‘Only The Strong’ (which was preceded by ‘Episodes of a Hustla’ EP in ’95), Mobb Deep’s QB associate – [BIG NOYD] will drop his second album on Jan. 25 2005 entitled ‘On The Grind’. ‘On The Grind’ will feature production largely from Havoc and Ric Rude and guest spots are largely filled by Havoc and Prodigy. Big Noyd is now set to go out on tour with Lloyd Banks before heading to China with Jin tha MC.

CaliUntouchable – [DJ WARRIOR] has collaborated with Boston based mixtape DJ – [CLINTON SPARKS] for a new mixtape entitled ‘Coast Control’, which features production from up-and-coming West Coast producers – Da Riffs and new tracks from; Method Man, Stat Quo, Game, Rah Digga, Ali Vegas, Balance, Scipio, Immortal Technique and N.O.R.E. You can catch the ‘Coast Control’ mixtape at www.caliuntouchables.com

Apparently [LIL' WAYNE] hasn’t got much love for his fellow emcees… He’s already dissed Nas and 50 Cent on mixtapes and now the Cash Money Millionaire is gunning for Snoop D-O-Double-Gizzle! At a recent show in Houston Lil’ Weezy had his DJ drop Snoop’s ‘Drop It Like It’s Hot’ real quick before telling him to “turn that shit off!” and instructing the DJ to drop Juvenile’s ‘Back That Thing Up’, at which time Wayne went into his verse from ‘Back That Thing Up’… “Now, now, now, now, now / after you back it up, then stop / Then wha-wha-what, drop drop it like it's hot / Now after you back it up, then stop / Now, wha-wha-wha-what drop it like it's hot / Now drop it like it's hot, drop drop it like it's hot / C-M-B make you drop it like it's hot / Drop it like it's hot, drop drop it like it's hot / Drop it like it's hot, drop drop it like it's hot”. Say what!? Snoop biting Lil’ Wayne – I’ll have to check the track and get back to you all on that one! Oh, by the way… Lil’ Wayne also did a joint called ‘Drop It Like It’s Hot’ on his debut album.

Mobb Deep’s [PRODIGY] has recently dropped a track dissing the late Tupac Shakur on a new mixtape. In the midst of the East Coast vs. West Coast beef Mobb Deep got into trading disses with Tupac and tha Outlawz but the beef was eventually squashed by Outlawz members Napoleon, EDI, Kastro and Young Noble – this most recent dis’ by Prodigy at Tupac is rather bizarre and appears to have no motivation… Former Outlaw – Hussein Fatal hasn’t let the dis’ slide by though, he’s recorded a reply to Prodigy which appears on Fatal’s mixtape – ‘Fataveli Vol. 2’.

[UNDAGROUND SOUNDS]
The 2004 [WORLD ITF DJ CHAMPIONSHIPS] are set to take place in Germany on Dec. 04 at Stuttgart’s Zapata nightclub, with five titles up for grabs; Advancement, Beat Juggling, Scratching, Teams and the new Experimental category. The new Experimental category will allow DJs to use up to four effects on sources. The international judging panel for the ITF DJ Championships will be DJs; Tigerstyle (2003 ITF and Allies Beatdown Champion), Pfel (2x French ITF Champion), Dopey (2004 DMC Champion), Shortkut and Grand Wizard Theodore.

Former schoolteacher turned emcee - [J-LIVE], has just signed a worldwide deal with Penalty Recordings/Rykodisc for the release of his third album, which is due early next year. J-Live joins fellow Penalty Records artists such as the Beatnuts and Rahzel.

BBE Records loved [PETE ROCK’s] ‘Soul Survivor II’ LP so much that they are going to release an album of instrumentals initially intended to be used on the project but ended up unused. The new instrumental compilation of Pete Rock beats will be entitled ‘Pete Rock- The Surviving Elements: From Soul Survivor II Sessions’.

Bumpy Knuckles a.k.a. [FREDDIE FOXXX] has completed recording his new album – ‘American Black Man’, which is due for release in the first quarter of 2005 featuring production from DJ Premier, Pete Rock, The Alchemist, Kev Brown, Rich 5 and Bumpy Knucks himself.

With Fat Joe currently enjoying some long overdue popularity, now appears to be the time to reform the star-studded [D.I.T.C.] crew made up of A.G., Big L (deceased), Buckwild, Diamond D, Fat Joe, Lord Finesse, Showbiz and O.C. The now seven man crew are apparently in the early stages of a comeback with a new deal signed under the leadership od Showbiz and Lord Finesse. Showbiz and O.C. better straighten out their differences out other wise nothing will happen on the project. The big question will be whether they will replace Big L?

[BBE RECORDS] are also planning a few other incredible releases for 2005, including a new album from JayDee a.k.a. J-Dilla and a ‘Kings of Hip-Hop; double CD compilation put together by DJ Premier and Mr. Thing – Primo will apparently handle the breaks side whilst Mr. Thing will handle the Hip-Hop (personally I though it would be the other way around).

[BUCKSHOT] and [9TH WONDER] have been working on a collabo LP together entitled ‘Chemistry’ and will finally release the album in early 2005 with guest spots from Phonte, Big Pooh, Justus League and Sean Price.

‘Fast Cars, Danger, Fire and Knives’ is the title of the new EP from [AESOP ROCK], who has collaborated on El-P and Camutao and handled most of the production himself with help from Blockhead. ‘Fast Cars, Danger, Fire and Knives’ is set for a Feb. 25 release.

The Grouch and Luckyiam from the Living Legends crew are back together as [CMA] a.k.a. Cool Man Association, to release their second LP as a duo – ‘All Over’. ‘All Over’ will feature production from Eli, The Grouch, J-Thrills and DJ Epik plus guest spots from Slug and Brother Ali, Del Tha Funkee Homosapian and Murs. The first single from CMA’s ‘All Over’ LP will be ‘Windows’, ‘All Over’ is due for a Dec. 14 release.

From the “Motor City” a.k.a. Detroit, comes former Binary Star member – [ONE BE LO] a.k.a. “One Man Army” with his debut solo LP – ‘S.O.N.O.G.R.A.M. (Sounds of Nashid Originate Good Rhymes And Music)’, which sees the former Star handle the bulk of prodction himself. One Be Lo has been quiet since Binary Star’s 1999 debut – ‘Waterworld’. ‘S.O.N.O.G.R.A.M.’ is set for a Feb. 2005 release through Fat Beats.

[UTHA STUFF]
Last week it was the book-keeper from The Inc. who was arrested on money laundering charges, this week it’s [JA RULE’s] personal manager who has cuffed an taken away… 29 year-old Ron “Gutta” Robinson was arrested an indicted on money laundering charges by federal prosecutors, who continue their quest to take down The Inc. “Gutta” was arraigned and released on US$500,000 bond the day of is arrest.

Things just go from bad to worse for [THE INC.]… last week their book-keeper was arrested on federal money laundering charges and this week Ja Rule’s manager was also arrested on federal money laundering charges, on top of all that it appears that known associates of Kenneth “Supreme” McGriff have been arrested in relation to the murder of up-and-coming Queens emcee – E-Money Bags. Dennis Crosby and Nicole Brown have both been arrested and charged with murder after it was alleged that the pair were hired by “Supreme” to kill E-Money in retaliation for the murder of “Supreme’s” right hand man – Colbert Johnson. Investigators made the connection between “Supreme” and Crosby and Brown after a raid in mid-2001 turned up a surveillance video featuring the last 20 minutes of E-Money’s life - Nicole Brown subsequently confessed that the tape was filmed from her home. If convicted, Brown and Crosby could face the death penalty – at which point they could possibly volunteer any information linking The Inc. to “Supreme’s” illegal activities to save their own skins!

Roc-A-Fella Records and Diplomat Records have teamed up with New Era Entertainment and Fountainhead Entertainment to present [“THE BOOK OF HIP-HOP - CHAPTER ONE”] HDTV pay-per-view event on Nov. 30 live from Harlem’s Apollo Theatre. The event will feature live performances from Cam'ron, the Diplomats, Beanie Sigel, State Property, Peedi Crakk, Memphis Bleek and Paul Cain with Doug E Fresh hosting the event backed by DJ Clue and DJ Enuff on the one’s and two’s. Wouldn’t it be nice if Foxtel’s Main Event made this event available for us?

Since being kicked off the ‘Best Of Both Worlds’ tour after the incidents surrounding the Madison Square Garden show in NYC, [R. KELLY] is apparently planning an ‘R. Kelly and Friends’ tour not dissimilar to Jay-Z’s ‘Jay-Z and Friends’ tour which filled the remaining spots on the scheduled ‘Best Of Both Worlds’ tour. The rumours of the proposed ‘R. Kelly and Friends’ tour are not confirmed at this time but On Point will bring you all the details if it eventuates…

In a strange move, [XZIBIT] has come out to bag “commercial” Rap artists, urging them to communicate through their music and stop glorifying violence but use their voice to rebel and protest. According to the U.S. RIAA, Rap artists currently sell a collective US$2.8 billion in CD sales annually making it very hard to convert up and coming rappers to take the higher path rather than the lower road to fame and fortune. Xzibit commented that "the guy who just does ignorant music wins the awards and gets the millions of music sales and that becomes defeating after a while…" – incidentally, Xzibit’s comment was made whilst lounging on a couch on the outskirts of Rome in a custom-made MTV tent during preparations for the 2004 MTV Europe Awards. Xzibit’s first two albums showed a lot of potential from the young Likwid Crew member but he later left the Likwit family to hook up with Dr. Dre to create a mediocre LP designed for mass appeal – let’s see where his ‘Weapons of Mass Destruction’ take him on Dec. 14.

Rap music impresario - [RUSSELL SIMMONS], the man who founded Def Jam Recordings and Rush Associated Labels is apparently looking to launch a new record label with the Warner Music Group as his contract with Universal Music expired several months ago. With former Def Jam executives – Kevin Liles, Lyor Cohen and Julie Greenwald over at Warner, the move seems logical for Simmons, who has been reportedly uncomfortable with his retirement from the music side of the business as he is apparently keen to mentor new young artists. Universal Music Group purchased Def Jam Recordings from Russell Simmons in 1999 for a sum allegedly over US$100 million and merged it with their Island label to form the Island Def Jam Music Group - his new label is said to be creative named the Russell Simmons Music Group (RSMG).

Goodie MOb members – Khujo + T-Mo are working on a new collabo project together under the group name – [THE LUMBERJACKS], with their debut album to be entitled ‘Livin’ Like Lumberjacks’. The lead single from ‘Livin’ Like Lumberjacks’ will be ‘Turn Your Whip’ featuring Big Hustle, the rest of the album will feature guest spots from Bigg Gipp, Witchdoctor and Preacher, plus production from Organized Noize and DJ Speedy. ‘Livin’ Like Lumberjacks’ is scheduled for release on Jan. 25 through KOCH Records.

At the request of Electronics Arts’ worldwide executive of music – Steve Shur, [SNOOP DOGG] teamed up with the remaining members of the Doors to record a remake of ‘Riders on The Storm’ for the soundtrack to the recently released ‘Need For Speed: Underground 2’ console game for PS2. The reworked version of ‘Riders on The Storm’ features additional lyrics from the bands deceased lead singer - Jim Morrison. The soundtrack to ‘Need For Speed: Underground 2’ also features exclusive tracks from Capone, Chingy, Terror Squad and Xzibit. Fun fact you may have not known… sales of games for consoles generated US$10 billion last year – which is over US$1 billion more than the U.S. film industry

In light of Eminem’s verse in his recent single ‘Toy Soldiers’, [BENZINO] has stated on air that he is prepared to meet with Eminem to squash their long-standing beef. Eminem’s ‘Toy Soldiers’ track features a few lines which explain Eminem’s current state of mind regarding his beefs… “but don't get it twisted, it's not a plea that I'm coppin / I'm just willin to be the bigger man if y'all can quit popping / off at your jaws well then I can, cause frankly I'm sick of talkin’ / I'm not gonna let someone else's coffin rest on my conscience...”

[THE SOURCE] magazine founder and CEO – David Mays and Ray “Benzino” Scott, recently released an official statement regarding the events of last week’s VIBE Awards in L.A. The pair hope that the mainstream media would not paint the incident as another example a “typical” Hip-Hop event rather an isolated situation, unlike Source’s awards show and weekend that has taken place in Miami since 2001 without incident (remember 2000 in L.A. though!). Mays and Benzino also had to point out that this year’s Source Awards were the highest rating event in BET history and received a higher viewing in the teen/young adult demographic that awards shows such as the Grammy's and American Music Awards. The statement then goes on to say how good The Source is and how committed they are to Hip-Hop culture, yadda, yadda, yadda, blah blah blah, etc.

The man behind the infamous Jay-Z/the Beatles fusion LP, ‘The Grey Album’ – [DJ DANGER MOUSE], is to be honoured in GQ Magazine amongst their “Men of the Year”, alongside; Tom Cruise, James Gandolfini, Jude Law, Helmut Lang, Donald Trump, Quentin Tarantino, Kanye West, Russell Simmons, Dustin Hoffman and others plus GQ Man Of The Year – Jude Law. DM is currently in the UK working on the new Gorillaz album with Blur frontman – Damon Albarn.

People magazine recently released their [“SEXIEST MEN ALIVE”] issue in the U.S. with Rap artists and R&B/Soul vocalists such as Usher, OutKast’s Andre3000 and Kanye West all on the list.

Once again UK Garage act - SoSolid Crew are in the middle of drama, this time SoSolide Crew member – [MEGAMAN] is wanted for questioning in relation to the fatal shooting of a 24 year-old man in South London. The victim was said to have been killed in a “gangland execution” style and one of MegaMan’s associates has already been arrested in connection to the murder but they cannot locate Mega as of yet.

Legendary pioneering Rap crew, [THE SUGAR HILL GANG], have recently filed suit against the Beastie Boys in Manhattan after the NYC trio illegally sampled the Gang’s 1979 breakout hit – ‘Rapper’s Delight’. Sugar Hill Gang member – Joseph “Master Gee” Robinson, claims that the Beastie Boys sampled ‘Rapper’s Delight’ without authorization for their track - ‘Triple Trouble’, which appears on the Beastie’s most recent LP – ‘To The 5 Boroughs’.

Skipping ahead from VIBE and hot on the heels of The Source, [XXL MAGAZINE] has established itself as the U.S.’s fastest growing magazine with 266,789 copies sold each month in the U.S. and a subscription increase of 65% in comparison to the Source’s decline of 31% in subscriptions. XXL editor – Elliot Wilson, plans for 2005 to be XXL’s year, seeing the culmination of his five years hard work on XXL come to fruition. For more info on XXL magazine head to www.xxlmagazine.com

Former Death Row Records inmate – [CROOKED I] is planning a documentary DVD entitled ‘Leaving Death Row’ on his relationship with the once powerful West Coast label but assures that the film will not show Death Row in a bad light despite the contractual limitations placed upon him that don’t allow him to release his debut album ‘Say Hi To The Bad Guy’. Crooked I has revealed that he has already conducted interviews with Master P and Russell Simmons and the first man to leave Death Row – RBX. Crooked I also looks at other artists who’ve spent time with Death Row, including Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Tupac Shakur, Tha Dogg Pound and others. Crooked I was signed to a four year deal with Death Row and chose not to renew his contract at the end of his term as he had not released one album in his entire time with the label, explaining “in four years n***as get college degrees and I didn’t do nothing…”, he goes further to reveal that he recorded enough material for four album and wrote material for other artists – all which Suge can release at his own discretion.

Teen emcee - [BOW WOW], has recently inked a deal with the WB network in the U.S. for his own sit-com to premiere in early 2005. Bow Wow had previously been signed to a development deal with WB in 2002 to develop a series based on his life but it never aired, hopefully this time around Bow Weezy will have better luck. Bow Wow may not have conquered television but he has already starred in 2002’s ‘Like Mike’, last year’s ‘Johnson Family Vacation’ (alongside Cedric the Entertainer and Solange Knowles) and just completed filming ‘Roll Bounce’.

Fugees member - [PRAS] has recently secured the rights to the story of author – Robert Lee Maupin a.k.a. Robert “Iceberg Slim” Beck’s life. The proposed film Pras hopes to make will be an adaption of Slim’s ‘Pimp: The Story of My Life’, which was originally published in 1969 and was the story of Slim’s life as a pimp and hustler in 1920’s Chicago. Apparently Ice Cube was initially set to star in a Qunicy Jones produced adaptation of Slim’s book several years back but things just didn’t unfold in the right sequence for the project. Universal Pictures did release one of Slim’s other books as a film in 1973 – ‘Trick Baby’. Slim was born in Chicago during 1918 and was raised by him mother who worked as a maid and later owned a beauty slaon. Slim began pimpin’ by age 18 and kept pimpin’ until he was 42 and was incarcerated – where he turned to writing. Robert Lee Maupin a.k.a. Iceberg Slim died on Apr. 28, 1992 aged 73.

www.blackbeat.com // www.grooveon.com.au // www.sceneonline.com.au

ON POINT // Sun. Nov. 14 2004

2004-11-14T18:05:00.000+10:00

[ON TOUR]
The UK’s [MYSTRO], [BRAINTAX] and [DISORDER] will hit Brisbane on Nov. as part of Babble-On Production’s final event for 2004 on Sat. Nov. 20 at Club V.I.P. (Given Tce. Paddington). The Optimen, Town Drunx, DJ Damage, Fader Fuckerz, Matty Manuva and Leftone will drop some new shit whilst Brisbane’s best eight MCs battle head to head as do the top two Bris Vegas B-Boy crews. Pre-Sold tickets are available now from – Rockinghorse, Phat Stuff, Butter Beats and Sunflower Music @ $25 + b/f.

Nokia has unleashed a huge club tour upon Australia to promote their [TERMINAL 9] competition/search for new up and coming producers with two big nights this weekend in South-East Queensland, Sat. Nov. 20 sees the Terminal 9 tour hit The Melbourne Hotel in Brisbane’s West End and on Sun. Nov. 21 the Terminal 9 shows heads to Quest at Broadbeach (Gold Coast). Featured in the club shows will be Hip-Hop acts such as… Downsyde, Koolism, DJ Peril, 2 Dogs, Shredlock, Lectre, DJ Noodles, MC Safe-T + DJ Complex, Trace Elements Crew and more. For more info head to www.terminal9.com.au

After the recent X-ecutioners tour fell apart after Rob Swift left the group, former X-ecutioners member - [MISTA SINISTA] (who left the group in early 2002) is now headed to Australia later this month for a series of shows. Mista Sinista will play the Gold Coast (Quest) on Thu. Nov. 18, SYD. on Nov. 19 (Boogie Down), MEL. on Sat. Nov. 20 (Revolver), BNE. on Thu. Nov. 25 (Moon Bar) and PER. on Sat. Nov. 27 (RnB Superclub – Metro). Mista Sinista is currently working on a new album with DJ Honda, which we can expect a release early in 2005.

Ninja Tune artist [MR. SCRUFF] who fuses a diverse mix of bouncy reggae, classic hip hop, deep soul, rare funk, dance floor jazz, heavy beats and leftfield electronic nuggets is headed to Australia for a national tour throughout late Nov. Scruff is renowned for dropping sets of up to five or six hours long so be prepared when you head to one of his shows… Thu. Nov. 25 – BNE (Family), Fri. Nov. 26 – PER. (Ambar Mills), Sat. Nov. 27 – SYD. (Parklife) and Sun. Nov. 28 – MEL. (Revolver).

Hot off the back of the successful Deceptikonz tour and Scribe lead ‘Stand Up’ tour, [CHE FU] and his band – The Krates will head to Australia in late Nov. for a national tour featuring special guests… Mareko and Savage of the Deceptikonz, who will be backed by DJ Peter Gunz! Che Fu and The Krates are currently working on a new album, which will be showcased in this upcoming tour (along with tracks from ‘Navigator’ and ‘2 B S. Pacific’) that sees only three Australian shows played on Fri. Nov. 26 – MEL., Sat. Nov. 27 – SYD. (TBC) and Sun. Nov. 28 – BNE. (TBC). For more info on Che Fu and The Krates head to www.che-fu.com or on the Deceptikonz head to www.dawnraid.co.nz

Crazy fresh dope DJ – [PAUL NICE] will head to Australia in early Dec. for the first time for his ‘Definition of Nice’ tour in support of his recent album - ‘Journey to the Centre of the Beats’, with shows set for Wed. Dec. 01 – MEL. (HonkyTonks), Fri. Dec. 03 – SYD. (Boogie Down) and Sat. Dec. 04 – ADE. (Suga) – no BNE. show! Paul Nice has been around since 1997, when he released ‘Beats Annonymous’ to acclaim from turntablists such as Q-Bert and MixMaster Mike… Paul Nice went on to produce joints for Biz Markie, Talib Kweli, Black Thought, Masta Ace, Guru, Lord Finesse, Nightmares On Wax, The Beastie Boys, Foreign Legion, Swollen Members and Planet Asia to name a few. Those who attend Paul Nice’s ‘Definition of Nice’ shows can expect a mad mash-up of Hip Hop, Funk, Disco and Boogie!

Here’s another hot tour hitting Australia… [THE NEXTMEN], [DYNAMITE MC], [STEINSKI] and [DJ SIGNIFY] are set to undertake a national tour downunder with shows on: Thu. Nov. 18 + Fri. Nov. 19 – MEL., Sat. Nov. 20 – SYD., Fri. Nov. 26 – Byron Bay, Sat. Dec. 04 – ADE. and a special performance at Adventjah in BNE. on Sun. Dec. 05 (@ Botanic Gardens + Riverstage).

The AND1 mixtape team hits Australia next week, but the original showmen of Basketball are set to return to Australia to celebrate their 75th anniversary this year... The [HARLEM GLOBETROTTERS] have played in 117 countries around the world to over 120 million fans throughout their 75 year history – the Globetrotters last entertained Australian fans in 1999 and will head to Australia in late Nov. for shows in Cairns – Sat. Nov. 20, Canberra – Sun. Nov. 21, Wollongong – Wed. Nov. 24, Newcastle – Thu. Nov. 25, Sydney – Fri. Nov. 26, Melbourne – Sat. Nov. 27 and Adelaide – Sun. Nov. 28… No Brisbane show?! For more info on the Harlem Globetrotters Australian tour head to www.dcegroup.com or www.harlemglobetrotters.com

The “Godfather of Noize” and former Roots member – [RAHZEL] will hit Australia in early Dec. accompanied by [DJ JS-1]. So far a performance by Rahzel and JS-1 has been confirmed for MEL. on Fri. Dec. 03 @ Hi Fi Bar – hopefully other shows will pop up soon (including a BNE. gig!).

One of the original pioneers of “mashed-up remixes” - [DJ Z-TRIP] and the most recent signing to the Quannum label - [LIFESAVAS], are headed to Australia in Dec. for a series of shows around the country… Lifesavas will be dropping joints from their recently released album – ‘Spirit In Stone’ whilst Z-Trip will just be slamming joints together on the 1s and 2s, check them out in the following cities; BNE. – Sat. Dec. 04 (the Rev), Byron Bay – Sun. Dec. 05 (the Great Northern), SYD. – Wed. Dec. 08 (Metro), MEL. – Thu. Dec. 09 (Prince of Wales), ADE. – Fri. Dec. 10 (Traffic) and PER. – Sat. Dec. 11 (Monkey Bar).

With two years having passed since his last national tour, the Bay Area’s underground champion - [SAGE FRANCIS] is set to return for a Dec. tour, hitting… SYD. - Tue. Dec. 07 (the Basement), BNE. – Thu. Dec. 09 (the Rev), Meredith - Sat. Dec. 11 (Meredith Music Festival – Vic.), MEL. – Tue. Dec. 14 (Corner Hotel) and Wed. Dsec. 15 (Manchester Lane – spoken word show).

Thanks to Illusive Entertainment and Frontier Touring… [CYPRESS HILL] are hitting Australia in Dec. for their “Still Smokin’ national tour supported by Bliss n Eso and Figg Kidd including shows in; MEL. @ Festival Hall - Fri. Dec. 10, SYD. @ Hordern Pavillion - Sat. Dec. 11, ADE. @ Thebarton Theatre - Sun. Dec. 12, PER. @ Metro City - Mon. Dec. 13, CAN. @ ANU Bar - Wed. Dec. 15 and BNE. @ the Arena - Tue. Dec. 16 (w/ special guest Big Boyd). Tickets go on sale Wed. Oct. 13… for more info on Cypress Hill’s Australian tour hit up www.illusive.com.au

Bizarre, Kon Artis, Swift, Kuniva + Proof - better known as [D-12], are headed to AUS. in Dec. for a national tour without their main man – Eminem, but backed by a live band and supported by NZ artist – Dei Hamo. Shows are scheduled for… Dec. 11 – PER. (Robinson Pavillion), Dec. 13 – MEL. (Festival Hall), Dec. 15 - SYD. (Hordern Pavillion) and Dec. 18 - BNE (River Stage) - Tickets are $74.80!

As previously rumoured… [K-CI + JOJO] will bring their ‘All My Life Tour’ to Australia throughout the middle of Dec. with shows scheduled for Mon. Dec. 11 – BNE. (Arena), Tue. Dec. 12 – PER. (Ruby Room), Wed. Dec. 15 – MEL (Metro - $35 + b/f – support from Eran James + 7 piece band) and Sun. Dec. 17 – SYD. (Metro). The BNE. show at the Arena will be supported by Levi + Lethbridge, DJs Bluffsta + Toopz w/ hosts – MC Big Sire + Loudmouth Len. Tickets $45 + b/f from Mary St. Nightclub, Arena, Rockinghorse and Phat Stuff – call 3221 1511 for more info.

The rumoured [BONE THUGS-N-HARMONY] tour of Australia looks likely to be confirmed very soon with BTNH set to perform in SYD. on Mon. Dec. 18, ADE. on Fri. Dec. 29, CAN. or MEL. on Sat. Dec. 30, DAR. or BNE. on Sun. Dec. 31, MEL. or BNE. on Mon. Jan. 01 and PER. on Tue. Jan. 02. More info here in ON POINT as soon as everything is confirmed…

[DE LA SOUL] are headed back to Australia to lavish upon us some of the finest Hip-Hop there ever was! Dave, Pos and Maseo have an ADE. show scheduled for Dec. 29, will appear at the Falls Festival (VIC./TAS.) between Dec. 30 – Jan. 01 and the Summafieldayze festival on the Gold Coast – Sat. Jan. 08.

The second release of bands for the 2005 [BIG DAY OUT] has been announced with more Hip-Hop added to the mix…. Along with the Beastie Boys, Butterfingers and The Streets - Atmosphere, Scribe + P-Money, Deceptikonz and Hilltop Hoods have been added. The 2005 BDO kicks off in Auckland on Fri. Jan. 21 and then heads to Australia for the remainder of shows – Sun. Jan. 23 @ Gold Coast, Wed. Jan. 26 @ SYD., Sun. Jan. 30 @ MEL., Fri. Feb. 04 @ ADE. and Sun. Feb. 06 @ PER. For all the latest on the Big Day Out head to www.bigdayout.com - BDO will make one more announcement in a month’s time with more acts…

Hot off the release of their new album, ‘Destiny Fulfilled’, Michelle, Kelly and Beyonce a.k.a. [DESTINY’S CHILD] are headed to Australia in Apr. 2005 for their second Australian tour - “Destiny Fulfilled… And Lovin’ It”. The “bootylicious” trio will play BNE. – Thu. Apr. 21 (BEC), SYD. – Sat. Apr. 23 (Superdome) and MEL. – Tue. Apr. 26 (Rod Laver Arena). Tickets go on sale Mon. Nov. 22 through Ticketek – 131 931, more info at www.coppel.com.au or www.mydestinyschild.com

On the tail of the AND1 and Globetrotters tours Paul Dainty Corporation are reportedly planning to bring out an [NBA LEGENDS] tour featuring Earvin “Magic” Johnson, “Sir” Charles Barkely, Clyde “the Glide” Drexler and a few others…

[XZIBIT] is rumoured to be hitting Australia in Mar. to tour in support of his new album – ‘Weapons of Mass Destruction’ and to host the inaugural MTV Australia Video Awards on Mar. 03 (according to reports). Xzibit is also slated to host the MTV Europe Awards before heading to Australia in 2005…

After months of rumours and conjecture, [NELLY] appears to be finally visiting Australia in Aug. 2005 (not sure if the St. Lunatics will tag along) – seems pretty far off from the recent release of ‘Sweat’ + Suit’ though.

Other Hip-Hop and R&B acts rumoured to be planning tours of Australia include; [BRIAN McKINGHT], [XZIBIT], [KANYE WEST] + [TALIB KWELI], [JANET JACKSON], [DILATED PEOPLES], [USHER], [TIMBALAND], [NELLY] + the St. Lunatics, [JAY-Z] (or S. Carter), [REDMAN] + [METHOD MAN], [THA ALKOHOLIKS], [HUSSEIN FATAL] and an undisclosed show you never thought you’d see here in Australia… Keep your eyes and ears peeled as On Point will bring you all the news as to whether or not these shows go ahead.

[QUIKSHOTZ]
35 year-old Russell Tyrone Jones of Brooklyn NYC, better known as the erratic and uncontrollable [OL' DIRTY BASTARD] of the Wu-Tang Clan (and sometimes known as Big Baby Jesus or Dirt McGirt) died at 5:04pm on Sat. Nov. 13 (two days short of his 36th birthday) in the Manhattan studios of 36 Records after complaining of chest pains earlier in the day and eventually collapsing whilst playing pool at 4:35pm. ODB, who was known as well for his offbeat rhyme style as his run ins with the law, was one of the few Wu members who established a successful solo career outside of the Wu-Tang Clan with two solo albums released and a third awaiting release through Roc-A-Fella Records. My endearing memory of ODB will always be his impromptu speech at the 1998 Grammy Awards when he bum-rushed the stage and spouted off about how the Wu should have won the Best Rap Album award over Puff Daddy as “Wu-Tang is for the children!” Throughout his career, ODB has spent time behind bars, in mental rehabilitation facilities, in substance abuse rehabilitation facilities, avoiding child support payments and basically running amok in a drug fuelled frenzy (that often entailed avoiding police) which appears to have been all consuming in retrospect. No definite cause of death has been given at this point, an autopsy was performed Mon. aftenoon our time and On Point will have the results in next weeks edition. Ol’ Dirty Bastard is survived by his wife, Icelene Jones, and approximately thirteen children to various mothers…

Nominees for the [MUSICOZ AWARDS], which celebrate Australia’s unsigned independent acts, have been recently announced with the winner of each category winning $10,000 in cash and prizes plus industry opportunities. The winners will be announced on Dec. 01 in Wollongong, here are the nominees for the R&B and Hip-Hop fields… R&B - Teec (Qld), Undertone (Qld), Cloud Nine (Qld), Modernists (NSW), Bethany (NSW), Giani Michellini (NSW), Danielle Delaite (NSW), Tania Kasparian (NSW), YSH (Vic) and Daniel Hamill (WA). In the Hip-Hop field - Bliss'N'Eso (NSW), Qi Dynasty (NSW), Pillar Of Sound Projects (NSW), The Legacy (NSW), Unleash The Nugget (NSW), The S.H.H.I.T (NSW), SHA (NSW), NJE (NSW), Flow Dynamics (WA) and Xzakt (WA).

Having received an early release to combat bootlegging, [EMINEM’s] new album ‘Encore’ is receiving some mixed reviews as many claim ‘Encore’ is an album which features uninspired lyrics from Eminem at times and that his production skills leave much to be desired. Joints such a ‘Mosh!’ and others receive critical acclaim but others on the album indicate that Eminem may have reached a “comfort zone” in his career and his music is suffering for it.

Last week On Point reported that [NAS'] new album – ‘Street’s Disciple’, has once again become a double album… well here’s some more details of the new banger for you. ‘Street’s Disciple’ has been pushed back until Nov. 30 but will be worth the wait according to initial reports. ‘Street’s Disciple’ features production from Salaam Remi, Buck Wild and Nas himself plus guest spots from Olu Dara (Nas’ father), Kelis, Busta Rhymes, Ludacris, Doug E. Fresh, Maxwell, Quan, Scarlett and Emily. One track to look out for is ‘The Unauthorized Biography of Rakim’, which sees Nas educate the younger generation on one of the great pioneering emcees – Nas has apparently promised that the next instalment in his “Unauthorized Biography” series will be KRS-One.

The Inc.’s R&B princess - [ASHANTI], is preparing for the Dec. 07 release of her third solo LP – ‘Concrete Rose’, with the 7 Aurelius produced ‘Only U’ the lead off single. So far, Ja Rule and Lloyd are the only two confirmed guests on the album, which is yet to have its tracklisting confirmed. In related news… Ashanti is looking to build upon her guest spot in ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ with two more acting gigs – the first being alongside Samuel L. Jackson in ‘Coach Carter’ (which opens Jan. 14 in the U.S.) and as “Dorothy” in The Muppets version of ‘The Wizard of Oz’ in May on ABC (U.S. network).

Spurious stories recently circulated on the internet that [R. KELLY] had sexually assaulted Ashanti’s younger sister Shia “Shi Shi” Douglas, reportedly fondling her. The story was falsely circulated under the guise of being from the Associated Press but have been strongly denied by Kelly and Ashanti has even come to Kelly’s defense, appearing on HOT97 to clear his name and definitely state that the story is false.

The winner of ‘American Idol’s’ third season - [FANTASIA BARRINO] will see her debut album, ‘Free Yourself’, drop on Nov. 23 featuring production from Missy Elliott, Jermaine Dupri, Rodney “DarkChild” Jerkins, Soulshock + Karlin, Jazze Pha and the Underdogs, who have helped Fantasia put down a collection of covers and original material for her long-awaited debut. In related news… Fantasia will join former ‘American Idol’ winners - Kelly Clarkson and Ruben Studdard for an ‘American Idol: Home For Christmas’ television special on Nov. 24. In related news… auditions have finished in the U.S. and season four of ‘American Idol’ is set to begin in Jan. 2005!

L.A. radio personality – DJ Felli Fel and his Heavy Hitter Family presented a special “Unplugged” performance by [KANYE WEST] in L.A. on Mon. night with Kanyeezee backed by a live band. Maybe MTV will pick up on the show and we could see a Kanye West show/CD with Kanye backed by the Roots like Jay-Z?!

With the success of his debut solo album ‘Justified’, [JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE] is now making moves to ensure that his follow up LP is at least as good… JT has already recorded a new joint with Timbaland and has approached Rodney “DarkChild” Jerkins and Rich Harrison (‘Crazy in Love’) to contribute their skills. Both DarkChild and Harrison have been privy to JT’s more intimate style performances with a live band (like the Australian shows) and believe that may be the new direction for Timberlake as a serious performer rather than making commercial dancefloor friendly joints. JT is currently filming his second film – ‘Alpha Dog’ and his first film – ‘Edison’ is set for release early in 2005.

Word is that Battle emcee [SHELLS] may have jumped ship from J Records and looks set to join Eminem’s Shady Records label!

Having already reached #5 on Billboard’s Hip-Hop/R&B Chart for their single ‘Super B-Boy Pimpin’ you better look out for new duo - Spit-Ball and Simon Sez a.k.a. [EARTHQUAKE INSTITUTE]. The L.A. tag-team already have droppd their second single – ‘Swerve!’, which currently sits at #10 on Billboard’s Hip-Hop/R&B Chart.

Celebrating the tenth anniversary of [ROC-A-FELLA RECORDS], Damon Dash has used his recently acquired [PRO-KEDS] shoe company to issue a limited edition sneaker to commemorate the occasion. On Jan. 29, 2,500 pairs of the limited edition all leather Roc-A-Fella PRO-Keds will hit select stores across the U.S., packaged with a FREE Roc-A-Fella string bag and CD sampler. For us here in Australia the best chance to score a pair is online at www.rocawear.com or www.drjays.com

Last week the story of [R. KELLY] leaving the ‘Best of Both Worlds Tour’ was broken down in On Point, where Kelly speculated that a member of Jay-Z’s crew sprayed him with pepper spray to stop him from returning to the stage… Well it turns out that Jay-Z’s longtime friend, Tyran “Ty Ty” Smith has been arrested in relation to the pepper spray incident backstage at Madison Square Garden, he has been charged with misdemeanor assault and faces a possible year in jail if convicted.

During a recent interview, [JAY-Z] once again brought up the possibility of doing a collabo album with Dr. Dre, further questioning Jigga’s latest retirement from the game and once again building anticipation around the project.

[TEFLON MUSIK] have come out with both guns blazin’ as they look to place their name at the top of the food chain with their first release, a compilation CD entitled ‘The Usual Suspects’ featuring Jinx Da Juvy, Ike Dirty and Slash. The label has been getting major props from NYC DJs and media with ‘Nothin’ Gonna Change Me’ already getting play and DJ Clue declaring that “… every track is a winner!”. Tefelon have committed themselves to revolutionizing Rap with “Shit Gotta Change!” being their creedo and a marketing campaign to rival that of Loud Records or Def Jam with street marketing blanketing NYC.

According to former Luniz member - [YUKMOUTH] and the G-Unit’s West Coast representative – [GAME], it’s still on! The beef between the two emcees that is… according to Yukmouth the joint track, which featured Yuk and Game was recorded separately and Game even dropped a dis’ at Yuk in his verse! Yukmouth has clearly stated that the beef is not over and Game can expect his next shot on Yuk’s new album – ‘Million Dollar Mouthpiece’.

Word is that the “Rubber Band Man” - [T.I.] was robbed of his jewellery in NYC recently as he was strolling around NYC without his crew or security.

St. Lunatics member Tohri Harper a.k.a. [MURPHY LEE] was busted on Halloween (Oct. 31) for drug possession and also charged with driving under the influence (of drugs) after he was pulled over for driving with an expired license plate. Upon searching Lee’s Mercedes Sheriff’s deputies found 35 grams of marijuana, according to Lee’s lawyers he plans to plead not guilty. Ironically, Murphy Lee is currently studying part-time for a degree in Criminal Justice Law!

[UNDAGROUND SOUNDS]
Slick Rick’s former right hand man - [DANA DANE] is preparing for the release of a new album featuring eighteen independent artists over production from RZA, Kwame, Mark “Boogie” Brown and Fresh Gordan. The album is currently available through Dana’s websit – www.danadane.com

After taking shots at the music industry on his last solo LP – ‘The Politics of The Business’, [PRINCE PAUL] is now preparing for his retirement from recording with his final album, which is yet to be titled. Paul recently released the second Handsome Boy Modeling School with co-producer – Dan “the Automater” Nakamura, entitled ‘White People’ and finishing off ‘The Art of Picking Up Women’, a new EP/DVD from Dix – a new group Paul is working with. Prince Paul is also looking to compile the first volume in a proposed collection of albums featuring rare B-sides, remixes, demos and unreleased joints recorded or produced by Paul throughout his career in conjunction with his farewell album, which he will attempt to reuse his Gravediggaz formula – “… get a bunch of like-minded people and make my last attempt to change the world. After that, that's it." The reported reason for Paul’s retirement is largely the cool reception ‘The Politics of the Business’ received last year, basically leaving Paul disgruntled that his concept album wasn’t lauded for its ingenuity. Paul’s one last wish was to re-unite with De La Soul for a full-length album, going back to the creative team that brought us ‘3 Feet High and Rising’, but Paul concedes that De La are not really down for the idea…

Sharief Haqquani was last week hit by a car outside a Boston nightclub the night of his listening party for his new album – ‘Let The Truth Be Told’… “so what?” you may think. Sharief may be better known to you as lyrical battlecat [KRUMBSNATCHA] who sustained a broken leg an knee injuries after the car hit him last week and sped off! According to ‘Snatcha the incident took place after a fight broke out in the club between Prynya Sommola (of Krumbsnatcha’s Golden Eyes Entertainment) and an unknown individual, subsequently crews came head to head and the drama spilled out into the carpark. Suddenly one of the guys from the rival crew jumped in a car and basically drove at ‘Snatcha, who clung onto the car’s bonnet until finally jumping off the speeding car some distance down the road. Police happened to be present when the incident took place and according to reports they did nothing to apprehend the “hit and run” driver nor offer any assistance to Krumbsnatcha who was left lying in the middle of the road. Instead, ‘Snatcha and his crew were allegedly ordered to leave town and even received a police escort to ensure they did in fact depart, not even allowing ‘Snatcha to seek medical attention for his injuries. Krumbsnatcha was to begin a promotional tour for his new album the day after his listening party but now has to change plans and is considering a civil suit against the Leominster Police Department who failed to offer Krumbsnatcha any assistance after he was hit by the unknown driver.

Afrika Bambaataa, GrandMaster Caz, Kurtis Blow and other Hip-Hop pioneers have established the [UNIVERSAL FEDERATION FOR THE PRESERVATION OF HIP-HOP CULTURE], a non-profit organization to protect the evolutionary history of Hip-Hop culture. The Universal Federation plans to build a national centre to house artifacts/memorabilia, musical compositions and artist information amassed over the last thirty-odd years. The Universal Federation also hopes to establish courses in Hip-Hop’s expressive arts - DJing, MCing, Breakin’, Graffiti and musical engineering in Universities and High Schools to further the history and culture of Hip-Hop. KRS-One, Queen Latifah, P. Diddy, Ice-T, Mos Def, Will Smith, Wesley Snipes and Denzel Washington have all been invited to join the Universal Federation for the preservation of Hip-Hop Culture.

[UTHA STUFF]
Entertainment Weekly recently compiled a list of what they deemed to be the [BEST 25 RAP ALBUMS OF ALL TIME], not surprisingly Eric B + Rakim’s 1987 release – ‘Paid In Full’ was picked as the #1 album, De La Soul’s 1989 album ‘3 Feet High and Rising’ picked up #2 and #3 was Notorious B.I.G.’s ‘Ready To Die’ - Public Enemy and Run DMC filled out the top 5. OutKast’s ‘Aquemini’ was the highest ranked contemporary LP in at #11, with Jay-Z’s ‘The Blueprint’ at #15 and Eminem’s ‘The Marshall Mathers LP’ at #17.

At a NYC nightclub recently, Middleweight boxer [ROY JONES JR.] stepped to Fat Joe over a line in Ja Rule’s ‘New York, New York’ which Joe spit "...even Roy Jones was forced to lean back...", referencing Jones’ recent defeats. Jones apparently stepped to Joe all full of attitude and demanded to know what Joe meant on ‘New York, New York’, Joe replied that it was what he said – Jones was forced to lean back… twice. Roy Jones stood there for a second and then just walked away! Dude is a professional boxer and he got lyrically knocked out by an emcee!

According to reports, [LIL’ KIM] and producer boyfriend [SCOTT STORCH] have called it quits after only two months as Lil’ Kim allegedly couldn’t handle Storch’s possessive and controlling ways – apparently Storch wanted Kim to give up her career to become a wife and mother, giving her an ultimatum… move down to Miami, into my house and marry me or it's over! As expected, Kim ended it right there and then with a big hell no! Now that it’s all over Storch is trying to get the Bentley Continental GT he gave Kim back, Storch gave Kim his GT after Foxy Brown went out and bought a brand new one with her supposed advance from S. Carter Records. With Kim out of the picture it seems that Scott has his eyes on a new prize, one of the Hilton sisters (but which one?). Word is that Storch has also been seen with Gloria Velez.

Former 2Live Crew frontman, “Luke Skkywalker” a.k.a. Luther [“UNCLE LUKE”] Campbell, plans to open the first line of urban oriented gentlemen’s club with his “Luke’s Cabaret” franchise. The “strip clubs” or “adult entertainment venues” will primarily target affluent African-American and Latino clientele with Luke to play a large role in the design and management of the clubs, including designing the drink menus as the chain is to reflect Luke’s reputation as a connoisseur of adult entertainment, presenting the best music, best parties and finest women. Luke further elaborated that he will undertake a world tour to find women to staff his clubs, including Brazil, the West Indies, Philippians and every small town and big city in the United States as Luke plans to have more than over 100 dancers in each venue of varying nationalities. Like Hard Rock Café’s around the world, Luke hopes to also sell “Luke’s Cabaret” merchandises such as hats, shirts and accessories at the clubs. Luke plans for his first “Luke’s Cabaret” in Miami, followed by Detroit, Houston, Chicago and Washington D.C.

Former Death Row Records artist [THA REALEST] is putting it down and dirty with his latest project – ‘Tha Realest: Way 2 Real’, which features Tha Realest and his crew performing in a nightclub filled with stars of the Adult Entertainment industry (a.k.a. chicks from porn). The DVD will of course feature some some explicit sexual content along with Tha Realest on the mic, with a nine-track CD of new material from Tha Realest included in the set. It has not been made clear as to whether Tha Realest will actually be interactive with his audience on the DVD (knowhatahmsayin). ‘Tha Realest: Way 2 Real’ is set to drop a few weeks before Tha Realest’s debut album, which is entitled ‘Witness Tha Realest’ and is slated for a Feb. 2005 release with guest appearances from WC, Napoleon (tha Outlawz), Dru Down, B-Legit, Richie Rich, Swoop G, Aaron Hall and more.

After the Powerhouse concert in Philadelphia for radio station Power 99 [FABOLOUS'] bodyguard allegedly assaulted Power 99 announcer Golden Girl after she tried to score a ride out of the concert venue on Fab’s tour bus. According to reports, Golden Girl was talking to Fabolous and asked for a ride to the front of the concert venue, jokingly adding that if he didn’t give her a ride she wouldn’t play his joints on Power 99 anymore, at which point Fab’s bodyguard stepped in and yelled “No” at Golden Girl before picking her up around the shoulders and slammed her into the ground. Golden Girl claims she sustained injuries to her ankle, back and shoulder whilst Faboous and his crew looked on, one guy in Fab’s crew even videotaped the entire incident. Fabolous recently appeared on NYC’s HOT97 denying any involvement in the alleged incident but did say that Golden Girl was blocking his tour bus from leaving and was asked to move…

Story doing the rounds is that [MARIAH CAREY] is broke after the slump of her last two albums. Keep in mind that being broke is a relative term, for Mariah that means that she’s down to her last hundred million (probably)! Def Jam hasn’t lost faith in Mariah though, they’ve just given the go ahead for a new Mariah single to be released.

Kanye West, Bernie Mac, Nas and his father - Olu Dara are all featured in [PLAYBOY MAGAZINE’s HOLIDAY EDITION], which hit shelves on Nov. 12 (U.S.). The issue features interviews with all four, Bernie Mac’s article speaks about his recent illness, Golf and his gun collection.

Earth, Wind & Fire founder – [MAURICE WHITE] is teaming up with the brother of the late, great actor/dancer/choreographer Gregory Hines – Maurice Hines, to create a Broadway musical called ‘Hott Feett’, which will feature a cross-section of the EW&F catalogue and Maurice White’s own solo material. Hip-Hop novelist, Heru Ptah, is scripting the four-act musical which should begin casting in early 2005 with a debut in early 2006.

39 year-old Cynthia Brent, the bookkeeper for Irv Gotti’s [THE INC.] record label was arrested and indicted last week on charges of money laundering (over US$1 million) and structuring cash to avoid federal reporting conditions – her arrest stems from a federal investigation into the relationship between The Inc and drug lord – Kenneth “Supreme” McGriff. Brent has been released on a US$200,000 bond. Earlier this year Irv Gotti was indicted on tax evasion charges, with federal investigators claiming Gotti was involved in multi-million dollar tax evasion schemes with longtime friend - Kenneth McGriff.

West Coast producer and owner/CEO of Baby Ree Entertainment - [DAMIZZA], has remixed Korn’s cover of the classic Cameo joint – ‘Word Up’ using Cameo’s original funk driven instrumental and Korn’s metal edged attitude with a bit of his own Hip-Hop stylings. The Damizza produced remix of Korn’s ‘Word Up’ appears on Korn’s recently released Greatest Hits compilation. Damizza is probably best known for producing joints for Mariah Carey and Westside Connection and his #1 Baby Ree Entertainment artist – Shade Sheist. Baby Ree Entertainment are preparing to release ‘Damizza Presents: The Baby Ree Mixtape: Volume 3’, which will feature tracks from; Mariah Carey, Eminem, Ashanti, Fat Joe, Snoop Dogg, Young Buck, Jermaine Dupri, Ice Cube, Mack 10, DJ Quik, Nate Dogg, Kurupt, Butch Cassidy, Knoc-Turn’al, Jayo Felony, Boo-Ya T.R.I.B.E., Bear and TQ.

On Sun. Nov. 14, Run DMC member Joseph [“REVEREND RUN”] Simmons celebrated his 40th birthday in church praising the Lord before going out and picking himself up a lil’ sumthin’ sumthin’ for himself – a platinum 2005 Rolls Royce Phantom worth US$500,000!

Virginia’s second generation super-producer (after Teddy Riley) - [TIMBALAND], has recently completed construction on his own private 5,000 square foot recording studio in his hometown of Virginia Beach. The studio was created with Timbo’s long time studio engineer – Jimmy Douglas, and features several offices and lounges. Timbaland is giving the studio a good work-out to christen the facility, having recently completed Jennifer Lopez’s new album and producing material for new albums from Fat Joe, Ray J and Ludacris.

The big man of the Miami Heat - [SHAQUILLE O’NEAL] recently hit 22,000 points in his career becoming only the twentieth player in NBA history to reach the mark. In related Shaq news… the man mountain has established his own DEJA34 Records with a distribution deal through KOCH Records. The label will be headed up by Mark Andrews and mixtape master – DJ KaySlay will act as the label’s A&R man. The first release from DEJA34 will be a new full length DJ KaySlay album in Apr. 2005 – not sure how that will work with KaySlay signed to Sony (Streetsweeper Vol. 1 + 2).

Now living in Stamford, Connecticut but originally from Paarl in South Africa, [ANSHIN MORKEL] has just dropped her debut single – ‘Bootay Deluxe’. Despite her debut single being a party joint, Anshin stresses that she is also concerned with social issues such as poverty and social inequality. Anshin stated in a recent interview that she wishes to return to South Africa and establish youth projects and help young people realize their dreams like she did (this is all if she makes some mad $$$ I assume). Anshin claims her influences as being “power singers” such as Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston and Beyoncé. Anshin moved to NYC after getting a job as an au pair after finishing high school in South Africa – she now attends university, studying marketing whilst working with Morning Stars Records.

ON POINT // Mon. Nov. 08 2004

2004-11-07T19:42:00.000+10:00

[ON TOUR]
For the first time ever [AND1] will bring their AND1 Mixtape Tour streetball team, featuring; The Professor, Prime Objective, The Pharmacist, High Octane, Helicopter, Main Event, Go Get It, Alimoe, Spyda, 50 and AO (Hot Sauce will not be joining the tour as his girlfriend is pregnant and expecting in Nov.) to Australia for a national tour, to go up against some of Australia’s finest local talent in the Crewsaders (Vashon Weavor, Luke Egan, Sadale Threat Jr., Mike Santo, Matt Smith, Rhys Carter plus 3 to 5 players picked in each city)! Tickets available now from Ticketek and Ticketmaster7 for the following dates… BNE. – Wed. Nov. 10 @ BNE. Entertainment Centre, SYD. – Fri. Nov. 12 @ SYD. Entertainment Centre, PER. – Wed. Nov. 17 @ Challenge Stadium and MEL. – Sat. Nov. 20 @ Rod Laver Arena. If you think you’ve got skills to go up against the AND1 mixtape crew or want more info on the mixtape tour head to www.and1.com.au

After the recent X-ecutioners tour fell apart after Rob Swift left the group, former X-ecutioners member - [MISTA SINISTA] (who left the group in early 2002) is now headed to Australia later this month for a series of shows. Mista Sinista will play the Gold Coast (Quest) on Thu. Nov. 18, SYD. on Nov. 19 (Boogie Down), MEL. on Sat. Nov. 20 (Revolver), BNE. on Thu. Nov. 25 (Moon Bar) and PER. on Sat. Nov. 27 (RnB Superclub – Metro). Mista Sinista is currently working on a new album with DJ Honda, which we can expect a release early in 2005.

After recently winning an ARIA for Best Urban Act, [KOOLISM] aren’t resting on their laurels with more touring on their calendar… Hau and Danielsan will hit the Melbourne Hotel and Quest on Nov. 20 and the Troccadero (Gold Coast) on Nov. 22 (for a Triple J “live at the wireless”).

Ninja Tune artist [MR. SCRUFF] who fuses a diverse mix of bouncy reggae, classic hip hop, deep soul, rare funk, dance floor jazz, heavy beats and leftfield electronic nuggets is headed to Australia for a national tour throughout late Nov. Scruff is renowned for dropping sets of up to five or six hours long so be prepared when you head to one of his shows… Thu. Nov. 25 – BNE (Family), Fri. Nov. 26 – PER. (Ambar Mills), Sat. Nov. 27 – SYD. (Parklife) and Sun. Nov. 28 – MEL. (Revolver).

Hot off the back of the successful Deceptikonz tour and Scribe lead ‘Stand Up’ tour, [CHE FU] and his band – The Krates will head to Australia in late Nov. for a national tour featuring special guests… Mareko and Savage of the Deceptikonz, who will be backed by DJ Peter Gunz! Che Fu and The Krates are currently working on a new album, which will be showcased in this upcoming tour (along with tracks from ‘Navigator’ and ‘2 B S. Pacific’) that sees only three Australian shows played on Fri. Nov. 26 – MEL., Sat. Nov. 27 – SYD. (TBC) and Sun. Nov. 28 – BNE. (TBC). For more info on Che Fu and The Krates head to www.che-fu.com

Crazy fresh dope DJ – [PAUL NICE] will head to Australia in early Dec. for the first time for his ‘Definition of Nice’ tour in support of his recent album - ‘Journey to the Centre of the Beats’, with shows set for Wed. Dec. 01 – MEL. (HonkyTonks), Fri. Dec. 03 – SYD. (Boogie Down) and Sat. Dec. 04 – ADE. (Suga) – no BNE. show! Paul Nice has been around since 1997, when he released ‘Beats Annonymous’ to acclaim from turntablists such as Q-Bert and MixMaster Mike… Paul Nice went on to produce joints for Biz Markie, Talib Kweli, Black Thought, Masta Ace, Guru, Lord Finesse, Nightmares On Wax, The Beastie Boys, Foreign Legion, Swollen Members and Planet Asia to name a few. Those who attend Paul Nice’s ‘Definition of Nice’ shows can expect a mad mash-up of Hip Hop, Funk, Disco and Boogie!

Here’s another hot tour hitting Australia… [THE NEXTMEN], [DYNAMITE MC], [STEINSKI] and [DJ SIGNIFY] are set to undertake a national tour downunder with shows on: Thu. Nov. 18 + Fri. Nov. 19 – MEL., Sat. Nov. 20 – SYD., Fri. Nov. 26 – Byron Bay, Sat. Dec. 04 – ADE. and a special performance at Adventjah in BNE. on Sun. Dec. 05 (@ Botanic Gardens + Riverstage).

The AND1 mixtape team hits Australia next week, but the original showmen of Basketball are set to return to Australia to celebrate their 75th anniversary this year... The [HARLEM GLOBETROTTERS] have played in 117 countries around the world to over 120 million fans throughout their 75 year history – the Globetrotters last entertained Australian fans in 1999 and will head to Australia in late Nov. for shows in Cairns – Sat. Nov. 20, Canberra – Sun. Nov. 21, Wollongong – Wed. Nov. 24, Newcastle – Thu. Nov. 25, Sydney – Fri. Nov. 26, Melbourne – Sat. Nov. 27 and Adelaide – Sun. Nov. 28… No Brisbane show?! For more info on the Harlem Globetrotters Australian tour head to www.dcegroup.com or www.harlemglobetrotters.com

One of the original pioneers of “mashed-up remixes” - [DJ Z-TRIP] and the most recent signing to the Quannum label - [LIFESAVAS], are headed to Australia in Dec. for a series of shows around the country… Lifesavas will be dropping joints from their recently released album – ‘Spirit In Stone’ whilst Z-Trip will just be slamming joints together on the 1s and 2s, check them out in the following cities; BNE. – Sat. Dec. 04 (the Rev), Byron Bay – Sun. Dec. 05 (the Great Northern), SYD. – Wed. Dec. 08 (Metro), MEL. – Thu. Dec. 09 (Prince of Wales), ADE. – Fri. Dec. 10 (Traffic) and PER. – Sat. Dec. 11 (Monkey Bar).

With two years having passed since his last national tour, the Bay Area’s underground champion - [SAGE FRANCIS] is set to return for a Dec. tour, hitting… SYD. - Tue. Dec. 07 (the Basement), BNE. – Thu. Dec. 09 (the Rev), Meredith - Sat. Dec. 11 (Meredith Music Festival – Vic.), MEL. – Tue. Dec. 14 (Corner Hotel) and Wed. Dsec. 15 (Manchester Lane – spoken word show).

Thanks to Illusive Entertainment and Frontier Touring… [CYPRESS HILL] are hitting Australia in Dec. for their “Still Smokin’ national tour supported by Bliss n Eso and Figg Kidd including shows in; MEL. @ Festival Hall - Fri. Dec. 10, SYD. @ Hordern Pavillion - Sat. Dec. 11, ADE. @ Thebarton Theatre - Sun. Dec. 12, PER. @ Metro City - Mon. Dec. 13, CAN. @ ANU Bar - Wed. Dec. 15 and BNE. @ the Arena - Tue. Dec. 16 (w/ special guest Big Boyd). Tickets go on sale Wed. Oct. 13… for more info on Cypress Hill’s Australian tour hit up www.illusive.com.au

Bizarre, Kon Artis, Swift, Kuniva + Proof - better known as [D-12], are headed to AUS. in Dec. for a national tour without their main man – Eminem, but backed by a live band and supported by NZ artist – Dei Hamo. Shows are scheduled for… Dec. 11 – PER. (Robinson Pavillion), Dec. 13 – MEL. (Festival Hall), Dec. 15 - SYD. (Hordern Pavillion) and Dec. 18 - BNE (River Stage) - Tickets are $74.80!

As previously rumoured, plans for [K-CI + JOJO] to tour Australia through the middle of Dec. have been drawn up with shows scheduled for Mon. Dec. 11 – BNE. (Arena), Tue. Dec. 12 – PER. (Ruby Room), Sat. Dec. 16 – MEL (Palace) and Sun. Dec. 17 – SYD. (Metro). Due to scheduling conflicts it looks like Dawn Raid’s Adeaze will not be able to make their BNE. date! More info in ON POINT once everything is 100% confirmed…

The rumoured [BONE THUGS-N-HARMONY] tour of Australia looks likely to be confirmed very soon with BTNH set to perform in SYD. on Mon. Dec. 18, ADE. on Fri. Dec. 29, CAN. or MEL. on Sat. Dec. 30, DAR. or BNE. on Sun. Dec. 31, MEL. or BNE. on Mon. Jan. 01 and PER. on Tue. Jan. 02. More info here in ON POINT as soon as everything is confirmed…

[DE LA SOUL] are headed back to Australia to lavish upon us some of the finest Hip-Hop there ever was! Dave, Pos and Maseo have an ADE. show scheduled for Dec. 29, will appear at the Falls Festival (VIC./TAS.) between Dec. 30 – Jan. 01 and the Summafieldayze festival on the Gold Coast – Sat. Jan. 08.

The first release of bands for the 2005 [BIG DAY OUT] have been released with rumours confirmed that the Beastie Boys will headline the BDO! Along with the Beasties, Butterfingers and The Streets are representing Hip-Hop but there’s still more line-up announcements to be made so watch out! The 2005 BDO kicks off in Auckland on Fri. Jan. 21 and then heads to Australia for the remainder of shows – Sun. Jan. 23 @ Gold Coast, Wed. Jan. 26 @ SYD., Sun. Jan. 30 @ MEL., Fri. Feb. 04 @ ADE. and Sun. Feb. 06 @ PER. For all the latest on the Big Day Out head to www.bigdayout.com

On the tail of the AND1 and Globetrotters tours Paul Dainty Corporation are reportedly planning to bring out an [NBA LEGENDS] tour featuring Earvin “Magic” Johnson, “Sir” Charles Barkely, Clyde “the Glide” Drexler and a few others…

[XZIBIT] is rumoured to be hitting Australia in Mar. to tour in support of his new album – ‘Weapons of Mass Destruction’ and to host the inaugural MTV Australia Video Awards on Mar. 03 (according to reports). Xzibit is also slated to host the MTV Europe Awards before heading to Australia in 2005…

In support of their new album – ‘Destiny Fulfilled’, [DESTINY’S CHILD] are tipped to tour Australia in Apr. 2005 with Beyonce and Kelly to also perform a few solo joints from their respective solo albums (what about Michelle?). More info as it comes to hand…

After months of rumours and conjecture, [NELLY] appears to be finally visiting Australia in Aug. 2005 (not sure if the St. Lunatics will tag along) – seems pretty far off from the recent release of ‘Sweat’ + Suit’ though.

Other Hip-Hop and R&B acts rumoured to be planning tours of Australia include; [BRIAN McKINGHT], [XZIBIT], [KANYE WEST] + [TALIB KWELI], [JANET JACKSON], [DILATED PEOPLES], [USHER], [TIMBALAND], [NELLY] + the St. Lunatics, [JAY-Z] (or S. Carter), [REDMAN] + [METHOD MAN], [THA ALKOHOLIKS], [HUSSEIN FATAL] and an undisclosed show you never thought you’d see here in Australia… Keep your eyes and ears peeled as On Point will bring you all the news as to whether or not these shows go ahead.

[QUIKSHOTZ]
34 year-old Andre Hicks, better known as Vallejo emcee – [MAC DRE] was killed last week in Kansas, Missouri after a gunman pulled alongside Dre’s van whilst traveling on the freeway and fired shots into the vehicle at around 3:30am. It’s theorized that the killing may be in relation to Dre’s affiliation with the Romper Room Gang. Mac Dre isn’t the first Cali emcee to be killed in Kansas this year, in Mar. this year San Diego’s Ramone C. Davis was killed whilst being robbed of ten pounds of marijuana. Mac Dre has had a prolific career, which saw him release over twenty albums throughout his career.

With Hip-Hop culture invading almost every aspect of modern popular culture, Apple’s [iTUNES] service has even picked up on it and is now offering “legal” Rap mixtapes on the iTunes website – the first mixtape being offered will be entitled ‘Street Official Mixtape, Vol. 1’ and is absolutely FREE! Apple iTunes’ ‘Street Official Mixtape’ series will be made available every month and hosted by DJ Winta a.k.a. Big Young, who will feature new releases, exclusive joints, test presses, underground tracks, hip-hop classics and a few surprises. Vol. 1 of Apple’s ‘Street Official Mixtape’ series will feature joints from; KRS-One, Rascoe will.i.am (BEP), Masta Ace, Planet Asia and Encore amongst others. For more info head to www.apple.com/itunes

Due to bootleggers/internet piracy, both [EMINEM] and [SNOOP DOGG] have had to move forward the release of their respective solo albums. Eminem’s ‘Encore’ has been moved from Nov. 16 to Nov. 12 (not unlike ‘The Marshall Mathers LP’ which was moved forward nine days), whilst Snoop’s ‘R&G (Rhythm & Gangsta): Masterpiece’ has been moved from Nov. 23 to Nov. 16. A full-length version of ‘Encore’ is already available online.

Only a week after Ashlee Simpson’s embarrassing performance slip-up (got busted lip syncing when her crew played the wrong backing track) on U.S. comedy show ‘Saturday Night Live’ it seems [EMINEM] has been caught out doing the same thing. Using a “guide track” for his two performances, Em was noticeably out of synch for his “live” performances of ‘Just Lose It’ and ‘Mosh’ as he struggled to keep up with his “guide track”.

After abandoning his ‘Detox’ project earlier in the year due to his hectic workload, which includes work on new albums for the extended Aftermath roster, which includes; Busta Rhymes, Eve, Eminem, 50 Cent, Stat Quo, Game, Antonio, Obie Trice, Pharoahe Monch and Olivia - [DR. DRE] has apparently now revived plans for his final opus to be possibly released! On Game’s ‘Higher’ track Dr. Dre announces for everyone to “look out for Detox”, which according to Interscope Records we could possibly expect early in the second half of 2005.

With ‘The Tipping Point’ still relatively fresh on shelves, [THE ROOTS] are already back in the lab working on their seventh album, tentatively titled ‘Game Theory’. According to Ahmir “?uestlove” Thompson, ‘Game Theory’ will drop around Aug. 2005.

Looks like [NAS] has decided to return to the original double-album format for his new 22 track album – ‘Street’s Disciple’, which drops on Nov. 30 with a list of guests including; Maxwell, Ludacris, Busta Rhymes, Lyfe and AZ plus production from; Q-Tip, Scott Storch, Salaam Remi, L.E.S. and Nas himself. The first single from ‘Street’s Disciple’ will be ‘Thief’s Theme’, which samples Iron Butterfly’s ‘Inna Gadda Da Vida’ – the second single will be ‘Bridging The Gap’ featuring Nas’s father – Olu Dara.

It’s that time again… Time for another posthumously released [TUPAC SHAKUR] album – his seventh release since his death. ‘Loyal To The Game’ will be an official sixteen-track release on Dec. 14 through Amaru/Interscope with guest appearances from; 50 Cent, Jadakiss, Lloyd Banks, Nate Dogg, Obie Trice, tha Outlawz, Sleepy Brown, Young Buck and Ronald Isley plus production from Raphael Saadiq, Scott Storch, DJ Quik, Red Spyda and Eminem (who handled twelve tracks). Eminem and (Tupac’s mother) Afeni Shakur co-executive produced ‘Loyal To The Game’.

Since leaving the Ruff Ryders for Dr. Dre’s Aftermath Entertainment [EVE] has been rather quiet on the music front (despite gaining some serious acting experience) and has recently announced that her anticipated new album through Aftermath will happen and that she will begin work on the album in Jan. 2005… So we can expect the album around the middle of 2005(?).

First it was Tupac who had his lyrics examined in college courses at various Universities across the U.S., know [LIL’ KIM] is having her lyrics broken down by students at Syracuse (NY) University in a course called ‘Hip-Hop: Queen Bitch 101- The Life and Times of Lil' Kim’, which aims to explore the cultural impact of Kimberly Jones’ sexuality in mainstream culture, looking at her music-videos, unique style, fashion, everything. According to the professor leading the course says the course is similar to sex and gender studies. Funny thing is that Lil’ Kim allegedly employed the talents of “ghost writers” for much of her material! In related news… Lil’ Kim is planning to drop a new single at the end of this year and a new album early next year.

The [RUFF RYDERS] label have been quiet for a while but it seems the once powerful label are looking to make a comeback, with a new deal under Artemis Records… With DMX, Drag-On, the LOX, Infa.Red and Cross the core of the label the Ruff Ryders crew are preparing ‘Volume 4’ of their ‘Ruff Ryders: Ryde or Die’ compilation series for release in early 2005.

Got Beef? Apparently [JANET JACKSON] has with Destiny’s Child frontwoman – Beyonce, after Beyonce pulled out of a planned duet after the NFL Super Bowl “nipplegate” drama. To make matters worse, Beyonce then called Janet and asked whether she could use Janet’s recorded vocals for the upcoming Destiny’s Child album – the call didn’t go well as Janet just plain hung up on Beyonce!

After spending her entire recording career (four albums) with Atlantic Records, [BRANDY] has decided to split from the label with no reason released to the media – other than Brandy had asked to be released from her contract. Brandy is reportedly now in talks with various labels for her recording future. Brandy’s most recent release – ‘Afrodisiac’, has sold 361,000 units in the U.S. (not even Gold status), we’ll next see Brandy on her brother Ray J’s solo debut – ‘Raydiation’, in Mar. 2005.

Jay-Z’s farewell performance at NYC’s Madison Square Garden has apparently re-ignited the chemistry between Hov and his one time female rhyme partner - [FOXY BROWN], who has recently been making claims that she is signed to Jigga’s S. Carter Records and is now working on a new album tentatively entitled ‘Black Roses’, which will allegedly feature guest appearances from; Luther Vandross, Dido, Jay-Z, Mos Def, Barrington Levy and Shyne.

The son of O’Jay’s great, Eddie Levert - [GERALD LEVERT] is preparing to release his fourth solo album – ‘Do I Speak for the World?’, on Nov. 30, following up from last year’s ‘Stroke of Genius’. In support of his new album Gerald will join his dad Eddie for the ‘Father & Son’ tour of the U.S. beginning later this month.

In the fallout from ‘The Best Of Both Worlds’ tour falling apart last week, [R. KELLY] is now taking legal action against his co-headliner – Jay-Z, with a breach of contract suit worth US$75 million after alleged threats of violence turned the tour into a nightmare for Kelly. Jay-Z issued a statement on the legal suit from Kelly, saying that Kelly’s actions at the Madison Square Garden concert were irresponsible – telling the crowd that two men were in the crowd had guns was the equivilant of screaming fire in a crowded theatre according to Jay-Z. For some inexplicable reason Kelly drew comparisons to the Tupac vs. Biggie beef on BET’s ‘Live in the Den with Big Tigger’, regarding his recent disagreement with Jay-Z. Jay-Z has now cancelled the rest of the Best Of Both Worlds tour but Jigga + “friends” will complete the remaining dates with their own show – amongst Jay-Z’s friends to help out on the remainder of dates are; P. Diddy, Mary J. Blige, Snoop Dogg, Foxy Brown, Pharrell Williams, Kanye West, Busta Rhymes, Fabolous, Q-Tip, Slick Rick, Professor Griff and Doug E. Fresh.

Already being acclaimed as New Zealand’s top selling emcee, [SCRIBE] and producer [P-MONEY] have picked up New Zealand’s prestigious APRA Silver Scroll songwriting award for their single ‘Not Many’. ‘Not Many’ also helped Scribe clean up at New Zealand’s Tui Awards (similar to our ARIAs) – winning seven Tui’s in Sept. At the New Zealand APRA Awards it is traditional for the Silver Scroll nominees to have their songs performed by other artists – ‘Not Many’ was performed by Wellington rock group Paselode who apparently tore ‘Not Many’ up!

The Queen Latifah executive produced 2nd annual [VIBE AWARDS] will be hosted by LL Cool J and Tyra Banks with Dr. Dre scheduled to receive the Vibe Legend Award. So far Nelly, Alicia Keys, Ashanti, Snoop Dogg w/ Pharrell Williams, Jadakiss w. Anthony Hamilton, Elephant Man, Beenie Manm Kevin Lyttle and Game have all been confirmed to perform at the awards ceremony, which will be broadcast on UPN on Nov. 16 after filming on Nov. 15 at the Barker Hanger (Santa Monica Airoport). Usher leads nominations for the ceremony with five nods, whilst Alicia Keys isn’t too far behind with four nominations. In a bizarre move, VIBE will celebrate the “video hoe” with a Video Vixen Award, the nominees being; Esther Baxter (‘Freek-A-Leek’ Petey Pablo), Ki Toy (‘The Way You Move’ OutKast), Melyssa Ford (‘Yeah!’ Usher), Miya Granatella (‘Overnight Celebrity’ Twista) and Vida Guerra (‘Get No Better’ Cassidy).

She’s been quiet for more than a moment so what else is [CHARLI BALTIMORE] to do but dis’ 50 Cent! Being that Charli rolls with the Murder Inc. crew it seems obvious that Charlie use her crew’s biggest enemy to draw the spotlight back her way. No word of yet as to when we can expect a new Charli Baltimore single or album…

[UNDAGROUND SOUNDS]
Kool Keith and Ice-T’s Analog Brother - [MARC LIVE], has recently released his debut album – ‘Validation: Attack of the Grunge’, which features guest appearances from 50 Cent, Guerilla Black, Kool Keith, Ice-T, Trigger Da Gambler, Smoothe Da Hustler, Sa-Ra/Radar Van, Deuce Fever and Sinistre plus production from KutMAsta Kurt and Marc himself. 50 Cent’s appearance on Marc’s album comes by way of JamMaster Jay – who was managing both Marc and 50 at the same time, Marc has been sitting on the guest verse from 50 for quite a while without having the right project to feature it on. Before the Analog Brothers Marc Live was part of another trio called Raw Breed, who released two albums.

Wu-Tang Clan affiliate - [KILLAH PRIEST] has teamed up with former Outlawz member - [TRAGEDY KHADAFI] to create a new super-group called the Black Market or MaccaBeez with Sunz of Man member – Hell Razah and Royal Fam member – Timbo King. The new quartet is working on their debut album through Nature Sounds but is planning to drop a few mixtapes to build some hype, including ‘Dead Street Scrolls Volume 1 + 2’ and ‘MaccaBeez Presents: The Spooks Who Kick Down The Doors’, which will be available through www.sandboxautomatic.com and www.hiphopsite.com. Along with the MaccaBeez project the quartet are also working on solo projects… Hell Razah is working with 4th Disciple on ‘Hell Razah + 4th Disciple Presents: Freedom Of Speech’ whilst Timbo King has had his solo debut shelved by Capitol but is working on a new LP entitled ‘Timbuktu Street University’ whilst Killah Priest is working on his fourth solo album – ‘Priest Offerings’.

[UTHA STUFF]
Last week the incredible [ALICIA KEYS] hit town to play an outstanding show at the Lyric Theatre, putting together a show which rates as only second to Prince for me! Miss Keys was fine as hell in the flesh and was a consummate professional with a flawless voice and tight production. Alicia’s backing band were not lost in the background on the night, they held the show together brilliantly and the three back-up dancers were of a level that almost overshadowed Keys herself – you can check out one back-up singer, Jeremiah “Jermaine” Paul at his fansite - www.jermainepaul.com. Unfortunately I couldn’t remember the names of Alicia’s two female back-up singers… But they’re all welcome back in Brisbane anytime – Alicia Keys, back-up singers and band!

Reports spread across the web that New Jersey emcee - [CHINO XL] had been shot in the chest three times by a crazed 19 year-old Tupac Shakur fan in Pomona, California who shouted Tupac’s signature “Thug Life” as he shot Chino. According to various reports the alleged shooting incident was retribution by the Tupac fan for Chino’s claims that Tupac was raped whilst in prison during 1995. According to more reliable sources, Chino XL was NOT shot in Pomona, California and is healthy and fine, preparing to release a new album lead by ‘Messiah’ – his new single.

You’d think that after participating in P. Diddy’s ‘Vote or Die’ campaign for his Citizen Change organization that [50 CENT] and [LUDACRIS] would have made sure to vote last week in the U.S. Presidential election but it appears that the two high profile rappers neglected to not only do their duty on the day but didn’t even register to vote! After further investigation it was discovered that Paris Hilton, who also appeared in television commercials for the ‘Vote or Die’ campaign, neglected to vote too. 50 Cent may not have been able to vote in the 2004 election, as he is a convicted felon.

Proving clearly that he is totally out of touch with reality… [P. DIDDY] has revealed that he wishes to take on the role of “James Bond” as his next role after Pierce Bronsan announced that he will not reprise his role as “007”. After roles in films like ‘Monster’s Ball’ and ‘Made’ plus the stage play ‘A Raisin In The Sun’, Diddy believes the world is now ready for a black “James Bond” and that Angelina Jolie would make a perfect “Bond girl” alongside his “James Bond”. Jolie co-incedently has expressed an interest in playing a villain in the next ‘James Bond: 007’ film.

With all this talk of Jay-Z becoming possible President of Def Jam Recordings it seems that someone forgot to ask some of the label’s artists how they feel about one of their piers being given this opportunity… If anyone asks [LL COOL J] don’t expect him to be gushing in support of Jiggaman’s power move as LL isn’t feeling Jigga as Prez, perhaps feeling he has more of a claim to the job as he was the first artist signed to Def Jam way back in the day.

Being courted by Def Jam to become the company’s President, becoming a part owner of the New Jersey Nets, owner of 40/40 nightclub, recentrly releasing his ‘Fade To Black’ documentary, working on his biography - ‘The Black Book’ and numerous other projects in the works, Jay-Z may have forgotten about Nov. 03 being the ten year anniversary of Roc-A-Fella Reocrds but [DAME DASH] didn’t let it slip as he was present for the celebrations at NYU. Dash spke on the alleged rift between him and Shawn Carter, denying he and Jigga were at odds and that they are able to undertake their respective businesses and remain friends.

After allegedly alienating all the women at the Cherry Lounge in Harlem, NYC it’s reported that DJ Clue’s [DESERT STORM] crew and Cam’ron’s [DIPLOMATS] crew clashed in the club! Word is that both crews were rolling very deep leaving the women at the club feeling very unsafe!

Looks like [BEANIE SIGEL] is really trying to clean up all his loose ends before he goes away to prison as he recently appeared on stage with former rival – [JADAKISS] at a concert held by Philadelphia radio station – Powerhouse. Jada was performing as part of the concert and brought Sigel out to perform the Jay-Z joint – ‘Resevoir Dogs’, which featured Jay-Z, Beanie Sigel, the LOX and Sauce Money.

Former target of Eminem’s rage - [MOBY] has spoken out in support of Eminem’s latest single/music-video - ‘Mosh’, particularly the track’s “anti-Bush” overtones. Moby applauded Eminem’s track and music-video on his website and even encourages his fans to watch Eminem’s video for ‘Mosh’.

In a move that declares her career has truly hit an all time low… [DA BRAT] is set to feature on the next season of VH1’s ‘The Surreal Life’ – the same show that saw Public Enemy’s Flavor Flav hook up with former action movie star – Briggite Nielsen. Da Brat joins a cast, which includes former WWE wrestler – Chyna, Christopher Knight (‘Brady Bunch’), Vern Troyer (“Mini Me”), male model - Marcus Schenkenberg and ‘America’s Next Top Model’ competitor – Adrianne Curry for the fourth season of the reality series. Season four of ‘The Surreal Life’ debuts on Jan. 09 on VH1 (which screens on Foxtel Digital in Australia).

With RZA helping out on the score for [‘BLADE: TRINITY’] (with composer Ramin Djawadi) you know RZA’s going to hook up his fellow Wu-Tang Clan members with spots on the ‘Blade: Trinity’ soundtrack which drops on Nov. 23. Wu-members; RZA, Ghostface Killah, Ol’ Dity Bastard and Raekwon will appear alongside Lil’ Flip, WC, E-40, Kool Keith, Manchild, Black Keith, Ramin, Overseer, Paris Texas, Crystal Method, Black Lab and Ramin Djawadi. The ‘Blade: Trinity’ soundtrack will be released in a standard and deluxe version, the deluxe version featuring an additional DVD disc which will include behind-the-scenes footage, an art gallery (from ‘Blade: Trinity’) a ‘Blade’ manga animation and a comic book featurette.

Two years on, NYPD investigators are no closer to finding the men responsible for killing Run DMC member – [JAMMASTER JAY], investigators claim that the case is progessing at a slow rate due to inconclusive leads, reluctant witnesses and negative publicity. Investigators added that it is highly likely that JMJ knew his killer but not even the US$60,000 reward offered has loosened anyone’s lips to reveal the killer(s). Jason Mizell a.k.a. JamMAster Jay was killed in his Hollis, Queens (NYC) recording studios on Oct. 30 2002.

Following up from his “Birdman” shoe line which sold one million pairs in the U.S., Bryan [“BABY”] Williams has inked a deal with Lugz to launch a new line of shoes called the “Birdman Nightwing”. The “Birdman Nightwing” range debuts this month and will be backed by a huge promotional campaign.

Ecko Unltd. put out a Flavor Flav clock last year and with the same idea in mind [BIZ MARKIE] is now looking to put out his own talking clock, which will be a 12” plastic caricature sculpture of the Biz sitting behind a pair of turntables and recites phrases such as "Turn The Party Out" and "You Caught The Vapors". The Biz Markie alarm clock will be available from Nov. 15.

With the success of the Qunicy Jones established VIBE magazine, the publishers are now looking at launching a new bi-annual magazine called [VIXEN], which will be aimed at VIBE’s urban female demographic – which is believed to be at least 3 million readers in the U.S. alone. Vixen is said to be "the first magazine exclusively for trendsetting women whose love for urban music and culture inspires her choices in beauty, fashion and lifestyle”. The first issue of Vixen will be received FREE by VIBE’s 340,000 female subscribers and a further 35,000 placed on newsstands across the U.S. – the first issues of Vixen will be released in Feb. and Aug.

Inspired by the “iced-out” fashion of popular Rap culture, Erroll and Nicole Footman have created [“BLINGWARE”] luxury cutlery which sees high end stainless steel (would have used Sterling Silver or Gold personally!) cutlery hand-set with seventy or eighty Swarovski crystals. The “Blingware” cutlery sets start ar US$5,500.00 for a sixteen-piece set through to US$10,000 for a forty-piece set!

Norwegian rap group [GATAS PARLAMENT] are facing charges after they set up a website at the web address - www.killhim.nu and urged visitors to contribute money towards a bounty to kill U.S. President – George W. Bush! On the site, Gatas Parlament stressed that “shooting this man is not just self defense, but is the only reasonable thing to do", a message that the group later explained was all part of a satirical website set up to spoof another website at www.tellhim.no which was set up to inform President Bush of Norwegians’ disdain for the war in Iraq. The trio of Gatas Parlament could face a fine or maximum prison sentence of two years if found guilty of making threats. By the way… “Gatas Parlament” translates into “Street Parliament” in English and is made up of brothers - Elling and Aslak Borgersrud plus Den Martin, you can check out their band website at – www.gatasp.no

www.sceneonline.com.au // www.blackbeat.com.au // www.grooveon.com.au

ON POINT // Sun. Oct. 30 2004

2004-10-31T17:14:00.000+10:00

[ON TOUR]
For the first time ever [AND 1] will bring their AND 1 Mixtape Tour streetball team to Australia for a national tour, bringing some of the best streetballers to go up against some of Australia’s finest local talent! Tickets available now from Ticketek and Ticketmaster7 for the following dates… BNE. – Wed. Nov. 10 @ BNE. Entertainment Centre, SYD. – Fri. Nov. 12 @ SYD. Entertainment Centre, PER. – Wed. Nov. 17 @ Challenge Stadium and MEL. – Sat. Nov. 20 @ Rod Laver Arena. If you think you’ve got skills to go up againsdt the AND 1 mixtape crew or want more info on the mixtape tour head to www.and1.com.au

Here’s another hot tour hitting Australia… [THE NEXTMEN], [DYNAMITE MC], [STEINSKI] and [DJ SIGNIFY] are set to undertake a national tour downunder with shows on: Thu. Nov. 18 + Fri. Nov. 19 – MEL., Sat. Nov. 20 – SYD., Fri. Nov. 26 – Byron Bay, Sat. Dec. 04 – ADE. and a special performance at Adventjah in BNE. on Sun. Dec. 05 (@ Botanic Gardens + Riverstage).

After recently winning an ARIA for Best Urban Act, [KOOLISM] aren’t resting on their laurels with more touring on their calendar… Hau and Danielsan will hit the Melbourne Hotel and Quest on Nov. 20 and the Troccadero (Gold Coast) on Nov. 22 (for a Triple J “live at the wireless”).

Ninja Tune artist [MR. SCRUFF] who fuses a diverse mix of bouncy reggae, classic hip hop, deep soul, rare funk, dance floor jazz, heavy beats and leftfield electronic nuggets is headed to Australia for a national tour throughout late Nov. Scruff is renowned for dropping sets of up to five or six hours long so be prepared when you head to one of his shows… Thu. Nov. 25 – BNE (Family), Fri. Nov. 26 – PER. (Ambar Mills), Sat. Nov. 27 – SYD. (Parklife) and Sun. Nov. 28 – MEL. (Revolver).

One of the original pioneers of “mashed-up remixes” - [DJ Z-TRIP] and the most recent signing to the Quannum label - [LIFESAVAS], are headed to Australia in Dec. for a series of shows around the country… Lifesavas will be dropping joints from their recently released album – ‘Spirit In Stone’ whilst Z-Trip will just be slamming joints together on the 1s and 2s, check them out in the following cities; BNE. – Sat. Dec. 04 (the Rev), Byron Bay – Sun. Dec. 05 (the Great Northern), SYD. – Wed. Dec. 08 (Metro), MEL. – Thu. Dec. 09 (Prince of Wales), ADE. – Fri. Dec. 10 (Traffic) and PER. – Sat. Dec. 11 (Monkey Bar).

With two years having passed since his last national tour, the Bay Area’s underground champion - [SAGE FRANCIS] is set to return for a Dec. tour, hitting… SYD. - Tue. Dec. 07 (the Basement), BNE. – Thu. Dec. 09 (the Rev), Meredith - Sat. Dec. 11 (Meredith Music Festival – Vic.), MEL. – Tue. Dec. 14 (Corner Hotel) and Wed. Dsec. 15 (Manchester Lane – spoken word show).

Thanks to Illusive Entertainment and Frontier Touring… [CYPRESS HILL] are hitting Australia in Dec. for their “Still Smokin’ national tour supported by Bliss n Eso and Figg Kidd including shows in; MEL. @ Festival Hall - Fri. Dec. 10, SYD. @ Hordern Pavillion - Sat. Dec. 11, ADE. @ Thebarton Theatre - Sun. Dec. 12, PER. @ Metro City - Mon. Dec. 13, CAN. @ ANU Bar - Wed. Dec. 15 and BNE. @ the Arena - Tue. Dec. 16 (w/ special guest Big Boyd). Tickets go on sale Wed. Oct. 13… for more info on Cypress Hill’s Australian tour hit up www.illusive.com.au

Bizarre, Kon Artis, Swift, Kuniva + Proof - better known as [D-12], are headed to AUS. in Dec. for a national tour without their main man – Eminem, but backed by a live band and supported by NZ artist – Dei Hamo (who's 'We Gon Roll' is phat). Shows are scheduled for… Dec. 11 – PER. (Robinson Pavillion), Dec. 13 – MEL. (Festival Hall), Dec. 15 - SYD. (Hordern Pavillion) and Dec. 18 - BNE (River Stage) - Tickets are $74.80!

[BRIAN McKINGHT] is rumoured to be heading to Australia for a tour reportedly scheduled for early Dec.

Also tipped to be headed downunder in early Dec. is one half of Jodeci – [K-CI + JOJO] with a BNE. show rumoured to be scheduled for Sat. Dec. 11 with support from Dawn Raid Entertainment’s Adeaze direct from NZ… more news as details are released.

Crazy fresh dope DJ – [PAUL NICE] is rumoured to be making his first trip to Australia in Dec., let’s hope he makes it north to BNE. for a show as this guy has mad remixes and a decidedly different take on things – should be a very entertaining show!

[DE LA SOUL] are headed back to Australia to lavish upon us some of the finest Hip-Hop there ever was! Dave, Pos and Maseo have an ADE. show scheduled for Dec. 29, will appear at the Falls Festival (VIC./TAS.) between Dec. 30 – Jan. 01 and the Summafieldayze festival on the Gold Coast – Sat. Jan. 08.

The first release of bands for the 2005 [BIG DAY OUT] have been released with rumours confirmed that the Beastie Boys will headline the BDO! Along with the Beasties, Butterfingers and The Streets are representing Hip-Hop but there’s still more line-up announcements to be made so watch out! The 2005 BDO kicks off in Auckland on Fri. Jan. 21 and then heads to Australia for the remainder of shows – Sun. Jan. 23 @ Gold Coast, Wed. Jan. 26 @ SYD., Sun. Jan. 30 @ MEL., Fri. Feb. 04 @ ADE. and Sun. Feb. 06 @ PER. For all the latest on the Big Day Out head to www.bigdayout.com

Other Hip-Hop and R&B acts rumoured to be planning tours of Australia include; [XZIBIT], [KANYE WEST] + [TALIB KWELI], [JANET JACKSON], [DILATED PEOPLES], [USHER], [TIMBALAND], [NELLY] + the St. Lunatics, [JAY-Z] (or S. Carter), [REDMAN] + [METHOD MAN], [THA ALKOHOLIKS], [HUSSEIN FATAL] and an undisclosed show you never thought you’d see here in Australia… Keep your eyes and ears peeled as On Point will bring you all the news as to whether or not these shows go ahead.

[QUIKSHOTZ]
According to reports, a decision should be made this week regarding the possibility of [JAY-Z] becoming President of Def Jam Recordings under Antonio “L.A.” Reid who is CEO of Island Def Jam – if Jigga signs on as President he is tipped to sign a three-year deal. In related news… Jay-Z’s ‘Fade To Black’ documentary is set for U.S. release on Nov. 05, the documentary chronicles the making of ‘The Black Album’ and his free finale performance at Madison Square Garden earlier this year.

Beyonce’s 18 year-old baby sister - [SOLANGE KNOWLES], gave birth so her first child a fortnight ago but it appears that her college football playing husband – Daniel Smith, is no longer on the scene, making young Solange a single mum! Solange’s bouncing baby boy was born on Oct. 18 and is named Daniel Julez J. Smith.

City High member – [CLAUDETTE ORTIZ], has apparently married her fellow City High member and baby’s daddy – Robby Pardlo.

With [EMINEM’s] controversial ‘Mosh’ single being leaked last week, this week see the ‘South Park’ inspired music-video for the track leaked to the web featuring numerous digs at U.S. President – George W. Bush. The music-video was directed by Ian Inaba of the Guerrilla News Network, the ‘Mosh’ music video is being hosted on the Guerilla News Network website @ www.gnn.tv. In related news… The tracklisting for Eminem’s ‘Encore’ has also been leaked to the ‘net, so here’s the way it’s going to go on Nov. 16; ‘Curtains Up’, ‘Evil Deeds’, ‘Never Enough’, ‘Yellow Brick Road’, ‘Like Toy Soldiers’, ‘Mosh’, ‘Puke’, ‘My 1st Single’, ‘Paul’ (skit), ‘Rain Man’, ‘Big Weenie’, ‘Em Calls Paul’ (skit), ‘Just Lose It’, ‘Ass Like That’, ‘Spend Some Time’, ‘Mockingbird’, ‘Crazy In Love’, ‘One Shot 2 Shot’, ‘Final Thought’ (skit) and ‘Encore/Curtains Down’.

Nov. 15 will see Queen Latifah executive produce the 2nd Annual [VIBE AWARDS], which so far features Usher leading the nominations with five nominations, closely followed by Alicia Keys with four nominations - also sharing multiple nominations are Kanye West and Terror Squad with three nominations each, whilst Jay-Z, Twista, Young Buck, Mobb Deep and Juvenile all copped a double. The VIBE Awards will feature a string of live performances from Nelly, Jadakiss, Beenie Man and Snoop Dogg w/ Pharrell Williams. The 2nd Annual VIBE Awards will be televised on Nov. 16 by UPN (U.S.).

Looks like the beef between [JA RULE] and [50 CENT] may have well an truly been squashed – at least from Ja’s side at least… Ja was recently seen in London recently at Tantra Club partying with his crew (including his wife) and seen partying on the dancefloor to 50 Cent and G-Unit tracks! Apparently Ja was even seen freestyling over the 50 Cent/G-Unit joints – I guess the beef is over, or Ja was just really drunk!

Anyone noticed that [FABOLOUS] has stepped up his rap game with his latest single ‘Breathe’ – gone are the gimmicky hooks and R&B beats in favour of a much grimier sound (supplied by Just Blaze) and more substantial lyrical content. Let’s hope that ‘Breathe’ is indicative of a new direction F-A-B-O will take with his new album - ‘Real Talk’, when it drops on Nov. 09.

With ‘Drop It Like It’s Hot’ doing big business in the U.S. for [SNOOP DOGG] who is preparing for the Nov. 23 release of his new LP – ‘R&G (Rhythm & Gangsta): The Masterpiece’. ‘R&G’ will feature a line-up including; Pharrell Williams, Charlie Wilson (Gap Band), Lil’ Jon, 50 Cent, Justin Timberlake, Nelly, Bootsy Collins, Soopafly and Trina. Snoop and Pharrell will perform ‘Drop It Like It’s Hot’ at the upcoming American Music Awards on Nov. 14. In related news… Snoop has recorded a remix of the Doors’ ‘Riders On The Storm’ for the new Electronic Arts game – ‘Need For Speed: Underground 2’.

BBE Records have two dope compilations to look out for… [‘THE KINGS OF FUNK’] put together by RZA and Keb Darge and [‘THE KINGS OF HIP-HOP’] put together by DJ Premier (Gangstarr) and J-Rocc (Beat Junkies). Check out all the info from www.bbemusic.com

With [BLACK EYED PEAS] still dropping singles from ‘Elephunk’ successfully, Interscope Records has decided to push back the release of their new album – ‘Monkey Business’, until 2005 as ‘Monkey Business’ was originally scheduled for a Dec. 2004 release.

He’s been loved by ladies for years and now you can see for real how much [USHER] loves the ladies… According to reports, there is a video doing the rounds which features Usher “tworking it” with two ladies! Apparently the video was made when Usher was 19 years-old after he was introduced to the ladies at a nightclub he had performed at.

American Idol winner [FANTASIA BARRIO] is getting ready to drop her debut album – ‘Free Yourself’, on Nov. 23 with Missy Elliott, Jermaine Dupri, R. Kelly, Scott Storch, Jazze Pha the Underdogs and all lending their songwriting and production skills to the project.

[50 CENT] competed in FunkMaster Flex’s celebrity car show in Hartford. Connecticut recently and decided to take his one man car show on the raod and to the people… 50, Young Buck, Tony Yayo and Lloyd Banks piloted 50’s fleet of vehicles which included a Maybach Mercedes-Benz, Bentley, two Rolls-Royce Phatoms and two Lamborghinis through Harlem and stopped of at a Foot Locker to buy 30 kids a pair of new Reebok G-Unit boots! 50 then headed over to his southside Queens neighbourhood to Coliseum Mall to buy fresh new threads for his entire crew and then the procession headed to Brooklyn to spread the love!

Word is that [MACK 10] and estranged wife - [T-BOZ] are reportedly back together… Let’s hope Mack One-Oh can chill out on using T-Boz as a punching bag this time around!

After making a surprise appearance at Dave Chappelle’s “Block Party” last month - [THE FUGEES] appear to be drawing speculation that a new album is closer than anticipated as the trio of Lauryn Hill, Pras and Wyclef Jean are said to be planning to the studio to record new material once Lauryn has completed her third solo album, which is slated for release next year.

P. Diddy’s [BAD BOY RECORDS] plans to package some of their best known R&B hits into a package creatively entitled – ‘R&B Hits’, for release on Nov. 23. The CD/DVD will feature joints from; P. Diddy f/ Loon + Usher, P. Diddy f/ R. Kelly, Ma$e, Notorious B.I.G., Mary J. Blige, 112, Faith Evans, New Edition, Jodeci and Cheri Dennis. The DVD packaged with the release will feature seven music-videos from the twelve tracks included on the set.

After featuring in the Source magazine’s ‘Unsigned Hype’ section, Brooklyn emcee- [STIMULI] has signed a deal with Virgin Records through his own Underworld Music, after making his name through a series of mixtape appearances. Stimuli’s debut album will be entitled ‘Thee Emotion Picture LP’ with a release date set for the first half of next year and a guest list of producers including Just Blaze, Needles, 9th Wonder and Midi Mafia so far. Until ‘Thee Emotion Picture LP’ drops you can catch Stimuli on his new Underworld Music mixtape/DVD – ‘Switch Sides’.

Chicago emcee – [VI] (who has recently appeared alongside Sandra Bullock, Lorenz Tate and Ludacris in ‘Crash’) has landed a deal with Universal Music for his Union Label and will release ‘Hustler Music’ in 2005 with the first single to be ‘Yayo’, which is due to hit U.S. radio in Jan. 2005. Vi commented that Killer Mike and David Banner are both likely to appear on ‘Hustler Music’.

Brandy’s lil’ bro’ – [RAY J], is working on his new album ‘Radiation’ to recapture the heat he generated from his 2001 Neptunes produced single – ‘Wait A Minute’ f/ Lil’ Kim… Ray J’s new album - ‘Radiation’, is due in Mar. and features production from Rodney “DarkChild” Jerkins, Timbaland and R. Kelly plus guest spots from Brandy and Mya.

Xzibit will host the 2004 [MTV EUROPE MUSIC AWARDS] in Rome on Nov. 18 after the success of his MTV show – ‘Pimp My Ride’. The Beastie Boys, Nelly, Eminem and others will perform at the awards, whilst The Black Eyed Peas, Naomi Campbell, Eamon and others will present awards. In related news… Xzibit’s new album - ‘Weapons of Mass Destruction’, has had its release moved from Nov. 09 to Dec. 14.

[LIL’ JON] and the East Side Boys have somehow managed to get themselves into a position to negotiate a spot on ‘The Apprentice’ alongside Donald Trump! Nothing is confirmed yet but you never know…

After a recent appearance on Angie Martinez’s HOT97 radio show, [WYCLEF JEAN] declared that he and former protégé – Canibus, have squashed their beef and Canibus will help ‘Clef out with some projects on Clef Records.

[UNDAGROUND SOUNDS]
With his latest LP – ‘The Beautiful Struggle’, receiving less that spectacular reviews [TALIB KWELI] is looking to set things straight with ‘The Beautiful Struggle Mixtape 2’, which is set to feature a host of guests including; Wordsworth, Jean Grae and Saigon, Common, Ludacris, Ghostface, Mos Def, Snoop Dogg, Kardinal Offishall, Hi-Tek, David Banner, Musiq, dead prez and Game.

Kris Parker a.k.a. [KRS-ONE] had placed himself as an enemy of the state after his out of context comment were published by the NY Daily News recently regarding the events of 9/11, particularly that America’s African-American population were supportive of the attack and cheered… now KRS has had an opportunity to defend the misquoted statements. KRS has vehemently denied claims that he is supportive of Al-Qaeda’s cause and issued an apology to anyone who may have been offended by his statements.

[UTHA STUFF]
[LL COOL J] looks set to add another film to his ever extending resume as he will join Queen Latifah for ‘Last Holiday’ – a remake of a 1950 British comedy. The story of ‘Last Holiday’ see LL play an ex-con (originally played by Sir Alec Guiness) who falls for Latifah’s character whilst on a European vacation (to be filmed in Prague). ‘Last Holiday’ will be directed by Wayne Wang, who previously directed ‘Joy Luck Club’ and ‘Maid In Manhattan’ - no release date has been set at this time…

Last time around, Pepsi managed to get Britney Spears, Beyonce, Pink and Enrique Iglesias together for one of their colossal music-videos/commercials which borrowed from ‘Gladiator’ for the ad’s theme, this time around [BEYONCE] will be back with [JENNIFER LOPEZ] and soccer star - David Beckham for a commercial inspired by ‘Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon’ and ‘Kill Bill’. The ad will be produced for Pepsi in the UK so we may not see the ad here…

On Angie Martinez’s HOT97 radio show last week Jay-Z revealed to listeners the story behind the collapse of the [‘BEST OF BOTH WORLDS’] tour of the U.S. and his rift with R. Kelly… Jigga revealed how the tour began to fall apart in Milwaukee after Kelly sacked the lighting director and then shows in Connecticut, St. Louis and Cincinnati were consequently cancelled and Kelly’s carry on in Chicago at the beginning of the tour which saw Jay-Z kept waiting two hours in costume whilst Kelly was “hiding” in his tour bus! The most recent ‘Best of Both Worlds’ show at Madison Square Garden in NYC was the final straw for Jay-Z after Kelly just went missing after his performance not to be seen for the rest of the show (which ends with Kelly and Jigga on stage) and was reportedly hospitalized after (Kelly claims) he was sprayed with pepper spray by a member of Jay-Z’s entourage after announcing that there were two men in the audience who were carrying guns! Jay-Z then had to take on the burden of carrying the rest of the show with special guest Mary J. Blige and cameos from Ja Rule, Usher (who was attending the show as a spectator), Foxy Brown, T.I., Freeway, Young Gunz and Memphis Bleek… Jigga also con-indecently revealed that Mary J. Blige may be the next collaborator on a future ‘Best of Both Worlds’ album with Jigga. Jay-Z and the tour promoters have decided to cancel the rest of the ‘Best of Both Worlds’ tour wit the remaining NYC dates to be filled by a modified Jay-Z and Special Guests show featuring Mary J. Blige, Usher and Ja Rule plus some other yet to be confirmed guests. Dates beyond NYC for the ‘Best of Both Worlds’ are cancelled at this point but R. Kelly apparently wishes to continue the tour and is really disappointed that Jay-Z and the tour promoters wish to cancel the tour. With Jigga dishing the dirt on R. Kelly, Kelly felt he needed to air his side of the story and subsequently called in to Angie Martiniez’s HOT97 show to fill out the whole story… Kelly revealed that he was approached before the Madison Square Garden show and warned not to perform but went ahead anyway and began his performance – once on stage he reportedly saw two men in the audience who gestured that they had guns aimed at him and announced to the crowd "two people were waving guns at me… I can't do no show like that... This shit is over", at which point Kelly dropped the mic and split off the stage and informed security to find the two men, police also joined the search. Kelly who tours with his wife and three kids said he was fearful of an attack and eventually tried to return to the stage after the police and security completed their search but was diverted after he was attacked with pepper spray by an unknown individual whom Kelly suspects is part of Jay-Z’s entourage. Kelly and two of his bodyguards were subsequently taken to hospital and had their eyes flushed out.

To celebrate the release of ‘Grand Theft Auto 3: San Andreas’, [DJ LT. DAN] represents for Cali (where San Andreas is set) with his new ‘Going Back To Cali: Lt. Dan Andreas’ mixtape, which features the Tupac Shakur tribute ‘I Get Around’ featuring Daz Dillinger, Soopafly and Chops (Mountain Brothers). ‘Going Back To Cali: Lt. Dan Andreas’ will also showcase some ongoing beefs – Blah Bloomberg (Blahzay Blahzay) lets rip on ‘Guerilla Warfare’ against Guerilla Black and Daz vs. Kurupt. Other artists featured on ‘Going Back To Cali: Lt. Dan Andreas’ include; Notorious B.I.G., Daz Dillinger, Kurupt, Xzibit, MC Ren, King T, 50 Cent, Soopafly, MC Eiht, Bun B (UGK), Consequence, Chops, Game, Yukmouth, Guerilla Black, Blah Bloomberg, Big Wy (Relativez), Compton, Balance, Scipio, A-Wax, Casual, Turf Talk, Sky Balla, Frontline, Bullys With Fullys, Slo-O and Shaz.

[EMINEM] is apparently trying to develop a “James Bond” style spy film where he would play the lead role of an international spy who has a license to kill and has the suave sophistication to score with ladies around the world, word is the super spy character would even have skills on the mic – don’t know how that figures in the equation though?

Rumours have strengthened that [JOE BUDDEN] will sign with Roc-A-Fella Records, nothing is finalized as of yet but Budden apparently commented that the deal was in progress after the R.O.C. made him an offer he couldn’t refuse.

With Def Jam Recordings poised to buy out [ROC-A-FELLA RECORDS] the label is going through some roster changes with N.O.R.E. recently signed up and Joe Budden on the verge of joining the R.O.C. – but those aren’t the only changes… apparently Roc-A-Fella is looking to cut a few acts loose from their roster, M.O.P. must be praying they get cut so they can finally release a new album!

Compton’s [GUERILLA BLACK], who has received some attention for his similarities to the Notorious B.I.G. is now in the middle of more drama as Bungalo Records are looking to release an album entitled ‘Black’s Ya Neva Seen It Com’n’ which was recorded by Black under the pseudonym of “Big Cizzle” in 2001. The unofficial CD features Black spitting in a style reminiscent of DMX and Mystikal with lyrical content very different to Black’s current LP – ‘Guerilla City’. Guerilla is understandably not happy at the situation and commented that when he recorded the album he was encouraged to allow the producers to use various filters to change his voice from the Biggie like tones that are heard on ‘Guerilla City’, he also commented that during the beginning of his career he was constantly compared to other rotund emcees such as Scarface, E-40, Chubb Rock, C.P.O. (a group affiliated to N.W.A.) and of course the Notorious B.I.G.

One of the greatest boxers of our time (not Anthony Mundine!) – [ROY JONES Jr.] is looking to make another go of his Body Head Entertainment record label with ‘Roy Jones Jr. Presents: Body Head Bangerz Volume 1’ set to drop through Universal/Motown Records featuring guest spots from; Juvenile, Mike Jones, Lil Flip, Fiend, Petey Pablo and the Young Bloodz, plus artists from Jones’ own Body Head label. Jones is also planning for releases from Body Head artists; Rated PGs, Giz + Swellz, Magic and Choppa in the new year.

“Shaolin’s Finest” - the [WU-TANG CLAN] will make their first East Coast live performance in over five years at New Jersey’s Continental Airlines Arena on Nov. 12 with all nine members of the Clan will be in attendance for the concert event - RZA, GZA, Ol' Dirty Bastard, Inspectah Deck, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, U-God, Masta Killa and Method Man. The Wu have recently released their live performance from Jul.’s Rock The Bells Festival on CD and DVD entitled ‘Disciples of The 36 Chambers’

Eminem’s [SHADY 45] Satellite Radio station has already started bringing in the big guns with NYC mixtape maestro – Clinton Sparks, set to join the station as an announcer, hosting his own ‘Smashtime Raw, Uncut + Uncensored’

With the success of the Williams sisters (Serena and Venus) in the world of Tennis the Hip-Hop community has come to embrace the not so traditional urban sport but not the Tennis attire so entrepreneur Marvin Coleman has launched his own [40 LUV CLOTHING] so that the urban community can whack that lil’ yellow ball around whilst rocking gear their comfortable in. Coleman debuted his 40 Luv line at the U.S. Open this year and hopes to compete alongside brands like Baby Phat, Enyce, Sean John and Roc-a-Wear. 40 Luv Clothing will be available (US) from the end of this year with an official launch in early 2005 and plans to establish Tennis clinics in communities where Tennis isn’t traditionally played.

Ice Cube, Mack 10 and WC a.k.a. [WESTSIDE CONNECTION] have been quiet since the release of ‘Terrorist Threats’ but have just recently released a new DVD entitled ‘Gangsta Nation’, which features behind-the-scenes footage, interviews and live performances of tracks such as ‘Bow Down’, ‘Call 911’, ‘We Be Clubbin’, ‘Connected For Life’ and others…

[SAIGON] has joined with non-profit orgainisation – The Book Bank Foundation, to help raise funds to provide assistance to those individuals who have been fundamentally challenged through illiteracy – the Book Bank also works to fight homelessness and help underprivelaged people with food, clothing and shelter. Saigon has also established his own Abandon Home Foundation which works to combat negative lifestyle-based factors like low self-esteem, lack of goal attainment, and poor decision-making.

www.blackbeat.com.au // www.sceneonline.com.au // www.grooveon.com.au // www.djleonsmith.com

ON POINT // Sun. Oct. 24 2004

2004-10-24T15:28:00.000+10:00

[ON TOUR]
THIS FRIDAY night (Oct. 29) Brisbane’s own Resin Dogs, Urthboy, Ozi Batla, El Gusto and Hermitude hit The Rev as part of the [SPLENDID MENACE TOUR] thanks to Triple J and Elefant Traks. For more info head to www.ekefanttraks.com, www.urthboy.com or www.hermitude.com

The Frontier Touring Company present… [ALICIA KEYS] live in Australia throughout Oct. The 23 year-old Keys will play Brisbane’s Lyric Theatre THIS SATURDAY (Oct. 30) with Sydney’s Nessa Morgan in support.

For the first time ever [AND 1] will bring their AND 1 Mixtape Tour streetball team to Australia for a national tour, bringing some of the best streetballers to go up against some of Australia’s finest local talent! Tickets available now from Ticketek and Ticketmaster7 for the following dates… BNE. – Wed. Nov. 10 @ BNE. Entertainment Centre, SYD. – Fri. Nov. 12 @ SYD. Entertainment Centre, PER. – Wed. Nov. 17 @ Challenge Stadium and MEL. – Sat. Nov. 20 @ Rod Laver Arena. If you think you’ve got skills to go up againsdt the AND 1 mixtape crew or want more info on the mixtape tour head to www.and1.com.au

Here’s another hot tour hitting Australia… [THE NEXTMEN], [DYNAMITE MC], [STEINSKI] and [DJ SIGNIFY] are set to undertake a national tour downunder with shows on: Thu. Nov. 18 + Fri. Nov. 19 – MEL., Sat. Nov. 20 – SYD., Fri. Nov. 26 – Byron Bay, Sat. Dec. 04 – ADE. and a special performance at Adventjah in BNE. on Sun. Dec. 05 (@ Botanic Gardens + Riverstage).

After recently winning an ARIA for Best Urban Act, [KOOLISM] aren’t resting on their laurels with more touring on their calender… Hau and Danielsan will hit the Melbourne Hotel and Quest on Nov. 20 and the Troccadero (Gold Coast) on Nov. 22 (for a Triple J “live at the wireless”).

Ninja Tune artist [MR. SCRUFF] who fuses a diverse mix of bouncy reggae, classic hip hop, deep soul, rare funk, dance floor jazz, heavy beats and leftfield electronic nuggets is headed to Australia for a national tour throughout late Nov. Scruff is renowned for dropping sets of up to five or six hours long so be prepared when you head to one of his shows… Thu. Nov. 25 – BNE (Family), Fri. Nov. 26 – PER. (Ambar Mills), Sat. Nov. 27 – SYD. (Parklife) and Sun. Nov. 28 – MEL. (Revolver).

One of the original pioneers of “mashed-up remixes” - [DJ Z-TRIP] and the most recent signing to the Quannum label - [LIFESAVAS], are headed to Australia in Dec. for a series of shows around the country… Lifesavas will be dropping joints from their recently released album – ‘Spirit In Stone’ whilst Z-Trip will just be slamming joints together on the 1s and 2s, check them out in the following cities; BNE. – Sat. Dec. 04 (the Rev), Byron Bay – Sun. Dec. 05 (the Great Northern), SYD. – Wed. Dec. 08 (Metro), MEL. – Thu. Dec. 09 (Prince of Wales), ADE. – Fri. Dec. 10 (Traffic) and PER. – Sat. Dec. 11 (Monkey Bar).

With two years having passed since his last national tour, the Bay Area’s underground champion - [SAGE FRANCIS] is set to return for a Dec. tour, hitting… SYD. - Tue. Dec. 07 (the Basement), BNE. – Thu. Dec. 09 (the Rev), Meredith - Sat. Dec. 11 (Meredith Music Festival – Vic.), MEL. – Tue. Dec. 14 (Corner Hotel) and Wed. Dsec. 15 (Manchester Lane – spoken word show).

Thanks to Illusive Entertainment and Frontier Touring... [CYPRESS HILL] are hitting Australia in Dec. for their “Still Smokin’ national tour supported by Bliss n Eso and Figg Kidd including shows in; MEL. @ Festival Hall - Fri. Dec. 10, SYD. @ Hordern Pavillion - Sat. Dec. 11, ADE. @ Thebarton Theatre - Sun. Dec. 12, PER. @ Metro City - Mon. Dec. 13, CAN. @ ANU Bar - Wed. Dec. 15 and BNE. @ the Arena - Tue. Dec. 16 (w/ special guest Big Boyd). Tickets go on sale Wed. Oct. 13… for more info on Cypress Hill’s Australian tour hit up www.illusive.com.au

Bizarre, Kon Artis, Swift, Kuniva + Proof - better known as [D-12], are headed to AUS. in Dec. for a national tour without their main man – Eminem, but backed by a live band and supported by NZ artist – Dei Hamo. Shows are scheduled for… Dec. 11 – PER. (Robinson Pavillion), Dec. 13 – MEL. (Festival Hall), Dec. 15 - SYD. (Hordern Pavillion) and Dec. 18 - BNE (River Stage) - Tickets are $74.80!

[BRIAN McKINGHT] is rumoured to be heading to Australia for a tour reportedly scheduled for early Dec.

Also tipped to be headed downunder in early Dec. is one half of Jodeci – [K-CI + JOJO] with a BNE. show rumoured to be scheduled for Sat. Dec. 11 with support from Dawn Raid Entertainment’s Adeaze direct from NZ… more news as details are released.

Crazy fresh dope DJ – [PAUL NICE] is rumoured to be making his first trip to Australia in Dec., let’s hope he makes it north to BNE. for a show as this guy has mad remixes and a decidedly different take on things – should be a very entertaining show!

Original member of Tupac’s Outlawz crew – [HUSSEIN FATAL] is apparently set to tour Australia in the coming months… no venues or dates have been finalized at this time so keep checking On Point for details.

[DE LA SOUL] are headed back to Australia to lavish upon us some of the finest Hip-Hop there ever was! Dave, Pos and Maseo have an ADE. show scheduled for Dec. 29, will appear at the Falls Festival (VIC./TAS.) between Dec. 30 – Jan. 01 and the Summafieldayze festival on the Gold Coast – Sat. Jan. 08.

The first release of bands for the 2005 [BIG DAY OUT] have been released with rumours confirmed that the Beastie Boys will headline the BDO! Along with the Beasties, Butterfingers and The Streets are representing Hip-Hop but there’s still more line-up announcements to be made so watch out! The 2005 BDO kicks off in Auckland on Fri. Jan. 21 and then heads to Australia for the remainder of shows – Sun. Jan. 23 @ Gold Coast, Wed. Jan. 26 @ SYD., Sun. Jan. 30 @ MEL., Fri. Feb. 04 @ ADE. and Sun. Feb. 06 @ PER. For all the latest on the Big Day Out head to www.bigdayout.com

Other Hip-Hop and R&B acts rumoured to be planning tours of Australia include; [XZIBIT], [KANYE WEST] + [TALIB KWELI], [JANET JACKSON], [DILATED PEOPLES], [USHER], [TIMBALAND], [NELLY] + the St. Lunatics, [JAY-Z] (or S. Carter), [REDMAN] + [METHOD MAN], [THA ALKOHOLIKS] and another show you never thought you’d see here in Australia… Keep your eyes and ears peeled as On Point will bring you all the news as to whether or not these shows go ahead.

[QUIKSHOTZ]
The inevitable has happened but as expected… [KANYE WEST] has signed up with Sony Music for his own Getting Out Our Dreams imprint label – the deal will be a production deal for West to develop new artists on his own label, beginning with John Legend and his debut album – ‘Get Lifted’, in Dec. Kanye is still signed to Roc-A-Fella Records as an artist and will continue to release records through the ROC until his contract expires. West was expected to sign his Good Music label to a deal under Interscope Records but it looks like Sony scooped ‘em on the deal!

Brisbane fans would have noticed [P-MONEY] was absent from the ‘Stand Up’ tour in Brisbane a few weeks back… well that was because he had to head back to NZ to prepare for the release of his new album – ‘Magic City’. As expected, Scribe returns on ‘Magic City’ after appearing on P-Money’s debut – ‘Big Things’. Other artists featured on ‘Magic City’ include international acts; Sauce Money, Assim, Capone, Skillz, Akon, Jatis and Mystro, plus local NZ acts; Tyna, Con Psy (Frontline) and PNC. P-Money says we can expect a more diverse sound on ‘Magic City’ with more musical elements used rather than traditional loops and samples commonly used in Rap. You can check out P-Money’s new shit at… www.pmoneymusic.com

As if causing drama with Michael Jackson and Pee Wee Herman wasn’t enough for [EMINEM], now he’s gone and started shit with “G-Dub” a.k.a. U.S. President – George W. Bush… With the release of ‘Mosh’ we see Eminem blasting on Bush, calling him a “monster” and encouraging his fans to “mosh outside the Oval Office until he (Bush) brings the troops home”. Em doesn’t stop there, he tells us how he really feels with lines like; "Strap him with an AK-47, let him go fight his own war / no more blood for oil, we got our own battles to fight on our own soil / no more psychological warfare to trick; think we aint loyal / if we don't serve our own country with patronizing a hero". ‘Mosh’ isn’t Em’s first tirade against the U.S. President, late last year an unreleased joint entitled ‘We As Americans’ saw him spit “fuck money, I don’t rap for dead presidents / I’d rather see the president dead!”, which instigated an investigation by the U.S. Secret Service into Eminem’s motives. It is currently unknown whether ‘Mosh’ will appear on Eminem’s upcoming album - ‘Encore’.

Rumours have been swirling around that QueensBridge’s finest – [MOBB DEEP] have split up over a dispute involving The Alchemist, Littles, Havoc and Prodigy, specifically a case of beats being sold twice. Havoc and The Alchemist have both disputed the rumours of a Mobb Deep break-up but Littles is saying that the divide is there due to Havoc and Prodigy wanting to pursue solo careers. Mobb Deep recently left Violator Management and had Littles handling their business but Littles saw a divide growing between the two as little things like live shows saw Havoc and P moving to one side of the stage each and rarely interacting – Havoc and Prodigy then split up their Infamous Records label causing Littles to consequently drop out as the duo’s manager as he didn’t want to have to choose between his two friends. Another story going around is that Littles beat Alchemist down after selling a beat twice and this left Havoc and P not knowing whose side to take…

[LUDACRIS] recently had a media listening in the U.S. for his new album – ‘Red Light District’ in preparation for its Dec. 07 release, and was received with good reviews for the guest heavy LP. ‘Red Light District’ features guest spots from; Nas, Doug E. Fresh, DJ Quik, DMX, Sleepy Brown and others to be confirmed. Production on ‘Red Light District’ has been handled by; Lil’ Jon, Timbaland, The Neptunes, Mannie Fresh, DJ Green Lantern, Voodoo and others including KLC of the Medicine Men (formerly Master P’s Beats By The Pound production team) who has handled Luda’s first single from ‘Red Light District’ – ‘Get Up’, which works off a similar formula to ‘Move Bitch’. In related news… Ludacris has had a few laughs at the expense of Bill O’Reilly (the man who caused Luda to lose his Pepsi deal) lately as O’Reilly is now in the middle of a sexual harassment suit filed by a former associate producer. Andrea Mackris, the woman O’Reilly allegedly harassed turned down a US$2 million settlement in favour of pursuing a US$60 million payout!

[NEW EDITION] may be signed to Bad Boy but the original “bad boy” a.k.a. Bobby Brown, won’t be seen or heard on NE’s new album – ‘One Love’, which is set to drop on Nov. 09. Creating hype for ‘One Love’ is NE’s first single – ‘Hot 2Nite’, which is already tearing up radio and charts in the U.S. With New Edition coming back, the group has lined up a star-studded 20/25 city tour to proclaim their return, featuring; Guy, Jodeci, LL Cool J, Slick Rick and Doug E. Fresh! The planned tour won’t start until after Michael Bivins, Ricky Bell, Ronnie Devoe, Johnny Gill and Ralph Tresvant return from China, where they are headed on a promotional tour… hold up, New Edition are going to China but no Australian tour has been announced? Whutsupwitdat!?

Word is that an anti-Eminem alliance has been struck between [BENZINO] and [MICHAEL JACKSON] with a group press conference to be held by the two parties and Jackson apparently set to appear on the cover of The Source magazine! No doubt XXL will step up and support any anti-Source stance Eminem wishes to take…

[ROC-A-FELLA RECORDS] have two big releases set for Dec. 2004… Beanie Sigel will drop ‘The B-Coming’ on Dec. 14 amidst his legal dramas, a week before N.O.R.E. drops his Roc-A-Fella debut – ‘One Fan A Day’, on Dec. 21 featuring Kanye West, Mariah Carey, Beanie Sigel and Big Punisher. Now what’s happening with that M.O.P. album!?

Word is that [JOE BUDDEN] might jump ship from Def Jam to Roc-A-Fella Records joining recent signing N.O.R.E., who also moved from Def Jam (Roc-A-Fella’s parent company) to the R.O.C. Wonder how Bill Danze and Lil’ Fame (M.O.P.) feel about Dash, Biggs and Jigga signing all this new talent to Roc-A-Fella whilst they sit on the shelf?

A few weeks back On Point reported on [GAME] and [YUKMOUTH] having beef and then the pair subsequently squashing their feud… well now it appears that it’s not all love and roses between the two West Coasters. Apparently Game stated that the beef is over between him and Yuk but that doesn’t mean he’s forgotten and won’t get at him in the future.

Shady Records artist - [OBIE TRICE], has been very quiet since the release of his debut album but now he’s back with a new album entitled ‘Murder City’, which is scheduled for a mid-2005 release. Obie’s new ‘Murder City’ is apparently set to be a darker album more indicative of the real Obie Trice rather than his more commercially driven debut.

Word is that [R. KELLY] and [JAY-Z] aren’t feeling the love on their ‘Best of Both Worlds’ tour of the U.S., the apir are allegedly barely speaking to one another and refuse to appear on stage together anymore than necessary – making brief appearances together at the beginning and end of the show. According to rumours it has become a real problem trying to juggle both the egos during the tour.

[GAME’s] G-Unit/Aftermath debut LP has been renamed ‘The Documentary’ from its original title of ‘Ni**a Witta Attitude Vol. 1’ after discussions between Game and Dr. Dre. The newly named album will feature seventeen tracks with production from; Dr. Dre (9), Kanye West (2), Just Blaze (2), Hi-Tek (1), Timbaland (1), Nu Jerzey Devil (1) and Eminem (1). For more info on Game and his upcoming album head to… www.comptongame.com or www.theblackwallstreet.com

As pre-production gets into full swing for ‘Locked and Loaded’, [50 CENT] has chosen the Oscar nominated Irish director of ‘In America’ – Jim Sheridan to helm his acting debut. The story of ‘Locked and Loaded’ parallels 50s life loosely as it sees an orphaned boy grow up and turns his back on crime to pursue a successful music career – ‘The Sopranos’ writer, Terrence Winter, scripted the story.

With 50 Cent set to begin filming of his debut movie (‘Locked and Loaded’) in Feb. you know his G-Unit compadres are going to get a cameo spot on screen… Already confirmed to appear in Locked and Loaded is [LLOYD BANKS], who will play an altered version of himself – just like D-12 member Proof did in Eminem’s ‘8 Mile’. Banks recently spoke about his role in ‘Locked and Loaded’, explaining that his spot in the film will be a small cameo as he wants to save his real acting debut for a role which sees him playing something other than a “rapper” alongside real actors not “Raptors” (Rappers turned actors).

With NZ Rap on “fiyah” after Scribe’s popularity and Deceptikonz member Mareko dropping his debut solo album, now comes former Urban Pacifikas member - [DEI HAMO] with a bouncin’ party joint called ‘We Gon Ride’ – which has a crazy music-video featuring all your favourite Rap video clichés (cars w/ spinning rims, women and fly clothes) but Dei Hamo does it tongue-in-cheek style without coming off as a “wannabee”. Look out for Dei Hamo as he will be on the support line-up for D12.

Deceptikonz member – [SAVAGE] has nearly completed his debut solo LP, ‘Moonshine’, and is not wasting any time getting his name known worldwide… Savage has dropped a guest verse on Akon’s ‘Global Lockdown: The Locked Up remixes’ 12” which also features Styles P (LOX). Savage’s fellow Deceptikon – Mareko has also kepot his name in NYC circles by appearing on the soundtrack to Littles’ new movie – ‘The American Dream’ (Littles is down with fellow QB emcees – Mobb Deep). In related news… In support of their solo LPs, one half of the Decptikonz crew - Savage and Mareko, are set to head back to Australia for a national tour! More info as dates are released…

Dawn Raid Entertainment (home to Adeaze and the Deceptikonz) has launched a new label called [CLIENTELE RECORDS], which focusing on emerging New Zealand talent, with tier first two signings being from Deceptikonz member – Alphrisk (the Apostle) and Rap crew R.E.S. (Red Eye Society). Dawn Raid also scored some serious credibility points for their streetwear label last week, being invited to give a showing of their summer range at NZ’s Fashion Week.

After three years of sitting on the shelf collecting dust (next to Black Rob) at Bad Boy Records, [THE HOODFELLAZ] were officially released from their contracts last month and are already working on some new material, with one member – Morock, looking to drop a solo LP too. The Hoodfellaz claim they hold no ill will towards P. Diddy or Bad Boy.

Former B2K member Omarion has some new competition to deal with… his little brother [O'RYAN] has just released his self-titled debut album. The first single from O’Ryan’s debut LP is ‘Take It Slow’, which emphasizes young cats not to rush into sleeping with a girl when they first meet her… riiiight!

Despite being in retirement from the mic, [JAY-Z] is set to drop a “greatest hits” compilation mid next year with at least two new tracks and a strong likelihood that he will sign with Def Jam as their new president with a deal for his own S. Carter Records.

[UNDAGROUND SOUNDS]
[ED O.G.] is back with a new solo LP entitled ‘My Own Worst Enemy’, which will feature guest spots from Diamond D, Masta Ace and Krumb Snatcha plus production supplied solely from Pete Rock! Ed O.G.’s ‘My Own Worst Enemy’ will drop on Nov. 11 through Fat Beats.

In a surprising move, Little Brother producer - [9TH WONDER] has laced Destiny’s Child with three tracks (‘Is She The Reason’, ‘Game Over’ + ‘Girl’) for their new album – ‘Destiny Fulfilled’. 9th Wonder hopes to parlay his Destiny’s Child work into work with artists such as Faith Evans, Mary J. Blige and Carl Thomas. 9th Wonder’s “Jeanius” project with Jean Grae has been scrapped after being leaked to the internet, the two are now working on a new project entitled ‘Phoenix’. 9th Wonder is also working with Murs on the follow up to ‘MURS 3:16’ – ‘Murs’ Revenge’ and a new album with Buckshot of Boot Camp Clik.

Pioneering “femcee” - [ROXANNE SHANTE] has filed suit against Janet Jackson after a clip of Shante’s voice saying “so fresh” was used on ‘Like You Don’t Love Me’ off Jackson’s ‘Damita Jo’ album. Apparently Shante had invoiced Jackson for the sound sample but it was obviously overlooked – Shante suggested that perhaps the whole Super Bowl/”nipplegate” drama made Jackson lose focus on handling her business. Shante’s suit only came afte she called Jackson’s representatives to sort out payment and she was told that it was not her sample on the track – Shante disputed the fact as she new the sample was taken from ‘Def Fresh Crew’ f/ Biz Markie. Roxanne Shante isn’t stepping back into the Rap arena anytime soon to issue a dis’ at Jackson though, Shante has a thriving Psychology practice in Manhattan and is raising an 18 year-old son.

The upcoming release of ‘Redneck Olympics’ has drawn some undue attention for [KUTMASTA KURT] as the U.S. Olympic committee has forced Kurt to change the name of his album to ‘Redneck Games’ in the U.S. as the original ‘Redneck Olympics’ was a trademark infringement – KMK’s new album will retain it’s ‘Redneck Olympics’ title around the rest of the world. Anyway, KutMasta Kurt’s ‘Redneck Games’ will feature rare and exclusive joints plus B-sides featuring artists such as; the Beastie Boys, Dilated Peoples, Mos Def, Linkin Park, Del tha Funkee Homosapien, Mr. Lif, Planet Asia, Blackalicious, Grand Agent, PMD (of EPMD) and Kool Keith to name a few.

Warzone Records and 101 Distribution have teamed up to drop a bootlegged [KOOL KEITH] album entitled ‘Dr. Octagon Part II’, which Kool Keith is urging fans not ot buy as he has not authorized the tracks on the album to be released as they are from stolen master taps and other albums. Keith’s Live One Records is taking legal action against Warzone Records and 101 Distribution to cease sales and recall any copies sold.

Off the back of underground heat he is creating on the mixtape circuit, [CANIBUS] has signed a deal with entertainment lawyers Loeb & Loeb – with the law firm set to represent Canibus’s interests and broker a deal with a major label in the coming months. Canibus is apparently in negotiations with a few labels for his services, Canibus is also planning to drop a couple of independent 12” releases by the end of this year and a new Canibus mixtape featuring collabos with; Busta Rhymes, FamLay, Kobe, Jeymes Samuel, DMP and Crooked I. Meanwhile… Canibus has hooked up with Shaquille O’Neal for a track called ‘Victory’, which will be on DJ Kay Slay’s ‘Certified Trouble Makerz - Part 5’ mixtape.

Dan the Automator and Price Paul are going to have to work extra hard make their next [HANDSOME BOY MODELING SCHOOL] album – ‘White People’ all fit on one disc when it hits stores on Nov. 09. All set to appear on ‘White People’ are; Pharrell Williams, RZA, De La Soul, EL-P, Cage, Del Tha Funkee Homosapien, DJ Jazzy Jay, Grand Wizard Theodore, Barrington Levy, Jaime Cullen, Chester Bennington (Linkin Park), Mike Shinoda (Linkin Park), Jack Johnson, Chino Moreno (Deftones), Alex Kapranos (Franz Ferdinand), John Oates (Hall & Oates), Paula Frazer (Tarnation), Father Guido Sarducci (SNL) and Tim Meadows (SNL). The first single from Handsome Boy Modelling School will be ‘The World’s Gone Mad ‘ featuring Barrington Levy, Del Tha Funkee Homosapien and Franz Ferdinand frontman Alex Kapranos.

[UTHA STUFF]
Ozzy Osbourne has apparently lobbied [EMINEM] to join his metal festival – ‘Ozzfest’, but realizes that Em would receive a harsh welcome from metal fans but would still like him to appear on the Ozzfest tour.

No wonder Marshall Mathers has so much anger… his family must have some serious ghosts in their collective closet as yet another of [EMINEM’s] uncles has commited suicide. When Eminem was a teenager his uncle Ronnie committed suicide after his girl left him and now 42 year-old Todd Nelson – the man who was Em’s “father figure” has taken his own life, shooting himself in his own backyard leaving his body to be discovered by his son. Apparently Nelson was suffering serious financial distress and had been having drama with the local Sheriff who owned a Rottweiler – the dog had scratched Nelson’s car and scared his girlfriend’s son but local authorities did nothing after several complaints – leaving Nelson in a rather disturbed state. Apparently Eminem is feeling Nelson’s death quite strongly as it has brought memories of his uncle Ronnie’s death back to the surface in conjunction with another of his uncle’s committing suicide. Eminem will cover all the expenses of Nelson’s funeral according to Em’s grandmother – Betty Kresin.

After last week’s run in between Remy Ma and [GLORIA VELEZ], Velez is officially no longer a member of the Murda Mamis crew according to 1st Lady El – CEO of Murda Mami Entertainment! 1st Lady El, DJ Sunny, Shawnna, Rah Digga and Remy Ma are amongst the members of the Murda Mamis crew, who are working on a group album to be entitled ‘Murda Mamis, The Movement’.

Word is [NELLY] recently appeared on a U.S. radio station and spoke about how he was diggin’ on ‘American Idol’ – Kelly Clarkson’s thick frame! Wonder how Ashanti felt about Nelly drooling over Clarkson – wasn’t Ashanti planning on taking Nelly home to meet the parents?

‘The Love Below’ was set to be the debut film from Atlanta duo [OUTKAST] but as with many Rap related events/projects these days the project is in serious jeopardy thanks to erratic behavior from Andre3000 and Big Boi and budget blow-outs! According to recent reports, filming on ‘The Love Below’ is weeks behind (hence Big Boi canceling his Australian tour which was in planning) and millions of dollars over budget – thanks mainly to the lack of control exerted by Bryan Barber who has directed numerous OutKast music-videos in the past. Further complicating the process is Andre3000, who has apparently missed numerous days of filming by simply not turning up!

Looking to expand his acting resume, [P. DIDDY] has landed a role in the prequel to ‘Carlito’s Way’, which is to be entitled ‘Carlito’s Way: The Beginning’ starring Jay Hernandez (‘Torque’, ‘The Rookie’, ‘Crazy/Beautiful’) as Puerto Rican gangster “Carlito Brigante” – a role first played by Al Pacino in the original ‘Carlito’s Way’.

Former Onyx member - [STICKY FINGAZ] continues to expand upon his acting repertoire with a new role opposite Tyrese, Dennis Quaid, Hugh Ory and Giovanni Ribisi in the remake of the 1965 film - ‘Flight of the Phoenix’, which will be directed by John Moore (‘Behind Enemy Lines’) who has a US$80 million budget to play with. ‘Flight of the Phoenix’ sees Sticky, Tyrese and crew survive a plane crash on a deserted island off the coast of Africa with only two weeks worth of water and tinned peaches.

On the eve of [ASHANTI’s] new album being released through The Inc., she is being sued by T.E.A.M. Entertainment for US$4 million in claimed royalties as the company claims that Ashanti signed a contract with their label in 1997, when Ashanti was only 16 year’s old. T.E.A.M. claim that they were cheated out of millions in royalties based on Ashanti’s 1997 contract…

After getting all hot and heavy on VH1’s ‘The Surreal Life’, Public Enemy hype man – [FLAVOR FLAV] and former Mrs. Stallone – Brigitte Nielsen, have landed their own reality series entitled ‘Strange Love’ which will run for ten episodes beginning Jan. 2005. Flav and Neilsen have apparently been seen all around NYC kissing and canoodling to the disturbance of people everywhere – despite Neilsen being engaged to an Italian bartender?

Following Dr. Dre and Kanye West, [THE NEPTUNES] are the next super producers to grace the cover of ‘Scratch’ magazine and feature in an article discussing their chemistry, sampling, inspiration and Pop records amongst other topics… Scott Storch, Mannie Fresh, Hi-Tek, DJ Whoo Kid, Scram Jones and 88 Keys are amongst the other producers interviewed in this month’s ‘Scratch’ magazine.

Off the back of her role in ‘Shall We Dance’ and the early part of her career as a “Fly Girl” on ‘Living Colour’ - [JENNIFER LOPEZ] is now planning to open her own Salsa dance school in the Bronx (NYC). Lopez is apparently keen to begin the school in an effort to give something back to her old neighbourhood as she even hopes to teach the odd Salsa class herself!

Terror Squad captain - [FAT JOE] and Rap legend and Furious Five member - [MELLE MEL] have shot a TV/print campaign for Bacardi Rum, featuring Joe rockin’ a US$100,000 diamond encrusted Bacardi Bat logo pendant designed by Jacob the Jeweller. The television commercial was directed by Phillip Atwell – who is best known for directing Dr. Dre, 50 Cent and Eminem music-videos.

[MICHAEL JORDAN] isn’t as popular as he once was after a tour to Taiwan earlier this year… The Taiwanese government had negotiated an hour long show from Jordan with Nike to promote Jordan’s clothing brand but Jordan only made a 90 second appearance in May after promoters had advertised that Jordan will perform a showcase of his basketball skils. Taiwan’s Fair Trade Commission filed a US$30,000 suit against Nike, who in their defence attempted to make up to fans by offering Jordan posters and Air Jordan 1s to the 700+ fans who paid to attend the Jordan showcase.

www.sceneonline.com.au

www.blackbeat.com.au

www.grooveon.com.au

ON POINT // Sun. Oct. 17 2004

2004-10-17T21:37:00.000+10:00

[ON TOUR]
Canadian Rap crew [SWOLLEN MEMBERS] are set to head downunder thanks to Hive Creative + DC Shoes to promote their fourth album – ‘Heavy’, with shows planned for mid/late Oct. Mad Child, Prevail, Moka Only + Rob the Viking will play shows in… BNE. – THIS WEDNESDAY (Oct. 20) @ The Rev, ADL. – Fri. Oct. 22 (Traffic), SYD. – Sat. Oct. 23 (Gaelic Club) and MEL. – Sun. Oct. 24 (Prince of Wales). Swollen Members will also play support for Black Eyed Peas at their SYD. shows on Sat. Oct. 16, Sun. Oct. 17 + Mon. Oct. 18 @ the Hordern Pavillion.

Great One Enterprises presents the “Temple Of Hip-Hop Tour” throughout late Oct., featuring Hip-Hop pioneer – [DJ KOOL HERC] on his first Australian tour with special guest DJs; Peril, Blaze, Kool Kutz and Karey Taktchi. Herc will play five shows in Australia… Sun. Oct. 17 – Gaelic Club SYD., Wed. Oct. 20 – Prince of Wales MEL., THIS THURSDAY (Oct. 21) – Tivoli BNE., Fri. Oct. 22 – Heaven ADL. and Sat. Oct. 23 – Monkey Bar PER. For more info on the “Temple Of Hip-Hop Tour” head to www.greatoneenterprises.com

Melbourne’s [MUPH + PLUTONIC] hit BNE. THIS SATURDAY (Oct. 23) @ the Alley (Milton Bowl) to promote their new album – ‘Hunger Pains’ with Lazy Grey in support.

The Frontier Touring Company present… [ALICIA KEYS] live in Australia throughout Oct. The 23 year-old Keys will play MEL. on Fri. Oct. 22 (SOLD OUT!) + 23 @ Palais Theatre, SYD. on Sat. Oct. 23 (NEW SHOW!), Mon. Oct. 25 (SOLD OUT!) + 26 (SELLING FAST) @ Enmore Theatre and BNE. on Sat. Oct. 30 @ the Lyric Theatre. Please notice that the BNE. Alicia Keys has been CHANGED to SATURDAY OCTOBER 30! Q-Tix will exchange tix without any dramas…

For the first time ever [AND 1] will bring their AND 1 Mixtape Tour streetball team to Australia for a national tour, bringing some of the best streetballers (Alimoe, AO, Escalade, Flash, Go Get It, Half Man, Helicopter, High Octane, Hot Sauce, Main Event, Prime Objective, The Professor, Shane, Sik Wit It and “50” – only a select few of the listed will hit Oz in Nov.) to go up against some of Australia’s finest local talent! Tickets available now from Ticketek and Ticketmaster7 for the following dates… BNE. – Wed. Nov. 10 @ BNE. Entertainment Centre, SYD. – Fri. Nov. 12 @ SYD. Entertainment Centre, PER. – Wed. Nov. 17 @ Challenge Stadium and MEL. – Sat. Nov. 20 @ Rod Laver Arena. If you think you’ve got skills to go up againsdt the AND 1 mixtape crew or want more info on the mixtape tour head to www.and1.com.au

Here’s another hot tour hitting Australia… [THE NEXTMEN], [DYNAMITE MC], [STEINSKI] and [DJ SIGNIFY] are set to undertake a national tour downunder with shows on: Thu. Nov. 18 + Fri. Nov. 19 – MEL., Sat. Nov. 20 – SYD., Fri. Nov. 26 – Byron Bay, Sat. Dec. 04 – ADE. And Sun. Dec. 05 – BNE.

Ninja Tune artist [MR. SCRUFF] who fuses a diverse mix of bouncy reggae, classic hip hop, deep soul, rare funk, dance floor jazz, heavy beats and leftfield electronic nuggets is headed to Australia for a national tour throughout late Nov. Scruff is renowned for dropping sets of up to five or six hours long so be prepared when you head to one of his shows… Thu. Nov. 25 – BNE (Family), Fri. Nov. 26 – PER. (Ambar Mills), Sat. Nov. 27 – SYD. (Parklife) and Sun. Nov. 28 – MEL. (Revolver).

One of the original pioneers of “mashed-up remixes” - [DJ Z-TRIP] and the most recent signing to the Quannum label - [LIFESAVAS], are headed to Australia in Dec. for a series of shows around the country… Lifesavas will be dropping joints from their recently released album – ‘Spirit In Stone’ whilst Z-Trip will just be slamming joints together on the 1s and 2s, check them out in the following cities; BNE. – Sat. Dec. 04 (the Rev), Byron Bay – Sun. Dec. 05 (the Great Northern), SYD. – Wed. Dec. 08 (Metro), MEL. – Thu. Dec. 09 (Prince of Wales), ADE. – Fri. Dec. 10 (Traffic) and PER. – Sat. Dec. 11 (Monkey Bar).

With two years having passed since his last national tour, the Bay Area’s underground champion - [SAGE FRANCIS] is set to return for a Dec. tour, hitting… SYD. - Tue. Dec. 07 (the Basement), BNE. – Thu. Dec. 09 (the Rev), Meredith - Sat. Dec. 11 (Meredith Music Festival – Vic.), MEL. – Tue. Dec. 14 (Corner Hotel) and Wed. Dsec. 15 (Manchester Lane – spoken word show).

Thanks to Illusive Entertainment and Frontier Touring… [CYPRESS HILL] are hitting Australia in Dec. for their “Still Smokin’ national tour including shows in; MEL. @ Festival Hall - Fri. Dec. 10, SYD. @ Hordern Pavillion - Sat. Dec. 11, ADE. @ Thebarton Theatre - Sun. Dec. 12, PER. @ Metro City - Mon. Dec. 13, CAN. @ ANU Bar - Wed. Dec. 15 and BNE. @ the Arena - Tue. Dec. 16. Tickets go on sale Wed. Oct. 13… for more info on Cypress Hill’s Australian tour hit up www.illusive.com.au

Bizarre, Kon Artis, Swift, Kuniva + Proof - better known as [D-12], are headed to AUS. in Dec. for a national tour without their main man – Eminem, but backed by a live band. Shows are scheduled for… Dec. 11 – PER. (Robinson Pavillion), Dec. 13 – MEL. (Festival Hall), Dec. 15 - SYD. (Hordern Pavillion) and Dec. 18 - BNE (River Stage) - Tickets are $74.80!

Word is that… Scratch that, [DE LA SOUL] are headed back to Australia to lavish upon us some of the finest Hip-Hop there ever was! An Adelaide show has been confirmed for Dec. 29 at the Old Queen’s Theatre, supported by Terra Firma and the Beat Smugglers - tickets are $50 + b/f. De LA have also recently been confirmed as on the bill for the Falls Festival (Lorne – Vic. + Marion Bay – Tas.), which takes place from Dec. 30 to Jan. 01… No doubt dates for the rest of Australia will be announced soon (I hope)!

The first release of bands for the 2005 [BIG DAY OUT] have been released with rumours confirmed that the Beastie Boys will headline the BDO! Along with the Beasties, Butterfingers and The Streets are representing Hip-Hop but there’s still more line-up announcements to be made so watch out! The 2005 BDO kicks off in Auckland on Fri. Jan. 21 and then heads to Australia for the remainder of shows – Sun. Jan. 23 @ Gold Coast, Wed. Jan. 26 @ SYD., Sun. Jan. 30 @ MEL., Fri. Feb. 04 @ ADE. and Sun. Feb. 06 @ PER. For all the latest on the Big Day Out head to www.bigdayout.com

Especially for Kina, [BRIAN McKINGHT] is rumoured to be heading to Australia accompanied by K-Ci + JoJo for shows in SYD., MEL. + BNE. Apparently the tour is scheduled for early Dec. and rumoured to be hosted by Mary Street nightclub – further rumours are pointing towards a separate show from [K-CI + JOJO] around the same time in BNE.

Crazy fresh dope DJ – [PAUL NICE] is rumoured to be making his first trip to Australia in Dec., let’s hope he makes it north to BNE. for a show as this guy has mad remixes and a decidedly different take on things – should be a very entertaining show!

Original member of Tupac’s Outlawz crew – [HUSSEIN FATAL] is apparently set to tour Australia in the coming months… no venues or dates have been finalized at this time so keep checking On Point for details.

Other Hip-Hop and R&B acts rumoured to be planning tours of Australia include; [XZIBIT], [KANYE WEST] + [TALIB KWELI], [JANET JACKSON], [DILATED PEOPLES], [USHER], [TIMBALAND], [NELLY] + the St. Lunatics, [JAY-Z] (or S. Carter), [REDMAN] + [METHOD MAN], [THA ALKOHOLIKS] and another show you never thought you’d see here in Australia… Keep your eyes and ears peeled as On Point will bring you all the news as to whether or not these shows go ahead.

[QUIKSHOTZ]
Congrats to [KOOLISM] for winning Best Urban Act at this year’s ARIA Awards beating out 1200 Techniques, Daniel Merriweather, Cat Empire and J. Wess. Hopefully in coming years we’ll see the ARIA’s establish more categories for Rap and R&B so that each separate genre of music is represented accurately.

Kanye West (who was nominated for seven awards) and Lil’ Jon cleaned up with three awards each at the recent 2004 [THE SOURCE HIP-HOP MUSIC AWARDS] in Miami… Ludacris took out the Artist of the Year (Male), Ying Yang Twinz won Artists of the Year (Group), R&B Artist of the Year (male) – Usher, R&B Artist of the Year (female) - Alicia Keys, Lyricist of the Year – Jay-Z, Dancehall/Reggae artist of the Year - Elephant Man, Single of the Year (solo) – Chingy ‘Right Thurr’, Single of the Year (group) – Terror Squad ‘Lean Back’, Single of the Year (collabo) – Youngbloodz f/ Lil’ Jon ‘Damn’, R&B/Rap collabo of the Year – ‘Yeah!’ by Usher f/ Lil’ Jon + Ludacris, Fat tape track of the Year – ‘Clap Back’ Ja Rule, Remix of the Year – ‘Right Thurr (rmx)’ Chingy f/ Trina + JD and Independent Album of the Year was ‘Konexion’ from Freddie Foxxx. The Source Hip-Hop Music Awards will be aired on U.S. television by BET on Nov. 30.

[N.O.R.E.] is preparing to drop his Roc-A-Fella Records debut on Dec. 21, entitled ‘One Fan Day’, which also happens to be N.O.R.E.’s fourth solo album. ‘One Fan Day’ has been lead off by ‘Oye Mi Canto’ f/ Nina Sky, Daddy Yankee, GemStar and Big Mato, whilst the rest of ‘One Fan Day’ features collabos with Mariah Carey, Beanie Sigel, Kanye West, David Banner and Big Pun along with production from Timbaland, the Neptunes, Green Lantern and SPK amongst other contributors.

In anticipation of the Nov. 23 release of their new album – ‘Destiny Fulfilled’, [DESTINY'S CHILD] have released the final tracklisting of eleven songs, including the DarkChild produced lead single – ‘Lose My Breath’. Other tracks to look out for on ‘Destiny Fulfilled include the title track - ‘Destiny Fulfilled’ along with ‘Is She The Reason’, ‘Through With Love’ and ‘Soldier’ f/ Lil’ Wayne + T.I. Production on ‘Destiny Fulfilled’ was handled by Rodney “DarkChild” Jerkins, Rockwilder, Mario Winans and Rich Harrison amongst others.

The music-video to Eminem’s latest single – ‘Just Lose It’, has caused [MICHAEL JACKSON] some serious aggrivation thanks to Em’s portrayal of Jackson as his nose falls off, serves “Jesus Juice” and sits at the end of a bed with young boys jumping around in the background! Jackson has called on various music television networks in the U.S., including MTV, BET, VH1 and others, to pull Eminem’s video from rotation… so far only BET have pulled Em’s video – a surprising move considering Eminem is such a successful artist who has a new album set to drop next month whilst Jackson is a once great artist now on the slide. Jackson protests that Eminem’s spoof of Jackson goes over the line and comedian/radio announcer – Steve Harvey (‘Kings of Comedy’) has backed Jackson by publicly pulling Em’s “ghetto pass” after Jackson called Harvey’s show to discuss the situation.

On top of Eminem facing criticism from Michael Jackson, Paul [“PEE WEE HERMAN”] Rubens has also taken offence to Em spoofing him in the music-video to ‘Just Lose It’ and is planning to take legal action against “Slim Shady”.

With months of speculation surrounding the future of [ROC-A-FELLA RECORDS], rumours have now strengthened that Universal Music Group (not Def Jam Recordings) will buy the leading Rap label for an approximated US$10 million. On top of Universal buying out Jay-Z, Damon Dash and Kareem Burke the conglomerate is reportedly also looking to install Jay-Z as President of Def Jam Recordings, retaining Antonio “L.A.” Reid as C.E.O. Meanwhile… Warner Music Group are still trying to get Jay-Z to sign his S. Carter Records to their label group - S. Carter Records are also reportedly close to signing Foxy Brown as their first artist. On top of his new record label, Jigga is tipped to be also looking at moving into television with rumours of Jay inking a deal with HBO featuring Olympic boxer – Devin Vargas.

Comedian/Actor - [JAMIE FOXX], has signed on with J Records for his second solo R&B/Soul album scheduled for release in 2005. Best recognized musically as featuring on Twista’s ‘Slow Jamz’ with Kanye West earlier this year, Foxx’s debut entitled ‘Peep This’ actually dropped in 1994 with ‘Infatuation’ being the lead single. Things are god for Foxx right now as his acting career is blowing up thanks to recent roles in ‘Ali’, ‘Collateral’ and now ‘Ray’ – the Ray Charles biography that may garner him an Oscar nomination.

With four group albums under their collective belt, the [WU-TANG CLAN] are now preparing to release ‘Legends Of The Wu Tang: Wu Tang Clan's Greatest Hits’ on Oct. 26. Some have suggested that ‘Legends Of The Wu Tang: Wu Tang Clan's Greatest Hits’ will be the Wu’s final release but others want to believe that Matthew Knowles’ recent signing of the Clan to his Sanctuary Urban Records Group will signal a new chapter for the Wu-Tang Clan!

Early last week rumours began spreading across the internet that G-Unit member - [LLOYD BANKS] had appeared in homosexual pornography having sex with another man! The footage had apparently spread across the internet but was soon shot down as a case of mistaken identity as HOT97 morning show host and Chappelle’s Show comedian – Donnell Rawlings, revealed that the footage was in fact of 28 year-old Gay porn actor – Ty Lattimore, who has starred in over 25 films. Lattimore has even come forward to clear Banks’ name saying he’s a fan of Banks and that he feels bad for Banks being the target of such negative press. The rumours of Banks being a gay porn star have had uncanny timing as Banks is currently working on his own interactive porn DVD entitled ‘Groupie Luv’, which allows the viewer to choose the star of the film.

With [GAME’s] debut album – ‘Ni**a Witta Attitude Vol.1’, delayed until 2005 so as not to clash with Eminem’s ‘Encore’, KOCH Records are going to cash in and release ‘Untold Story’ this week (Oct. 19)! ‘Untold Story’ is a collection of previously unreleased joints from Game recorded by JT The Bigga Figga, who was introduced to Game by Eastsidaz member – Tray Dee after Tray Dee spotted Game at an L.A. Hip-Hop Summit. ‘Untold Story’ features guest appearances predominantly from JT The Bigga Figga and The Outlawz. 2005 is tipped to be Game’s year as 2003 was fellow G-Unit member 50 Cent’s. Game’s ‘Ni**a Witta Attitude Vol.1’ will be released on Jan. 18 2005 with the first 500,000 copies to be packaged with a special DVD entitled ‘Ni**a Witta Attitude: The Movie’, an hour-long documentary featuring appearances from; Busta Rhymes, G-Unit, Spliff Star, Dr. Dre, Game's mother, Game’s babymama and his Black Wall Street family. The DVD also features footage of Game at the funeral of his best friend Billboard and his relationship with his brother – Big Face Hunned and two year old son.

We’ve been waiting to hear the new Dr. Dre produced [ICE CUBE] album later this year but unfortunately Cube has delayed the album until 2005 and revealed that Dr. Dre will not be handling the bulk of production as anticipated. The delay of Cube’s new album is due to filming of his latest film – ‘XXX: State of the Union’ but in the meantime you can catch Cube’s collabo with Lil’ Jon entitled ‘Roll Call’ on Lil’ Jon’s ‘Crunk Juice’.

Further exploring his foray into the fashion industry, [PHARRELL WILLIAMS] has linked up with Louis Vuitton and their head designer – Marc Jacobs, to design a line of eyewear. Pharrell’s first range of sunglasses were revealed recently during Paris’ Fashion Week.

As rumours of S. Carter Records signing [FOXY BROWN] continue to grow, “Fox Boogie Brown’s” fans are tipping 2005 to be Foxy’s year. Foxy has disclosed that she has already received a US$500,000 advance from S. Carter Records but won’t reveal anything more… Certain sources report that Foxy received half of her advance in cash and went straight out an copped herself a Bentley Continental GT!

[MARIAH CAREY] has been hard at work on her new album for Def Jam and was scheduled to release the new LP at the end of this year but L.A. Reid apparently has other plans… Mariah reportedly turned her new LP in to Reid who was rumoured to have subsequently scrapped the entire project telling Carey that all the tracks, all the songs and all the producers have got to go!

Looks like the beef between former Dogg Pound partners [KURUPT] and [DAZ] hasn’t cooled any as Kurupt recently posted a dis’ with 40 Glocc on the dubcnn.com website… hours later Daz fired back with his own dis’ track taking out the entire Riflemen crew with a joint called ‘Pistol Whipped’. Daz’s dis’ track even broaches the the situation between DJ Quik and Nate Dogg with Petey Pablo. Let’s hope than one day Daz + Kurupt can settle their differences as they were undoubtedly one of the West Coast’s finest duos.

As [50 CENT’s] wealth continues to increase thanks to his music and clothing enterprises he has now diversified and invested a fair chunk of cash into Glaceau who produce Vitamin Water, which 50 apparently drinks in copious amounts since he doesn’t drink alcohol. Glaceau have celebrated 50’s investment with the development of a grape-flavoured variation called ‘Formula 50’ which is already available in U.S. stores. As far as 50’s other entrepreneurial adventures, his G-Unit shoe collection through Reebok is set to release another model – the G-Unit Bomber Boot, which will retail for US$110.00.

[UNDAGROUND SOUNDS]
Latyrx member – Lateef the truthspeaker and Blackalicious’ Chief Xcel have teamed up to form [LATEEF + THE CHIEF] for a collabo album entitled ‘Maroons: Ambush’. ‘Maroons: Ambush’ is only a nine track LP (with one hidden track) but is some of the freshest and jazziest collabos on wax. Xcel’s Blackalicious partner Gift of Gab shares emcee duties on two tracks with Lateef – ‘Best of Me’ and ‘Beautiful You’.

[KRS-ONE] recently admitted at a New Yorker Festival panel discussion that he “cheered when 9/11 happened” and that many other African-Americans shared his sentiments! In a questionable piece of logic KRS went on to explain that security at the World Trade Centre towers had kept African-Americans out of the buildings because of the way they talk and dress and that when the planes hit the WTC he thought to himself – “Hmmm… justice?” adding that the events of 9/11 “doesn’t affect us [the hip-hop community] – 9/11 happened to them, not us”. KRS also took shots at Hip-Hop celebrities who are encouraging young people to vote as he believes that "voting in a corrupt society adds more corruption". The New York Daily News labeled KRS a “Hip-Hop Anarchist” after his tirade at the New Yorker Festival. KRS has defended the comments published by the Daily News as being taken out of context and stating that he was saddened just like anyone else on 9/11. KRS-One has long been a legend of Hip-Hop looked up to by hundreds of thousands of Hip-Hop fans but his recent comments are seriously questionable.

[UTHA STUFF]
The tracklisting for [LIL’ JON & THE EASTSIDE BOYZ’s] second LP - ‘Crunk Juice’, has finally been finalized for its Nov. 16 release. As expected, Lil’ Jon handles the bulk of production himself with the Neptunes and Rick Rubin the only outside producers on ‘Crunk Juice’. ‘Crunk Juice’ will be a twenty track album with a bonus disc of remixes included, the ‘Crunk Juice’ LP will feature guest appearances from; Nas, Ice Cube, Usher, Ludacris, R. Kelly, Snoop Dogg, Nate Dogg, Jazze Pha, E-40, 8Ball + MJG, Pharrell Williams, Chris Rock, Gangsta Boo, Suga Free, Ying Yang Twins, T.I., Bun B, Bo Hagon, Lil’ Scrappy, Trillville, Pimpin' Ken, Oobie and DJ Flexx. ‘Crunk Juice’ will also include a bonus disc including the ‘Lean Back (rmx)’ f/ Lil’ Jon, Eminem and Ma$e.

Ever seeking to increase his claim in the Roc-A-Fella empire, [DAMON DASH] has helped develop a rival to Apple’s iMac called the “Rocbox” through his new Roc Digital company. The RocBox will be released in a 256/512Mb format and larger 20Gb format in mid-Nov, featuring a stack of exclusive tracks from Roc-A-Fella Records.

Word is that the Murda Mamis are beefing within the crew after [GLORIA VELEZ] and [REMY MA] clashed at Jadakiss’ platinum party, with Gloria snatching Remy’s TS piece from her neck and the pair got into a screaming match with the pair even threatening each other’s kids! Apparently HOT97’s DJ Sunny even got into the mix trying to split up the venomous vixens. After the dust had settled it was said that Gloria Velez came out on top!

The 77th Academy Awards go “ghettofabulous” next year when [CHRIS ROCK] takes over hosting duties from Billy Crystal. If anyone saw Chris Rock host the MTV VMA this year they’d realize that Rock hosting the Academy Awards is a BIG gamble as Rock is not shy in ridiculing any of the big name stars in attendance. Chris Rock will host the 77th Academy Awards from L.A. on Feb. 27 2005. Hopefully we’ll see Dave Chappelle unleash his insanity on an awards show sometime soon too!

‘Charlies Angels’, ‘Starsky & Hutch’, ‘Bewitched’, ‘Dukes of Hazzard’ and now [‘MIAMI VICE’]… all these old 80s television series have been or are in the process of being transferred from television to the big screen and in a surprise move, original ‘Miami Vice’ director Michael Mann has enlisted comedian/actor/singer – Jamie Foxx to play “Ricardo Tubbs” and Colin Farrell to play “James (Sonny) Crockett”. The original ‘Miami Vice’ television show ran from 1984-1989 telling the story of two Miami detectives (played by Philip Michael Thomas + Don Johnson) who fought crime whilst wearing pastel suits and driving Ferrari’s and off shore powerboats.

With his career as an emcee not getting him any publicity [BENZINO] has spoken out in support of Michael Jackson against Eminem’s ‘Just Lose It’ music-video. Benzino spoke out against Eminem, stating that Em’s lyrics and actions tear down the culture of Hip-Hop, which was built by artists like Doug E. Fresh, Slick Rick, and Public Enemy… going even further to say Jackson is one of the most important cultural icons of our time. Benzino’s credibility in this situation might be stronger if he didn’t have major beef with Eminem!

This year in Miami for The Source Hip-Hop Awards, The Source co-founder – [BENZINO] was seen around town with “the baddest bitch” – [TRINA]. The pair were apparently rather affectionate around Miami during the awards weekend.

The festival that re-united the Wu-Tang Clan for the first time in years - [ROCK THE BELLS] is set to take place on Nov. 13 with another group to be re-united… Amongst the shows line-up will be; A Tribe Called Quest, Xzibit, Cypress Hill, Jaylib, Little Brother, MC Supernatural, Jurassic 5, and many others.

Stemming from his Jun. incident at NY’s John F. Kennedy international airport where he impersonated a government agent, [DMX] recently faced court in Queens and almost finalized the incident in one hour after his lawyer brokered a deal which would see X plead guilty to a misdemeanor… but Earl Simmons wasn’t having that! X rejected the deal as he reportedly wants to keep his record clean (a bit late now!). The real story behind the Jun. Incident was also disclosed during court poroceedings… apparently DMX and his friend – Jackie Huggins, were running late for a flight at JFK and became agitated after they were delayed by a driver in the carpark – at that point X decided to switch on his illegal emergency vehicle lights and sirens and impersonated government officials upon confronting the driver who delayed their getting to their flight. After the incident with the slow driver X and Huggins then crashed into a toll booth, after which police arrived to discover a billy club and crack cocaine in X’s Ford Expedition.

One half of the legendary Isley Brothers – “Mr. Big” a.k.a. [RONALD ISLEY] was indicted last week on charges of tax evasion. 63 year-old Isley, who suffered a stroke earlier this year, was charged with six counts of tax evasion in relation to failure to report income from royalties and performances along with failure to file an income tax return between 1997 and 2002 – Ron could face a maximum of 26 years in prison if convicted on all counts (but you know that ain’t happening). Isley is scheduled to appear in court early next month to face the charges - must be something in being a soul legend as James Brown was also done for tax evasion a few years back!

Never one to shy away from controversy [PRINCE] is causing drama with the video to his latest single – ‘Cinnamon Girl’. The video features ‘Whale Rider’ star - Keisha Castle-Hughes, portray a teenage Arab-American girl who faces racist taunts a result of backlash from the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. The video to ‘Cinnamon Girl’ ends with Keisha entering a U.S. airport and detonating a bomb in a suicide mission… which is then revealed to be a dream sequence as the entire video then rewinds as it pulled back into Keisha’s imagination. The video to ‘Cinnamon Girl’ is currently only viewable online at www.launch.com or at Prince's NPG Music Club website.

‘Making Da Band II’ cast-member David Elliott a.k.a. [NESS] from Da Band was involved in a shooting incident earlier this month after Kenneth Williams (a supposed collaborator) opened fire on Ness’s 2002 Dodge Caravan in Queens (NY) after the duo apparently got into an argument regarding whether or not Williams would get a spot on Ness’s Bad Boy Records debut. Williams apparently busted out a few shots at Ness and then ducked into his girl’s apartment where he barricaded himself in until police diffused the situation.

The Humane Society of the United States has called out [JAY-Z] after reviewing the music-video to ’99 Problems’, which featured a scene on two Pitbulls fighting. The U.S. Humane Society have called the brief dog fighting scene “an irresponsible tribute to a cruel and illegal practice that represents one of the most serious threats to the safety of our inner city residents”. Jay-Z has yet to comment on the claims.

The artist formerly known as [SWEET T], who became Suga T under a deal with Def Jam Recordings is apparently working on some new music and is looking for distribution of a movie she’s involved with. Another artist on the comeback is [SMOOTH BEE] of Nice-N-Smooth fame, he’s apparently got a joint with M.O.P. which was produced by DJ Premier – sounds like fiyah!

Groundbreaking female Rap duo (trio if you count Spinderella) - [SALT-N-PEPA], have been strangers to the mic for a spell now but neither Salt nor Pepa have been away from the spotlight… The pair are currently developing a sitcom together based loosely on their own lives, which isn’t Salt-N-Pepa’s first foray into the world of sitcoms, in 1994 the pair developed a pilot called ‘On Our Own’ which didn’t get picked up – hopefully this time around the ladies will have better luck. Since Salt-N-Pepa went into hiatus, Salt has became a born-again Christian and hooked up with Kid-n-Play to develop a Gospel stage musical called ‘Rise’, she’s now looking at recording a solo Gospel LP chronicling her life. Pepa meanwhile has landed the occasional acting gig, including a stint on ‘Oz’ as a Correctional Officer (prison guard).

[P. DIDDY] has apparently been wielding the Axe at his Bad Boy Records label – trimming the fat from the label’s roster, including his own manager – Phil Robinson. Robinson will however stay on and act as a consultant to Bad Boy Records. Diddy is also looking at other arms of his empire for streamlining, including the release of other high ranking executives within the Bad Boy Empire.

A little story that leaked out recently tells of how [P. DIDDY] suffers terribly from stage fright… according to reports from the UK, whilst appearing in ‘The Great White Way’ recently Diddy was waiting in the wings one night about to go on stage and lost control of his bodily functions! Diddy actually admitted to actually having diarrhea one night on stage whilst performing ‘A Raisin In The Sun’ on Broadway.

Only a fortnight ago P. Diddy’s former girl and babymama – [MISA HYLTON-BRIM] scored a big payout from Diddy thanks to an increase in her child maintenance payments from Diddy for his son Justin and now Misa has scored another big payout landing a job with Kimora Lee Simmons on her new television show – ‘Life And Style’, as Kimora’s stylist with a US$150,000 a year paycheck.

[EMINEM] and his tour DJ/mixtape machine - [DJ GREEN LANTERN] have recently released a pro-Democratic mixtape in conjunction with the Young Voter Alliance as part of their “Trick or Vote” campaign. The mixtape release is also receiving support from the League Of Hip-Hop Voters, the League Of Pissed Off Voters, Move On Student Action and the National Stonewall Democrats, who have all been working tirelessly to register new voters in the U.S. – even going door to door to enroll new young voters!

America’s musical community appear to be very motivated in voicing their opinion regarding the upcoming U.S. election – particularly with an anti-Bush theme. The latest project to raise awareness against Bush is ‘The S.T.O.P. Movement 2 – Dear Mr. President’, headed up by West Coast producer [FRED WRECK], who has gathered the vocal talents of fellow West Coasters; B-Real (Cypress Hill), Dilated Peoples, Everlast, Alchemist, WC, Mack 10, Defari and their East Coast brethren - Mobb Deep and KRS-One. ‘The S.T.O.P. Movement 2 – Dear Mr. President’ is Fred Wreck’s second anti-Bush joint, with the first episode (‘Down with US’) dropping in May 2003 featuring; Daz, Tray Deee, RBX, Bad Azz, Dilated Peoples and others, who addressed the was in Iraq waged by the U.S. You can hear the seven minute long ‘The S.T.O.P. Movement 2 – Dear Mr. President’ at www.fredwreck.com

As part of A.C.T.’s (America is Coming Together) campaign to register and mobilize voters to support progressive candidates they’ve gathered a string of artists including; Babyface, Mary J. Blige, Ashanti, Missy Elliott, Eve, Monica, Musiq, Brandy, Jamie Foxx, Reverend Run, Wyclef Jean and Russell Simmons to record ['WAKE UP EVERYBODY']. Look out for it soon!

Following up on their (U.S.) nationwide emcee competition, Toyota subsidiary – Scion has started up a their own DJ competition called [“FREE UP YOUR MIX”] which sees DJs from across the U.S. called to submit their best 30 minute mixtape to be judged by a panel featuring; DJ Jazzy Jeff, Pete Rock, Tony Touch, Madlib and Peanut Butter Wolf. The winner of Scion’s “Free Up Your Mix” competition will land the opportunity to mix a Scion mixtape which will have 500,000 copies pressed and distributed across the U.S. On top of the Scion mixtape the winner will score US$2,500 in cash and a stack of DJ equipment. For more info head to www.scion.com/mix

Eminem’s satellite radio station – [SHADE 45], is set to launch on Oct. 28 broadcasting out of NYC on the Sirius network in the U.S. Em’s new enterprise is a co-operative effort from Shady Records, Interscope Records and Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. with the station to broadcast straight Rap with celebrity announcers and no commercial restrictions or filters. Hopefully it wont be too many years before Australia gets satellite radio – apparently the Australian Broadcast Commission is already looking into the viability seriously with aims to fast track the subscriber service.

The woman who accused [KOBE BRYANT] of raping her in Colorado has now revealed that she lied to police about the events following her alleged rape – explaining that she lied because she thought police wouldn’t believe her allegations. The legal case against Bryant was dropped a few months back after his accuser refused to testify, it’s strongly tipped that Kobe’s accuser will now seek civil action against Kobe.

http://www.blackbeat.com.au

http://www.sceneonline.com.au

http://www.grooveon.com.au

ON POINT // Mon. Oct. 11 2004

2004-10-09T16:02:00.000+10:00

[ON TOUR]
“The man” - [GEORGE BENSON], is returning to Australia for a series of live shows all around the country - here’s the remaining dates… THIS THURSDAY (Oct. 14) @ the Gold Coast Convention Centre.

To promote their new Obese Records release – ‘Flowers in the Pavement’, Sydney’s [BLISS'N'ESO] are to BNE. with DJ Izm for shows THIS THURSDAY (Oct. 14) @ Quest nightclub (Gold Coast) and THIS SATURDAY (Oct. 16) @ Mary St. nightclub (BNE.).

Canadian Rap crew [SWOLLEN MEMBERS] are set to head downunder thanks to Hive Creative + DC Shoes to promote their fourth album – ‘Heavy’, with shows planned for mid/late Oct. Mad Child, Prevail, Moka Only + Rob the Viking will play shows in… BNE. – Sat. Oct. 20 (The Rev), ADL. – Fri. Oct. 22 (Traffic), SYD. – Sat. Oct. 23 (Gaelic Club) and MEL. – Sun. Oct. 24 (Prince of Wales). Swollen Members will also play support for Black Eyed Peas at their SYD. shows on Sat. Oct. 16, Sun. Oct. 17 + Mon. Oct. 18 @ the Hordern Pavillion.

Great One Enterprises presents the “Temple Of Hip-Hop Tour” throughout late Oct., featuring Hip-Hop pioneer – [DJ KOOL HERC] on his first Australian tour with special guest DJs; Peril, Blaze, Kool Kutz and Karey Taktchi. Herc will play five shows in Australia… Sun. Oct. 17 – Gaelic Club SYD., Wed. Oct. 20 – Prince of Wales MEL., Thu. Oct. 21 – Tivoli BNE., Fri. Oct. 22 – Heaven ADL. and Sat. Oct. 23 – Monkey Bar PER. For more info on the “Temple Of Hip-Hop Tour” head to www.greatoneenterprises.com

The Frontier Touring Company present… [ALICIA KEYS] live in Australia throughout Oct. The 23 year-old Keys will play MEL. on Fri. Oct. 22 (SOLD OUT!) + 23 @ Palais Theatre, SYD. on Sat. Oct. 23 (NEW SHOW!), Mon. Oct. 25 (SOLD OUT!) + 26 (SELLING FAST) @ Enmore Theatre and BNE. on Sat. Oct. 30 @ the Lyric Theatre. Please notice that the BNE. Alicia Keys has been CHANGED to SATURDAY OCTOBER 30! Q-Tix will exchange tix without any dramas…

For the first time ever [AND 1] will bring their AND 1 Mixtape Tour streetball team to Australia for a national tour, bringing some of the best streetballers (Alimoe, AO, Escalade, Flash, Go Get It, Half Man, Helicopter, High Octane, Hot Sauce, Main Event, Prime Objective, The Professor, Shane, Sik Wit It and “50” – only a select few of the listed will hit Oz in Nov.) to go up against some of Australia’s finest local talent! Tickets available now from Ticketek and Ticketmaster7 for the following dates… BNE. – Wed. Nov. 10 @ BNE. Entertainment Centre, SYD. – Fri. Nov. 12 @ SYD. Entertainment Centre, PER. – Wed. Nov. 17 @ Challenge Stadium and MEL. – Sat. Nov. 20 @ Rod Laver Arena. If you think you’ve got skills to go up againsdt the AND 1 mixtape crew or want more info on the mixtape tour head to www.and1.com.au

Here’s another hot tour hitting Australia… [THE NEXTMEN], [DYNAMITE MC], [STEINSKI] and [DJ SIGNIFY] are set to undertake a national tour downunder with shows on: Thu. Nov. 18 + Fri. Nov. 19 – MEL., Sat. Nov. 20 – SYD., Fri. Nov. 26 – Byron Bay, Sat. Dec. 04 – ADE. And Sun. Dec. 05 – BNE.

One of the original pioneers of “mashed-up remixes” - [DJ Z-TRIP] and the most recent signing to the Quannum label - [LIFESAVAS], are headed to Australia in Dec. for a series of shows around the country… Lifesavas will be dropping joints from their recently released album – ‘Spirit In Stone’ whilst Z-Trip will just be slamming joints together on the 1s and 2s, check them out in the following cities; BNE. – Sat. Dec. 04 (the Rev), Byron Bay – Sun. Dec. 05 (the Great Northern), SYD. – Wed. Dec. 08 (Metro), MEL. – Thu. Dec. 09 (Prince of Wales), ADE. – Fri. Dec. 10 (Traffic) and PER. – Sat. Dec. 11 (Monkey Bar).

With two years having passed since his last national tour, the Bay Area’s underground champion - [SAGE FRANCIS] is set to return for a Dec. tour, hitting… SYD. - Tue. Dec. 07 (the Basement), BNE. – Thu. Dec. 09 (the Rev), Meredith - Sat. Dec. 11 (Meredith Music Festival – Vic.), MEL. – Tue. Dec. 14 (Corner Hotel) and Wed. Dsec. 15 (Manchester Lane – spoken word show).

Thanks to Illusive Entertainment and Frontier Touring… [CYPRESS HILL] are hitting Australia in Dec. for their “Still Smokin’ national tour including shows in; BNE. @ the Arena - Tue. Dec. 07, CAN. @ ANU Bar - Thu. Dec. 09, MEL. @ Festival Hall - Fri. Dec. 10, SYD. @ Hordern Pavillion - Sat. Dec. 10, ADE. @ Thebarton Theatre - Sun. Dec. 12 and PER. @ Metro City - Mon. Dec. 13. Tickets go on sale Wed. Oct. 13… for more info on Cypress Hill’s Australian tour hit up www.illusive.com.au

Bizarre, Kon Artis, Swift, Kuniva + Proof - better known as [D-12], are headed to AUS. in Dec. for a national tour without their main man – Eminem, but backed by a live band. Shows are scheduled for… Dec. 11 – PER. (Robinson Pavillion), Dec. 13 – MEL. (Festival Hall), Dec. 15 - SYD. (Hordern Pavillion) and Dec. 18 - BNE (River Stage) - Tickets are $74.80!

Word is that… Scratch that, [DE LA SOUL] are headed back to Australia to lavish upon us some of the finest Hip-Hop there ever was! An Adelaide show has been confirmed for Dec. 29 at the Old Queen’s Theatre, supported by Terra Firma and the Beat Smugglers - tickets are $50 + b/f. De LA have also recently been confirmed as on the bill for the Falls Festival (Lorne – Vic. + Marion Bay – Tas.), which takes place from Dec. 30 to Jan. 01… No doubt dates for the rest of Australia will be announced soon (I hope)!

The first release of bands for the 2005 [BIG DAY OUT] have been released with rumours confirmed that the Beastie Boys will headline the BDO! Along with the Beasties, Butterfingers and The Streets are representing Hip-Hop but there’s still more line-up announcements to be made so watch out! The 2005 BDO kicks off in Auckland on Fri. Jan. 21 and then heads to Australia for the remainder of shows – Sun. Jan. 23 @ Gold Coast, Wed. Jan. 26 @ SYD., Sun. Jan. 30 @ MEL., Fri. Feb. 04 @ ADE. and Sun. Feb. 06 @ PER. For all the latest on the Big Day Out head to www.bigdayout.com

Crazy fresh dope DJ – [PAUL NICE] is rumoured to be making his first trip to Australia in Dec., let’s hope he makes it north to BNE. for a show as this guy has mad remixes and a decidedly different take on things – should be a very entertaining show!

Especially for Kina, [BRIAN McKINGHT] is rumoured to be heading to Australia accompanied by K-Ci + JoJo for shows in SYD., MEL. + BNE. – but unfortunately the BNE. show will not feature K-Ci + JoJo. Apparently the tour is scheduled for early Dec. and rumoured to be hosted by Mary Street nightclub.

Former Roachford frontman - [ANDREW ROACHFORD] is headed to Australia in Oct. for a national tour to promote his new Jazz/Soul fusion LP – ‘Heart Of The Matter’. More details as they are released…

In mid-Oct [THE PHARCYDE] will be passing us by as part of their “Passing Me By” tour of AUS. and N.Z. Remaining Pharcyde members – Booty Brown and Imani will be joined by a tour DJ, drummer and keyboardist for the tour.

Apparently [BIG BOI] (of OutKast) is headed to Australia for a national tour in the coming months, most probably with Sleepy Brown and some select members of the Dungeon Family to make up for Andre 3000’s obvious absence – as he no longer tours as part of OutKast. By the way… Big Boi does NOT perform ‘Hey Ya!’ so don’t go to hear that one song!

Lookout for a huge upcoming national tour featuring; 1200 Techniques (Nfamas + DJ Peril only), Butterfingers, Maya Jupiter, Koolism and many other Australian acts… What’s more the tour will be [ALL AGES]!

Other Hip-Hop and R&B acts rumoured to be planning tours of Australia include; [XZIBIT], [KANYE WEST] + [TALIB KWELI], [JANET JACKSON], [DILATED PEOPLES], [USHER], [TIMBALAND], [NELLY] + the St. Lunatics, [JAY-Z] (or S. Carter), [REDMAN] + [METHOD MAN], [THA ALKOHOLIKS] and another show you never thought you’d see here in Australia… Keep your eyes and ears peeled as On Point will bring you all the news as to whether or not these shows go ahead.

[QUIKSHOTZ]
Like Young Buck and Lloyd Banks’ debut album releases, [EMINEM’s] new album ‘Encore’, will be released in a standard and limited edition versions when it hits stores on Nov. 16. The limited edition version of ‘Encore’ will be packaged in a special “telescoping” box and feature 25 glossy pics of Marshall Mathers, lyrics for the entire album, an exclusive Eminem photo and an exclusive ringtone (U.S. only). Also set to be included with ‘Encore’ will be a bonus disc full of Eminem tracks that were leaked to the internet over the last year.

G-Unit’s next release from Compton native - [GAME], looks like it will be delayed until Jan. 18 2005 thanks to Eminem. Game’s ‘Ni**a Witta Attitude: Vol.1’ has already seen two single be dropped (‘Westside Story’, ‘Higher’ + ‘This Is How We Do (Fresh 83)’) with other joints dropped on mixtapes to promote the release but Aftermath and Interscope felt Game’s LP release was just to close to Eminem’s ‘Encore’ and may hurt his sales! Most of the details surrounding ‘Ni**a Witta Attitude: Vol.1’ has been on the DL but Game recently revealed that production from the album will come from Just Blaze (2 tracks), Kanye West (2 tracks), Hi-Tek, Denaun Porter and Dr. Dre.

After only a couple of weeks of heat between [GAME] and [YUKMOUTH], the pair have apparently squashed their beef thanks to fellow West Coaster – Speedy a.k.a. Gotti Gotti. Speedy managed to get Game + Yuk to even record a joint together called ‘Incoming Mail’, which will appear on Speedy’s new album – ‘Flight Risk’.

Having been busy playing G.I. Joe for a spell and M.I.A. from recording, [CANIBUS] has been creeping back with spots on DJ Kay Slay mixtapes – most recently Can-I-Bus popped up on a Kay Slay mixtape with a verse over the ‘Lean Back’ beat along with another joint with Royce Da 5’9” and Chino XL. Look out… ‘Bis is back!

Despite his legal dramas in Canada, [JA RULE] is preparing for the Nov. 09 release of his sixth solo LP – ‘R.U.L.E.’. ‘Wonderful’, the lead single featuring R. Kelly and Ashanti is already getting play here in Australia and when ‘R.U.L.E.’ drops we can expect to find guest appearances on the album from; Fat Joe, Jadakiss, Trick Daddy, Ciara, Black Child, Lloyd and Cadillac Tah.

[XZIBIT’s] new album – ‘Weapons of Mass Destruction’ is set for a Dec. 14 release with ‘Hey Now (Mean Muggin')’ to be the album’s first official single off the back of the street single – ‘Mutha, Mutha’.

Eminem’s latest music-video for ‘Just Lose It’ has infuriated [MC HAMMER] as Em ridicules Hammer (and many others – Michael Jackson, Madonna, etc) with an impersonation, inspiring Hammer to record a dis’ track aimed at Slim Shady.

Ruff Ryder [JIN] took out Shells, Jae Millz and Wreckonize in a Fight Klub battle that took place at the Mixshow Power Summit in Puerto Rico, winning US$50,000 and a new Chevrolet Cobalt! Wreckonize was the winner of the MTV/Roc-A-Fella emcee battle but was beaten by Jin in the semi-finals, J Records signing – Shells beat out Jae Millz in the other semi to face Jin in the final and was lyrically dissected by the Chinese-American emcee. Game, Cassidy, Alchemist, Swizz Beats, Cuban Link, Nick Cannon and Kardinal Official along with hundreds of DJs and MCs from around the world were on hand to see Jin take out the battle.

Melbourne’s [DANIEL MERRIWEATHER] has just signed a production deal with NYC record label - Allido Records, which is owned by Mark Ronson and Rich Kleiman. Marriweather is signed to Marlin Records here in Australia and under his deal with Allido the label will work to get a distribution deal for Daniel stateside. Mark Ronson (who is associated to Roc-A-Fella Records) has played Daniel’s material for artists such as Jay-Z and Q-Tip, who have apparently loved Daniel’s work!

Philadelphia based Roc-A-Fella Records artist - [BEANIE SIGEL] has been convicted on gun and drug charges in Philly and will now serve twelve months behind bars with two years probation and must also pay a US$25,000 fine. Sigel’s legal woes don’t end there though… he still has to face court in relation to a n incident where Sigel punched a 53 year-old man in the face along with a re-trial in relation to a shooting incident which saw Sigel shoot a man in the stomach outside a Philly nightclub. Sigel could have faced up to 37 months behind bars but wrote a three page letter to the presiding judge pleading for leniency, which saw his sentence reduced to twelve months – with time already served Sigel could be out by Jul. 2005… Sigel has to report to federal prison within thirty days. Sigel must have known he was going down as he has worked overtime to complete his upcoming album – ‘The B-Coming’, in anticipation of its Dec. release. Sigel also made sure to complete all his scenes in the sequel to ‘State Property’ so the film can be completed in his absence. Beanie Mac has even filmed a couple of music-videos to promote ‘The B-Coming’.

[KRUMBSNATCHA] is finally finishing his second solo LP – ‘Let The Truth Be Told’, with Nottz once again handling things as executive producer with contributions from Scram Jones, Emile, Joey Chavez, Bravo, Sa-Ra, G-Squared, J Clyde, Blick + Ed Roc, Rich 5 and Styx. Guru, Styles P, Ghostface Killah, Famlay, Soloman Childs, Dina Rae, Sa-Ra, Thuggy Dixwell all make guest appearances on ‘Let The Truth Be Told’, which is set for an Oct. 12 release through Golden Eyes Entertainment.

[FABOLOUS] is back with a new album entitled ‘Real Talk’ for release on Nov. 09 through Desert Storm, with the Just Blaze produced ‘Breathe’ the first single from the LP. ‘Real Talk’ features guest spots from; Sean Paul, Pharrell Williams, T.I., Lil' Mo, Charlie Murphy, Thara, Mike Shorey and Young Jeezy.

Keeping things on the lowdown, [JUVENILE] married Shadonna Jones on Sept. 04 in New Orleans, with details of the ceremony only being revealed recently. Members of Juvie’s UTP crew and Brian McKnight were amongst attendees of the ceremony.

A few months back On Point reported on the rumoured signing of [PHAROAHE MONCH] to Eminem’s Shady Records through Denaun Porter’s production company, well it now appears that Shady Records’ interest in the former Rawkus spitter has developed into a full blown bidding war for Monch! Monch is apparently sitting pretty waiting for the numbers to get higher and higher before he signs on the dotted line.

[THE DIPLOMATS] are preparing for the Nov. 23 release of their second group album but not under Roc-A-Fella Records, rather ‘Diplomatic Immunity 2’ will be released through the Diplomats’ deal with KOCH Records. Cam'ron, Jim Jones, Freeky Zeeky, Juelz Santana, J.R. Writer, Hell Rell, 40 Cal and Jha Jha are now preparing for the release of the album’s first official single – ‘S.A.N.T.A.N.A.’, a solo cut from Juelz Santana, foloowing up the mixtape buzz created by ‘Push It’.

Former Def Jam producer Rick Rock has once again come back to the Rap fold with recent work with Jay-Z and has now put together another Rap project with West Coast crew – [FEDERATION] who hail from the Bay Area with their singles ‘Hyphy’ w/ E-40 and ‘Go Dumb’. Doonie Baby, Stres, and Goldie Gold have been lucky enough to have Rick Rock produce the entire album, which also includes guest spots from; Twista, Daz Dillinger, Kinsmoke, Battle Loc and more. ‘Rick Rock presents Federation: The Album’ dropped on Oct. 05 – so look out for it now!

Replacing Justin Timberlake in spots for McDonald’s as part of their ‘I’m Lovin’ It’ campaign, [DESTINY'S CHILD] have apparently been signed to a billion dollar deal (I doubt)!

The 2004 [MTV EUROPE] Video Music Awards are set to take place in Rome on Nov. 18 with OutKast once again leading nomination with five nods, followed by Usher who has garnered four nominations capping off the most successful year of his career… Beyoncé, Black Eyed Peas and Jay-Z are amongst other nominees with three nominations each. Eminem, Usher, the Beastie Boys and Nelly are amongst the scheduled performers for the MTV Europe VMAs.

Sony Music UK have announced the eight finalists in its competition to record with [NAS]; Trebor, TB, Arcane, Lavish, Baby Blue, Yungun, Rising Sun and Lowkey are all one step closer to recording a verse for ‘Thief’s Theme’ to appear on the UK edition of Nas’ upcoming ‘Street’s Disciple’ LP. Sony Music UK received over 2,000 entries for the competition and now it’s down to Nas to choose the final winner who will meet Nas in London to record their verse for ‘Thief’s Theme’ in a couple of weeks. Nas’ ‘Street’s Disciple’ is set for a Nov. 29 release in the UK.

The Williams brothers are loking to expand their music empire beyond their Cash Money Records label with their new [ROUN'TABLE ENTERTAINMENT], which is set to focus on R&B and Pop. The first signing to Roun’table is 18 year-old singer KC. On other Cash Money news… Cash Money’s inhouse producer Mannie Fresh is working on his debut album – ‘The Mind of Mannie Fresh’, which is due on Dec. 07. Cash Money co-CEO – Baby is working on his second solo album, ‘Fast Money’, for release in Feb.

Having settled his legal drams in the U.S. (probation violation), [T.I.] recently headed to Puerto Rico for the Mixshow Power Summit to make some new connection and lay down some new tracks… Already T.I. has landed himself on a new Destiny’s Child track entitled ‘Soldier’ alongside Lil’ Wayne. Look out for the Swizz Beatz produced ‘Bring ‘Em Out’, the first single from T.I.’s new album – ‘Urban Legend’, due on Nov. 30. Upon his return to the U.S., T.I. will begin whittling down his catalogue of 70 tracks recorded for his new album to a final 13 for ‘Urban Legend’, which will feature production from; DJ Toomp, Scott Storch, Daz Dillinger, Jazze Pha, Swizz Beatz and Organized Noize.

Misa Hylton-Brim, the babymama of [P. DIDDY’s] ten year-old son Justin, has won her legal suit to be awarded more money in child support from Diddy - Misa will now receive US$35,000 instead of the former amount of US$2,795 Diddy was paying per month, which Diddy plans to appeal against! The presiding judge rationalized the dramatic raise in child support by disclosing Diddy’s annual income as being no less than US$50 million (a figure Diddy’s legal team disputes as being grossly inflated)! Diddy and his legal team believe that Misa’s increased payments are not child support, rather adult support as they claim the extra money will be used to enhance the lifestyles of Misa (who is currently going theough a divorce) and her three children (of which Diddy is father to only one). Diddy was further ordered to pay US$398,000 to cover past medical and educational costs as well as legal fees for Brim. Brim was apparently inspired to file the suit after hearing that Diddy’s current boo – Kim Porter, receives US$35,000 a month in child support for their son Christian.

[UNDAGROUND SOUNDS]
Phat Stuff are up to episode TEN of their [STRICTLY BATTLE RHYMES] freestyle emcee/beatboxer battles and SBR: 10 is set to take place THIS SUNDAY (Oct. 17) with special guests – Bliss ‘n Eso (backed by DJ Izm), who will drop a special live set in store! There will be heaps of give-aways from Movement Clothing, Shogun Distribution and Damage Clothing, plus mad cuts from DJs Horse, Kaution plus CoXster and Sabre on the m.i.c. The show starts at 2pm (‘til 5pm) - to enter the battle hit up Sabre on (07) 3852 2202 or sabre@phatstuff.com.au

SYD. radio station FBi 94.5fm has compiled a new album of Australian Hip-Hop entitled [‘STOLEN RECORDS’], featuring tracks from; Koolism, 1200 Techniques (f/ Krondon), Hyjack-N-Torcha, Vice Squad (TZU + Good Buddha), Bass Elefant (Urthboy + Ozi Battla), Bliss-N-Eso, Sleek The Elite, Lordz Of The Fly and Macromatics. For more info on ‘Stolen Records’ head to www.fbi.org.au

Whilst judging a freestyle emcee comp at a Bay Area Hip-Hop Summit, Hieroglyphics member [CASUAL] ended up on the receiving end of an eight-man beat down! Apparently an entrant who was knocked out of the competition disagreed with Casual’s opinion and got all up in Casual’s face stating he could rap rings around the Hieroglyphics member. Thing got heated when the kid got all up in Casual’s face as Casual started laying the smack down! The young guy’s crew stepped up and the tables were turned on Casual as he then had to face eight guys by himself!

Toyota’s new U.S. based urban car manufacturer – Scion, has finished up its [NEXTUP] competition with underground Brooklyn rap duo, Junk Science, taking out the comp and scoring themselves a professionally produced music-video and opportunity to tour on Scion’s national Hip-Hop tour of the U.S. Baje One (emcee) + Snafu (DJ) beat out 950 other competitors with over 9,000 votes for their single ‘Roads’.

[UTHA STUFF]
Cali Untouchables member – [DOW JONES] has recently dropped a new mixtape featuring Xzibit’s Strong Arm Steady (Phil The Agony, Will Blast, Krondon, Mitchy Slick + Xzibit) crew entitled ‘The Best of Strong Arm Steady – Gangs of L.A. Vol. 1’, co-hosted by SAS member – Will Blast. ‘The Best of Strong Arm Steady – Gangs of L.A. Vol. 1’ features contributions from; Talib Kweli, Kurupt, 50 Cent, Young Buck, Game, Tash, Phil Da Agony, Planet Asia, Chace Infinite, Self Scientific, Jelly Roll, Flipmode, Chuck Hustle and Mobb Figgaz – plus it’s only US$6.99! Dow Jones and Xzibit are also planning to drop another mixtape entitled ‘Farenheit 11/9 – Armed & Dangerous’ on Nov. 09.

Also from the Cali Untouchable crew… [THEDJSTRONG] has dropped an exclusive Kurupt mixtape entitled ‘WAR Vol. 1’, featuring hot new joints featuring; M.O.P., Mobb Deep, Jayo Felony, Kokane, Eastwood, 40 Glocc, Stacey Adams, Roscoe, Y.A., Bigg Tri (a.k.a. Lil ‘Kurupt), Tristar and Tone amongst others. Kurupt is also working on a new mixtape with the Riflemen and DJ Warrior - ‘WAR Vol. 1’ is available now from www.stronghouserecords.com

[TALIB KWELI’s] latest album – ‘The Beautiful Struggle’ has been receiving mediocre reviews from press due to some bad production choices according to critics. From what has so far has been published it appears that many do not question Talib’s skills on the mic, rather they suggest the beats are not up to par and drag the album back to an average effort rather than a truly outstanding release. Perhaps grab Talib Kweli’s ‘The Beautiful Struggle’ and decide for yourself?

Terror Squad’s Miami based in house production duo – [COOL + DRE], who have also laced joints for Ja Rule, Game, G-Unit and others, have recently signed a production deal with Jive Records worth US$2 million. Jive beat out Shady Records and Def Jam, who were also bidding for Cool + Dre’s services and their Epidemic Records imprint.

Continuing to pursue his dream of playing professional basketball, [MASTER P] has now signed with ABA (American Basketball Association – like our CBA) franchise – Long Beach Jam as point guard. P played with the Las Vegas Rattlers last season and has had a few chances with various NBA teams, making pre-season camps only to be cut before pre-season trials were undertaken. Master P does have skills on the court, don’t be fooled, he gained a full scholarship to the University of Houston after finishing high school but failed to finish university or advance his basketball career thanks to a knee injury.

Golden Eyes Entertainment will issue the debut release from [C. GREEN], who has been described as a young Scarface with his soulful gangsta sound which will be executive produced by Nottz. Expect to hear C. Green’s debut in early 2005.

The U.S.’s Comedy Channel is organizing [‘THE BLOCK PARTY’] featuring G-Unit, DJ Clue, Dead Prez, the Sugarhill Gang, DJ Whoo Kid and others in an effort to promote youth voting. The Hip-Hop/Comedy event is to take place on Oct. 15 in NYC – hopefully the event will be recorded and televised at a later date.

Houston, Texas emcee – [CHAMILLIONAIRE], has recently signed a deal with Universal Records for his Chamillitary record label, which will release Chamillionaire’s major label debut – ‘Controversy Sells’. You can check Chamillionaire out at www.chamillionaire.com

[JENNIFER LOPEZ] is so past her relationship with Ben Affleck that she has requested that MTV and VH1 pull her ‘Jenny From The Block’ music-video as it features her and her former beau in romantic scenes together.

[SHYNE's] most recent album release – ‘Godfather Buried Alive’, has been doing next to nothing as far as sales and according to reports Def Jam is ready to abandon the project! ‘Godfather Buried Alive’ was released on Aug. 10 with considerable media and marketing support and has not even reached Gold status – selling only 354,000 copies. AS far as Def Jam is concerned, Shyne’s ‘Godfather Buried Alive’ has been a financial failure as they dropped US$3 million to sign Shyne and a further US$1 million to record and market the album but only recouped US$1.3 million through sales, with only 15,000 units sold last week Def Jam have had no other option but to abandon further promotion. Shyne apparently stated early on in the album’s development that he wasn’t concerned with slaes as he was merely happy to be relevant and record again.

Award winning UK “femcee” - [MS. DYNAMITE] apparently exploded in a Chinese restaurant when she got into a heated argument with a fellow patron at the restaurant’s entrance on Sept. 17. The 23 year-old Dynamit-ee was to meet her mother at the SoHo (London) restaurant but after getting into an argument with unidentified woman in question she slapped the woman and has only recently (Oct. 01) turned herself in to London Metropolitan Police. Dynamite a.k.a. Niomi McLean-Daley is now out on bail with a hearing scheduled for Nov.

In an effort to further his acting career, [EMINEM] has apparently bought a US$3 million home in Hollywood. Em’s now shares the same ‘hood as Jennifer Aniston + Brad Pitt, Ben Affleck, Halle Berry and Ice-T. Eminem denies that he has bought the home, even ringing in to MTV’s TRL last week to deny the claims on air – but does that really mean anything as Em could be just covering his ass as he has a new album coming out and there’s a chance fans might not support him if they know he’s going to move from music to movies?

Chauncey Dillion, the man who shot and injured Diplomats member [FREEKY ZEEKY] and killed Zeeky’s friend – Eric Mangrum last Apr., has been convicted of second degree murder and assault along with other charges in relation to the attack. Dillion now awaits sentencing on Nov. 05, where he could land as much as a 25 to life stretch – his two accomplices, Herndon Williams and Jon Mingo, currently await trial on lesser murder and assault charges. In an interview held with an incarcerated Zeeky, Zeeky stated that he will financially take care of Mangrum’s daughter. Zeeky is currently in jail serving a three-year term, whilst imprisoned Zeek is working on a new album and a movie which he wrote.

According to reports from the recent MOBO Awards in London, [ANITA BAKER] had refused to accept her Lifetime Achievement Award from presenter Janet Jackson as she felt that Jackson would try to upstage her. Baker was very angered when she realized Jackson was to present her with the award and even threatened to not accept the award but organizers managed to calm the diva down and coax her into going through with the presentation.

Tennis clothing company - Ellese USA Inc., are suing [P. DIDDY] and his Sean John clothing line for copyright/trademark infringement after Ellese discovered a Sean John T-Shirt in Macy’s NYC department store emblazoned with the Ellese logo above the Sean John name. Ellese USA claims that Sean John’s use of the Ellese logo would "cause confusion, mistake or deception as to the source, association, affiliation or sponsorship of the goods being offered". Ellese in seeking that Sean John stop using the Ellese trademark and unspecified damages from P. Diddy.

[JA RULE] will head back to Canada for trial on Mar. 07 2005 in regards to charges of assault causing bodily harm, which stem from a Jun. 05 incident at Toronto’s La Rouge nightclub. Ja’s legal team faced a pretrial hearing last week at which time the tentative Mar. 07 date was set for the beginning of his trial. On a rather hypocritical tip… Ja Rule’s L.I.F.E. (Love Ignites Freedom and Education) Foundation is working to stop killings and violence amongst African-American youth in his old neighbourhood of Queens, NY. The two-year old foundation provides arts, sports, counseling and other activities for kids who have behavior, attendance problems or are underachieving in school.

Tupac Shakur’s younger sister – [SEKYIWA SHAKUR] is making quite a name for herself as an entrepreneur… Sekyiwa is preparing to release her own clothing line called Madame Velli, has her own image consulting firm called LBS Styles, writes a column for Black Elegance magazine and is currently planning a couple of books for publication.

Actor, [ANTHONY ANDERSON] has had the rape charges against him thrown out of court by the presiding judge as the judge deemed the victim’s testimony as “suspicious and bizarre”. Charges against ‘Hustle & Flow’ assistant director Wayne Witherspoon were also dropped. Both Anderson and Witherspoon stood accused of raping an extra in a trailer on set.

http://www.blackbeat.com.au

http://www.grooveon.com.au

http://www.sceneonline.com.au

ON POINT // Mon. Oct. 04 2004

2004-10-04T12:51:00.000+10:00

[ON TOUR]
UK underground cats – [JEHST] are headed to Australia as part of their “Falling Downunder Tour” with special guests Asaviour + DJ IQ. Jehst, Asaviour + DJ IQ will hit… SYD. – Fri. Oct. 01, (Sat. Oct. 02 – AUK), Sun. Oct. 03 – BNE., Wed. Oct. 06 – SYD., Fri. Oct. 08 – MEL. + ADL. – Sat. Oct. 09. Venues to be confirmed – you can check out more on Jehst at… www.ynr-productions.co.uk/jehst.htm

Illusive Entertainment, Channel [V] + Club [V] present ‘The Stand Up Tour’ featuring [SCRIBE] along with some of NZ’s finest Rap talent; DJ P-Money, DJ D-Form, Con-Psy + Forty One (Frontline) and Savage + Mareko (Deceptikonz). Tickets are on sale now for shows in… MEL. – Wed. Sept. 29 @ Prince of Wales, Geelong – Thu. Sept. 30 @ Preston Hotel, SYD. – Fri. Oct. 01 + Sat. Oct. 02 @ Metro, CAN. – Sun. Oct. 03 @ ANU Bar, BNE. – Tue. Oct. 05 + Wed. Oct. 06 @ the Zoo, ADL. – Thu. Oct. 07 @ Adelaide Uni Bar and PER. – Fri. Oct. 08 @ Heat nightclub. For more info head to www.illusive.com.au

Hip-Hop uses its voice on Fri. Oct. 08 to [“SAY NO TO HOWARD”]! The “Say No To Howard” show will take place at the Zoo with a line-up featuring; DJ Katch (Resin Dogs), Miss Brown, The Serenity, Tom Thum Tha Versatile Voicebox, B-Boy Apex Beatbox Spectacular, Skill At Will Breakdance Crew, DJ DCE, DJ Returnagain and others to be announced. Cover will be $10 with profits going to Refugee Advocacy + Support Groups – for more info hit up brisbanehiphop@hotmail.com

Get ready to break ya neck at the [CROOKNECK PARTY] Sat. Oct. 09 at The Rev featuring a huge line-up; Lazy Grey, Celcius, Mnemonic Ascent (Raph/BVA/Ransom), J-Red (Lyrical Commission), A-Love, Ransom (Mnemonic Ascent). $14 pre-sold / $17 @ the door. The Crookneck crew (Mnemonic Ascent, Celsius, A-Love, Dj Ransom, Dj J-Red + Lazy Grey) will also be making a special instore appearance at Rockinghorse Records on Sat. Oct. 09, you can catch them downstairs @ 3pm!

After successful spots on the Big Day Out and independent tours, the [BLACK EYED PEAS] are set to head back downunder for a national tour in Oct. prior to the release of their fourth album – ‘Monkey Business’. Tickets go on sale Mon. Jul .19 for five shows on; Sun. Oct. 10 – BNE. (River Stage), Tue. Oct. 12 – ADL. (Thebarton Theatre), Wed. Oct. 13 – PER. (Robinson Pavillion), Fri. Oct. 15 – MEL. (Rod Laver Arena) and Sat. Oct. 16, Sun. 17 + Mon. 18 – SYD. (Hordern Pavillion).

With New Zealand Rap receiving some serious shine right now (Scribe, Decptikonz, Mareko), [NESIAN MYSTIK] are apparently setting themselves for another Australian tour with a Brisbane show scheduled for Thu. Oct. 14 at Mercury. Word is that Redcliffe R&B act – 315, will support Nesian Mystik. More details soon…

“The man” - [GEORGE BENSON], is returning to Australia for a series of live shows all around the country - here’s the dates… Mon. Oct. 04 – PER. (Burswood Theatre), Fri. Oct. 08 – ADL. (Thebarton Theatre), Mon. Oct. 11 – SYD. (State Theatre) and Thu. Oct. 14 - Gold Coast Convention Centre. I missed George Benson’s live show last time around and really regretted it – make sure you don’t make the same mistake this time around!

To promote their new Obese Records release – ‘Flowers in the Pavement’, Sydney’s [BLISS'N'ESO] are headed out on a national tour. Look out for Bliss’n’Eso with DJ Izm in QLD. on… Thu. Oct. 14 – Quest nightclub (Gold Coast) and Sat. Oct. 16 – Mary St. nightclub (BNE.).

Canadian Rap crew [SWOLLEN MEMBERS] are set to head downunder thanks to Hive Creative + DC Shoes to promote their fourth album – ‘Heavy’, with shows planned for mid/late Oct. Mad Child, Prevail, Moka Only + Rob the Viking will play shows in… BNE. – Sat. Oct. 20 (The Rev), ADL. – Fri. Oct. 22 (Traffic), SYD. – Sat. Oct. 23 (Gaelic Club) and MEL. – Sun. Oct. 24 (Prince of Wales). Swollen Members will also play support for Black Eyed Peas at their SYD. shows on Sat. Oct. 16, Sun. Oct. 17 + Mon. Oct. 18 @ the Hordern Pavillion.

Great One Enterprises presents the “Temple Of Hip-Hop Tour” throughout late Oct., featuring Hip-Hop pioneer – [DJ KOOL HERC] on his first Australian tour with special guest DJs; Peril, Blaze, Kool Kutz and Karey Taktchi. Herc will play five shows in Australia… Sun. Oct. 17 – Gaelic Club SYD., Wed. Oct. 20 – Prince of Wales MEL., Thu. Oct. 21 – Tivoli BNE., Fri. Oct. 22 – Heaven ADL. and Sat. Oct. 23 – Monkey Bar PER. For more info on the “Temple Of Hip-Hop Tour” head to www.greatoneenterprises.com

The Frontier Touring Company present… [ALICIA KEYS] live in Australia throughout Oct. The 23 year-old Keys will play MEL. on Fri. Oct. 22 (SOLD OUT!) + 23 @ Palais Theatre, SYD. on Sat. Oct. 23 (NEW SHOW!), Mon. Oct. 25 (SOLD OUT!) + 26 (SELLING FAST) @ Enmore Theatre and BNE. on Sat. Oct. 30 @ the Lyric Theatre. Please notice that the BNE. Alicia Keys has been CHANGED to SATURDAY OCTOBER 30! Q-Tix will exchange tix without any dramas…

Former “Wake UP Show” DJ - [DJ REVOLUTION] is tipped to be headed back downunder for a tour later this month (Oct.)… more info as it comes to hand.

Former Roachford frontman - [ANDREW ROACHFORD] is headed to Australia in Oct. for a national tour to promote his new Jazz/Soul fusion LP – ‘Heart Of The Matter’. More details as they are released…

In mid-Oct [THE PHARCYDE] will be passing us by as part of their “Passing Me By” tour of AUS. and N.Z. Remaining Pharcyde members – Booty Brown and Imani will be joined by a tour DJ, drummer and keyboardist for the tour which will have details announced soon…

For the first time ever [AND 1] will bring their AND 1 Mixtape Tour streetball team to Australia for a national tour, bringing some of the best streetballers (Alimoe, AO, Escalade, Flash, Go Get It, Half Man, Helicopter, High Octane, Hot Sauce, Main Event, Prime Objective, The Professor, Shane, Sik Wit It and “50” – only a select few of the listed will hit Oz in Nov.) to go up against some of Australia’s finest local talent! Tickets available now from Ticketek and Ticketmaster7 for the following dates… BNE. – Wed. Nov. 10 @ BNE. Entertainment Centre, SYD. – Fri. Nov. 12 @ SYD. Entertainment Centre, PER. – Wed. Nov. 17 @ Challenge Stadium and MEL. – Sat. Nov. 20 @ Rod Laver Arena. If you think you’ve got skills to go up againsdt the AND 1 mixtape crew or want more info on the mixtape tour head to www.and1.com.au

Here’s another hot tour hitting Australia… [THE NEXTMEN], [DYNAMITE MC], [STEINSKI] and [DJ SIGNIFY] are set to undertake a national tour downunder with shows on: Thu. Nov. 18 + Fri. Nov. 19 – MEL., Sat. Nov. 20 – SYD., Fri. Nov. 26 – Byron Bay, Sat. Dec. 04 – ADE. And Sun. Dec. 05 – BNE.

Crazy fresh dope DJ – [PAUL NICE] is rumoured to be making his first trip to Australia in Dec., let’s hope he makes it north to BNE. for a show as this guy has mad remixes and a decidedly different take on things – should be a very entertaining show!

Especially for Kina, [BRIAN McKINGHT] will be heading to Australia accompanied by K-Ci + JoJo for shows in SYD., MEL. + BNE. – but unfortunately the BNE. show will not feature K-Ci + JoJo. Apparently the tour is scheduled for early Dec. and rumoured to be hosted by Mary Street nightclub.

Those “Loco Latinos” - [CYPRESS HILL], are apparently set to play BNE. at Mercury Lounge on Thu. Dec. 09 with the Hill’s DJ/producer - DJ Muggs calling for any aspiring local Hip-Hop crews to contact the promoters as Muggs is looking to sign up some Australian talent to his label. For more info on Cypress Hill’s Australian tour hit up www.illusive.com.au

With two years having passed since his last national tour, the Bay Area’s underground champion - [SAGE FRANCIS] is set to return for a Dec. tour, hitting… SYD. - Tue. Dec. 07 (the Basement), BNE. – Thu. Dec. 09 (the Rev), Meredith - Sat. Dec. 11 (Meredith Music Festival – Vic.), MEL. – Tue. Dec. 14 (Corner Hotel) and Wed. Dsec. 15 (Manchester Lane – spoken word show).

Bizarre, Kon Artis, Swift, Kuniva + Proof - better known as [D-12], are headed to AUS. in Dec. for a national tour without their main man – Eminem, but backed by a live band. Shows are scheduled for… Dec. 11 – PER. (Robinson Pavillion), Dec. 13 – MEL. (Festival Hall), Dec. 15 - SYD. (Hordern Pavillion) and Dec. 18 - BNE (River Stage) - Tickets are $74.80!

Word is that… Scratch that, [DE LA SOUL] are headed back to Australia to lavish upon us some of the finest Hip-Hop there ever was! An Adelaide show has been confirmed for Dec. 29 at the Old Queen’s Theatre, supported by Terra Firma and the Beat Smugglers - tickets are $50 + b/f. De LA have also recently been confirmed as on the bill for the Falls Festival (Lorne – Vic. + Marion Bay – Tas.), which takes place from Dec. 30 to Jan. 01… No doubt dates for the rest of Australia will be announced soon (I hope)!

Apparently [BIG BOI] (of OutKast) is headed to Australia for a national tour in the coming months, most probably with Sleepy Brown and some select members of the Dungeon Family to make up for Andre 3000’s obvious absence – as he no longer tours as part of OutKast. By the way… Big Boi does NOT perform ‘Hey Ya!’ so don’t go to hear that one song!

Lookout for a huge upcoming national tour featuring; 1200 Techniques (Nfamas + DJ Peril only), Butterfingers, Maya Jupiter, Koolism and many other Australian acts… What’s more the tour will be [ALL AGES]!

Other Hip-Hop and R&B acts rumoured to be planning tours of Australia include; [BEASTIE BOYS] + [DILATED PEOPLES] (Big Day Out), [JANET JACKSON], [KANYE WEST] + [TALIB KWELI], [USHER], [TIMBALAND], [NELLY] + the St. Lunatics, [JAY-Z] (or S. Carter), [REDMAN] + [METHOD MAN] and [THA ALKOHOLIKS] – Keep your eyes and ears peeled as On Point will bring you all the news as to whether or not these shows go ahead…

[QUIKSHOTZ]
Native Ryme Syndicate frontman - [C-ROC], suffered a suspected stress related heart-attack recently and was admitted to Royal Adelaide Hospital. C-Roc a.k.a. Cameron Callope wants to continue on NRS’s national tour before heading to the U.S. to record new NRS material with Naughty By Nature – let’s hope C-Roc recovers fully and is all good!

With New Zealand Rap skyrocketing through the roof, Inertia Music Distribution has hooked up with [DAWN RAID ENTERTAINMENT] for a five-year distribution deal that sees the South Auckland independent label get a big foot in the door here in Australia. Dawn Raid has a diverse empire in NZ, with its fingers into clothing, footwear, tour agency, Graphic Design and merchandising on top of being a record label – this move sees Dawn Raid further expand its empire. The first release under the new deal will be Mareko’s ‘White Sunday’ this month.

[USHER] recently appeared on Angie Martinez’s HOT97 radio show last week via phone for a brief interview and revealed that he and Kanye West were toying with the ideoa of doing their own ‘Best Of Both Worlds’ collaboration! Nothing has been confirmed at this time but damn it sounds like a tight concept.

Upcoming Shady/Aftermath recruit - [STAT QUO] from “Hotlanta” is now feeling the heat as Eminem and Dr. Dre have placed big expectations on the young emcee. Since being signed to Shady/Aftermath early this year Stat has been working hard on his official debut, attempting to create “classic and timeless” music along with making numerous mixtape appearances and landing guest spots on albums from Young Buck (‘Straight Outta Cashville’), Alchemist (‘1st Infantry’) and Eminem upcoming solo LP - ‘Encore’. Stat Quo’s own ‘Underground Atlanta’ mixtape series is now up to volume four, which Stat hope to have on the streets by Nov. or Dec. with his solo debut – ‘Statlanta’ set for a release late in the first half of 2005 featuring production from Dr. Dre, Eminem and LT Mo from Stat Quo's crew.

Amidst his recent beef with G-Unit’s Game, former Luniz member [YUKMOUTH] has managed to drop one of the hottest joints at the moment – ‘Wet Dreamz’. On the joint Yuk rhymes about getting some of R&B’s finest ladies in some compromising situations and doesn’t leav out any names! You can catch ‘Wet Dreamz’ on Yuk’s latest LP – ‘United Ghettos of America - Vol. 2’.

The man who retired from the mic - [JAY-Z], has announced that he is working to release a new film entitled ‘Fade To Black’, which documents his departure from the rap game… including his farewell performance at Madison Square Garden in NYC. Shawn Carter narrates the film himself, taking viewers behind the scenes at the show and a inside look at the creation of ‘The Black Album’. ‘Fade To Black’ features performances from Beyonce, Mary J. Blige, Missy Elliott, R. Kelly, Foxy Brown, ?uestlove, Pharrell Williams plus appearances from Damon Dash, Rick Rubin, Slick Rick, P. Diddy and others. ‘Fade To Black’ is scheduled to hit U.S. cinemas on Nov. 05… damn it would be nice to see this film on the bigscreen here in Australia.

Word is that [DR. DRE] has taken his ‘Detox’ project of the shelf and is once again working on the project according to sources within Aftermath Entertainment… more news as soon as I get an update! This rumour has received recent substantiation on Game’s latest single – ‘Higher’, which features the following lyrics… “I could say what muthafuckas want / you thought Dre retired? / left me his 6-4 and his Dayton wires / These niggaz waste a rhyme / Doc got something to say, be quiet / (Dr. Dre speaks) Look out for Detox”.

KOCH Records have released [‘CHRONIC*LES’] this week (Oct. 05), a collection of classic 70s Funk and Soul joints that Dr. Dre has used on his production work for his solo career and work for N.W.A. Featured on ‘Chronic*les’ are joints from Donny Hathaway, Bill Withers, Isaac Hayes, Wilson Pickett, Parliament, Ben E. King and more.

[DJ SICKAMORE] has dropped a unique mixtape entitled ‘Overnight Celebrity: The Street Power 30’, which features Sickamore’s Top 30 emcees from across the U.S. who are yet to land a record deal. Sickamore, who has labeled himself “Your Favorite A&Rs Favorite A&R”, revealed that he found many of the emcees whilst sourcing new talent for Just Blaze’s new label. To hear the hottest new cats on the streets check out DJ Sickamore’s ‘Overnight Celebrity: The Street Power 30’ – available NOW!

[CAM'RON’s] upcoming solo album – ‘Purple Haze’, has been rescheduled for release on Dec. 07 through Diplomats/Roc-A-Fella, with guest spots from Kanye West, Jaheim, Lil' Flip, Twista, and Diplomats - Juelz Santana, Jim Jones and Freekey Zeekey. The first single from Cam’s ‘Purple Haze’ will be a reworking of Cyndi Lauper's ‘Girls Just Wanna Have Fun’. To coincide with the release of ‘Purple Haze’ Cam will release a short film based around the album, which serves to help get across Cam’ron’s vision of ‘Purple Haze’.

During rehearsals for Destiny’s Child’s upcoming promotional tour, [BEYONCÉ] had an accident whilst rehearsing some dance moves in L.A. and tore her hamstring. Destiny’s Child will now have to put their promotional appearances on hold for a week whilst Beyoncé heals. Destiny’s Child will release their new album – ‘Destiny Fulfilled’, on Nov. 16.

Air-headed heiress - [PARIS HILTON] has created some heat recently by letting fly with the “N” word (ni**a) on a recent video that has hit the internet. On the clip Hilton is apparently heard to refer to two young African-American men as “dumb ni**as” after the pair politely spoke with Hilton and asked her to model for their fashion line. Hilton was said to have been cordial with the two men and let the racial slur slip once they turned their backs and walked away. The twelve hour video footage also includes footage of Hilton having sex with former boyfriend Nick Carter in the back of a car and greeting another former boyfriend – Jason Shaw, naked whilst rolling a joint.

With his first film ‘Edison’ in the can awaiting a distributor, [JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE] has landed a role in the new Nick Cassavetes directed film – ‘Alpha Dog’, which will also star Sharon Stone. ‘Alpha Dog’ is a story inspired by the life of a drug-dealer named Jesse James Hollywood, who became the youngest man ever to score a spot on the FBI’s most wanted list – Timberlake has been cast to play Hollywood’s best friend.

With buzz building nationwide for Compton’s own [GUERRILLA BLACK], the young emcee has been drawing fire for his uncanny similarity to the late great Notorious B.I.G. Black not only sounds like B.I.G. but also shares Biggie’s rotund stature and has been forced to address the negative criticism and comparisons… Black recently commented that he initially tried to change his flow and voice with a more motivated and loud flow but after his wife passed away Black decided “that's the way I talk and rap, fuck it. They're either gonna hate it or love it”. Along with fellow Compton native – Game, Black is hoping to bring the West Coast back and change some stereotypes of West Coast Rap. Guerilla Black’s ‘Guerilla City’ was release in the U.S. on Sept. 28 – details soon of a local release date…

With three independent albums under his belt, [CORMEGA] is now looking to re-release his first two LPs with new tracks added into the mix. ‘The Realness’ and ‘The True Meaning’ will be packaged as a “2 for 1” deal and feature ‘Squad Up’ w/ Freeway plus sneak peeks at Cormega’s never released Def Jam debut – ‘The Testamanet’. Purchasers of the new ‘The Realness’/’The True Meaning’ package will also be exclusively able to download Cormega’s collabo with Tupac Shakur – ‘How We Ride’ from www.cormegasite.com. ‘The Realness’/’The True Meaning’ will be available from Oct. 19.

Love is in the air I guess as soon after The Fugees announced their reunion another Rap trio has announced their reformation… Butterfly (Ish), Ladybug Mecca and Doodlebug (Cee Knowledge) a.k.a. [DIGABLE PLANETS] have announced they are once again a unit after ten years apart. The Grammy award winning trio have not mentioned when we can expect to see any new material as of yet, hopefully it won’t be too long.

[CHINGY’s] follow-up solo LP – ‘Powerballin’, has had its release date moved up to Nov. 16 thanks to a guest list so big it just couldn’t wait… R. Kelly, Janet Jackson, David Banner, Nate Dogg, Lil' Wayne, Bun B (UGK), Ziggy and Chingy’s own G.I.B. (Get IT Boyz) crew all make guest appearances on “Ching-A-Ling’s” second solo effort. ‘Balla Baby’ is the first single from ‘Powerballin’ and is already doing big business on U.S. radio/music television. ‘Powerballin’ will also feature a 30 minute DVD documentary includuing a remix of ‘Balla Baby’ w/ Lil’ Flip and Boozie (G.I.B.), ’What Up Wit It’ w/ G.I.B. and ’Don't Really Care’

Having signed to Roc-A-Fella Records, [N.O.R.E.] is now working hard on his new solo LP – ‘Norminacle’, which sees Noreaga experiment with the style known as “Raggaeton”. ‘Norminacle’ is slated for a Nov. 16 release with the first single - ‘Oye Mi Canto’ f/ Nina Sky, Daddy Yankee and Gem Star already getting play. I wonder how M.O.P. feel about N.O.R.E. getting his album dropped before their Roc-A-Fella debut?

[LUDACRIS] has a new album set to drop – ‘Red Light District’ will feature guest spots from DJ Quik, DMX, Nate Dogg, Trick Daddy and Luda’s DTP crew (minus Chingy). Ludacris’s ‘Red Light District’ is due on Nov. 23.

‘Weapons of Mass Destruction’, the new album from [XZIBIT] has had its release delayed until Dec. 14 despite several of “Mr. X to tha Z’s” album cuts already hitting the internet. The reason for the delay is apparently to avoid the glut of releases scheduled for mid-Nov., for more information on ‘Weapons of Mass Destruction’ head to www.xzibit.net

As per a previous report in On Point, legendary Houston Rap trio - [GETO BOYS] (Scarface, Willie D + Bushwic Bill), have reunited and will release a new album on Dec. 07 through Rap-A-Lot Records entitled ‘War + Peace’.

Former Terror Squad member [CUBAN LINK] is set to drop his new solo album – ‘Chain Reaction’, through M.O.B. Records and to promote the release Link and M.O.B. took the extravagant measure of flying fifty music journalists to Puerto Rico to preview ‘Chain Reaction’ prior to its Feb. 2005 release. The fifty writers invited on the junket where put up in private suites at Hotel Paradisus, all you can eat buffets, unlimited alcohol and a tour of the Bacardi factory. Whilst in Puerto Rico the journalists were also able to hear all fifteen tracks from ‘Chain Reaction’ plus experience live performances from Cuban Link w/ Mya (‘Sugar Daddy’) and Cuban Link w/ Syleena Johnson – Syleena also performed ‘Hypnotic’, the first single from her new album. Cuban Link’s ‘Chain Reaction’ features guest appearances from; Jadakiss, Mya, Game, Syleena Johnson, Avant, Peedi Crakk, Triple Seis, Cap One, One Solo, Figgaraw and Big Punisher’s son - Baby Pun.

‘Things Of That Nature’, the new album from [FAT JOE] has been pushed back from its Nov. 30 release date to a new release date in early Feb. next year thanks to a joint decision by Fat Joe and Atlantic Records. Joe and Atlantic feel that releasing ‘Things Of That Nature’ so close to the Terror Squad LP would harm sales of the TS group album as the second single from TS – ‘Take Me Home’, is expected to be another hit off the back of ‘Lean Back’. With the new Feb. 2005 release date for ‘Things Of That Nature’ Joe has now been able to add a further three tracks to his new album, including the ‘Lean Back (rmx)’ f/ Eminem, Ma$e and Lil’ Jon.

[JON B], who has signed with Matthew Knowles’ Sancuary Urban Records Group will drop a new solo album this week (Oct. 05) entitled ‘Stronger Everyday’ – make sure to check out Jon’s new joint as he is one soulful R&B cat who has been sadly overlooked for too long!

A “Welcome Back” concert was scheduled for last weekend to celebrate [MA$E’s] return to the mic but the laid back emcee was nowhere to be seen – instead his former childhood friend and recent rival, Cam’ron filled in with his Diplomats crew. Ma$e’s excuse for missing his own show was that he was spending time with his wife (Twyla Betha) and newborn son. Apparently Ma$e’s son was born two weeks ago, at which point he cancelled several shows including the “Welcome Back” show at Long Island’s Nassau Colliseum but promoters failed to notify fans until the day of the concert. Elephant Man, Fat Joe, Mobb Deep, Ja Rule and Lil’ Flip all went on to put together a tight show despite the scarce crowd, as many left after being informed of Ma$e’s absence. Killer Cam didn’t miss an opportunity to dis’ his old partner in rhyme - "the reverend ain't here but it's aight we here". Rumours have now surfaced that Ma$e has once again retired from Rap due to the birth of his son, Ma$e has apparently failed to appear for other live and promotional appearances further fueling the rumours. Ma$e apparently was paid 100% of his performance fee for the “Welcome Back” show upfront and has only returned US$26,000 of his US$45,000 fee – the show promoters are now considering legal action to recoup lost ticket sales.

Soul Assassins crew member and tattooist to numerous Hip-Hop celebrities - [MISTER CARTOON], has landed a deal with Nike to release his own sneakers! Cartoon has inked numerous famous bodies, such as Eminem, 50 Cent, Redman, Method Man, Xzibit, Jay-Z, Beyonce and many others, runs his own clothing line (Joker Brand) and will now design three custom Nike Cortez’s and three Nike Air Force One’s. Mister Cartoon’s exclusive Nike Air Force One’s and Cortez’s will be available (US) from Nov., for more info on Cartoon head to www.mistercartoon.com

According to sources, [FOXY BROWN] has signed with Jay-Z’s new S. Carter Records but the deal has not been officially announced as Jigga is yet to confirm a distribution deal for his label – big money is that Jayhovah will hook up with former Def Jam boss- Lyor Cohen over at the Warner Music Group. Jay-Z cannot seal the deal for his S. Carter Records until the deal to sell Roc-A-Fella Records is finalized, word is that L.A. Reid has now made it public that he wishes Def Jam to purchase the ROC from partners – Damon Dash, Kareem Biggs and Jay-Z, but the trio aren’t too impressed with the offer Reid made (approx. US$20 million). As soon as the Roc-A-Fella Records deal is secured by Def Jam it is tipped that Jay-Z and Cohen will announce the formation of S. Carter Records under the WMG umbrella.

Last week On Point featured an item regarding Method Man’s dissatisfaction with his treatment at Def Jam Recordings, well word is that [REDMAN] also shares his best buddy’s point of view and is actually holding out from recording a new album for Def Jam until the situation changes to his satisfaction. On Redman’s latest mixtape – ‘Ill At Will’, Redman took a few shots at Def Jam voicing his opinion on the situation.

[UNDAGROUND SOUNDS]
After Rob Swift’s tantrum last week it was first thought he had disbanded the [X-ECUTIONERS] turntablist crew but in fact Rob has left the group to pursue other interests, leaving Total Eclipse and Roc Raida to carry on the X-ecutioners name with new members DJ Precision and DJ Boogie Blind stepping in to make the crew once again a foursome (as original member – Mista Sinista left the crew in 2003). No word as to whether the new quartet will reschedule the recently cancelled Australian ‘Scratch’ tour which was due this month…

Little Brother member - Phonte and Dutch producer – Nicolay, better known as [FOREIGN EXCHANGE], have only just released their debut album – ‘Connected’ and are already talking about a new project together with vocalist Darien Brockington. Brockington featured on Foreign Exchange’s album cut – ‘Come Around’ and a joint on Pete Rock’s ‘Soul Survivor II’, along with happening to have gone to high school with Phonte.

Phat Stuff are up to episode TEN of their [STRICTLY BATTLE RHYMES] freestyle emcee/beatboxer battles and SBR: 10 is set to take place on Oct. 17 with special guests – Bliss ‘n Eso (backed by DJ Izm), who will drop a special live set in store! There will be heaps of give-aways from Movement Clothing, Shogun Distribution and Damage Clothing, plus mad cuts from DJs Horse, Kaution plus CoXster and Sabre on the m.i.c. The show starts at 2pm (‘til 5pm) - to enter the battle hit up Sabre on (07) 3852 2202 or sabre@phatstuff.com.au

[UTHA STUFF]
The UK’s [MOBO AWARDS] took place last week (Sept. 30) with Jamelia and Kanye West cleaning up on the night (three awards each). Dizzee Rascal shared Act of The Year with Jamelia whilst Usher took out Best R&B Act, Anita Baker was honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award, Sean Paul won for Best Reggae Act, Estelle was chosen as Best UK Newcomer, Jamie Cullum was chosen as the Best Jazz Act and Mario Winan’s ‘I Don’t Wanna Know’ was chosen as Best Ringtone! Pharrell Williams bailed on hosting duties by the way after he heard about the dismal turnout expected for the awards ceremony in London – Pharrell’s decision to drop-out also prompted last minute replacement host, Naomi Campbell, to bail on the show! Mos Def ended up hosting the night solo.

After Elephant Man and Vybz Kartel were stripped of their MOBO Awards nominations recently due to protests against their homophobic lyrics now fellow DanceHall artist - [CAPLETON] has landed in hot water over his homophobic lyrics and has had his Oct. 04 show at the L.A. House of Blues and Oct. 11 show at the New Orleans House of Blues cancelled - another show Capleton had scheduled for this week in San Francisco has also been cancelled. Capleton’s lyrics have seen him propose homosexuals be hanged, drowned, burned or shot – hence the protests…

Nominees for the 2004 [SHORTLIST MUSIC PRIZE] have been whittled down to the final fifteen, whom will appear on ‘MTV2 presents: 2004 Shortlist Music Prize Nominees’ – a compilation featuring tracks from all fifteen nominees, which include Ghostface Killah and UK Rap acts Dizzee Rascal and the Streets amongst the other nominees. ‘MTV2 presents: 2004 Shortlist Music Prize Nominees’ will drop on Nov. 02 with the winner of this year’s Shortlist Music Prize announced on Nov. 15.

Supa-dupa music-video director - [HYPE WILLIAMS] has been on a break from making music videos for a spell to concentrate on videogames and feature films but has now returned with new music videos for Ja Rule, Ashanti and New Edition, plus a big movie project... Williams was approached by producer Joel Silver to helm the remake of the classic 1972 “Blaxpoitation” film – ‘SupaFly’, which is set to begin production at the end of this year. Williams is also working on a 60 second animated music video for ‘The Urbz: Sims In The City’.

Think you’ve got skills? Then [‘GET ON DA MIC’] and drop rhymes from classic and current joints such as; Kanye West (‘Jesus Walks’ + ‘Through The Wire’), Missy Elliott (‘Get Your Freak On’, ‘Pass That Dutch’, ‘Hot Boys’ + ‘Work It’), Tupac Shakur (‘California Love (rmx)’, ‘Dear Mama’ + ‘Still Ballin’), Dr. Dre (‘Nothing But A G Thang’, ‘Dre Day’ + ‘The Next Episode’), Snoop Dogg (‘Gin and Juice’ + ‘Beautiful’), DMX (‘Ruff Ryder Anthem’ +’X Gon’ Give It To Ya’), Sir Mix-A-Lot (‘Baby Got Back’ + ‘Posse on Broadway’), M.O.P. f/ Busta Rhymes (‘Ante Up (rmx)’), Black Rob (‘Whoa’), Black Eyed Peas (‘Hey Mama’), J-Kwon (‘Tipsy’) and stacks of other joints from Notorious B.I.G., Talib Kweli, Sugar Hill Gang, Digital Underground, Public Enemy, Pete Rock + CL Smooth, Salt-N-Pepa, Dizzee Rascal, Joe Budden, Sean Paul, Lil’ Kim, Murphy Lee, Panjabi MC, Beanie Man, Clipse, Lil' Flip and Ying Yang Twins through your PS2, X-Box or Nintendo GameCube. ‘Get On Da Mic’ is the first karaoke style rap game for consoles and features 40 tracks, pitting emcee against emcee as you try to accumulate the most cash to build your own Rap empire through emcee battles. ‘Get On Da Mic’ even features eight customizable characters and sees your chosen character able to spend his cash money on building the dopest crib, get the maddest whip and sport the flashiest bling bling! ‘Get On Da Mic’ from Eidos is set for U.S. release on Oct. 05 for PS2 and on X-Box/GameCube early in 2005.

[50 CENT] is on the scary end of a US$21 million lawsuit filed by New York Post photographer – James Alcorn. Alcorn claims that in Aug. 2003 50 purchased an US$18,000 watch from NYC’s diamond district and when 50 was leaving the store Alcorn was there to snap a few shots of 50 with his new watch, when 50 spotted Alcorn he sicced his seven man security detail on Alcorn. Since the bodyguards were in 50’s employ 50 may be found responsible of Alcorn’s “severe and serious injuries" and "mental shock, and psychological trauma".

[TONI BRAXTON] is in the process of developing a sitcom with the WB network for FOX television - the show will be loosely based around Braxton’s own life with her playing a version of herself. The show is currently in its developmental stage and yet to be given a starting date.

After a moment away from the top of the charts to enjoy his new marriage to Joy Enriquez - Rodney [DARKCHILD] Jerkins is back with some hot new joints… Destiny’s Child’s new single ‘Lose My Breath’ and Kierra “KiKi” Sheard’s Gospel hit – ‘You Don’t Know’. DarkChild will also contribute his production skills to Lindsey Lohan’s upcoming debut album, new material for Jennifer Lopez, (American Idol winner) Fantasia Barrio, Tyra Banks, B5 + Cheri Dennis (from Bad Boy Records), Cory Gunz, Asia Lee and his wife - Joy Enriquez. DarkChild is also in the process of recording his own instrumental album, to be entitled ‘Versatility’ for release early next year and heading to London to write new material for Whitney Houston with English songwriter – Cathy Dennis.

Word is that [BOBBY BROWN] and [WHITNEY HOUSTON] are co-writing a book on how to have a successful marriage… mmm, should be interesting? I wonder when Britney Spears’s book on how to have a successful marriage hits shelves?

Damon Dash seems determined to submarine [MEMPHIS BLEEK’s] career, Bleek has had his new album scheduled for release on Dec. 07, around the same time as Eminem, Xzibit, Snoop, Ludacris, Jay-Z and R Kelly (‘Best Of Both Worlds’) are set to drop their albums. ‘3, 4, 5’ is rumoured to be Memphis Bleek’s last stand and will not be entirely produced by 9th Wonder as previously rumoured, 9th Wonder will only handle two joints on Bleek’s new album.

Linda Williams, the former girlfriend and mother of [DAMON DASH’s] son has filed a complaint against Dash last week claiming that Dash assaulted her went she arrived to pick up their son from Dash’s custody. Dash has sole custody of his sone but Ms. Williams has visitation rights to their 12 year-old son but when Williams arrived Dash refused to allow his son to leave and Williams claimed she was then knocked to the ground by one of Dash’s bodyguards, who then took the boy to a waiting limousine. No charges have been laid against Dash at this point but NYPD investigators are looking into the complaint as Williams fights for custody of her son.

Gloria [“GLORY”] Velez recently appeared on DJ Envy’s HOT97 radio show with Terror Squad member - Tony Sunshine and spoke on her rumoured relationship with Joe Budden… Velez put Buddens on blast stating he’s only a boy and she’s looking for a man! She admitted going on a few dates with Buddens but made it very clear that she is definitely single. Velez barely spoke about her career aspirations on the mic and when Envy gave her the opportunity to freestyl she took too long to get started and Envy had to drop a track to cover the dead air – way to get your career off the ground “Glory”, stick to being “eye candy”.

[JERMAINE DUPRI] is looking to follow P. Diddy’s lead and parlay his musical successes into culinary success with the launch of Def Café in Atalnta. The proposed Def Café will be an upscale 24-hour eatery serving healthy eats. Along with Def Café, JD plans to produce ‘SoSo Def TV’ – an urban version of ‘Lifestyles of the Rich & Famous’ (or MTV’s ‘Cribs’) and a line of action figures based on SoSo Def artists; Da Brat, BoneCrusher, himself and the SoSo Def “Afro Man” logo.

Diplomats member [FREEKY ZEEKY] was recently called to give evidence in the trial against Chauncy Dillion – the man who killed Freeky’s friend Eric Manum and attempted to rob Freeky after shooting him in a carjacking gone wrong. Zeeky and Magnum were on their way to a club in Manhattan when they were rammed from behind whilst stopped at a traffic light, Zeeky and Magnum got out of the car to check the damage and that’s when Chauncey and three other men confronted the duo for Zeeky’s diamond and gold chain. Freeky Zeeky is apparently currently incarcerated on an unrelated charge.

http://www.blackbeat.com.au

http://www.sceneonline.com.au

http://www.grooveon.com.au

ON POINT // Sun. Sept. 26 2004

2004-09-26T15:19:00.000+10:00

[ON TOUR]
DUME Entertainment, Showtime Entertainment and Mary Street nightclub present [BUSTA RHYMES] and the Flipmode Squad LIVE in Brisbane on THIS FRIDAY art Mary Street nightclub! Bussa Bus will be backed with support from Brisbane’s own JNR, Dirty Mob and DJs Big Boyd + Toopz with host – Big Sire w/ DJ Demo (SYD.). Pre-sold tickets are $35 (+b/f) and only a few remain at Central Station Records, Rockinghorse Records, Phat Stuff, Sunflower Records and Mary Street.

The [X-ECUTIONERS’] “Scratch 2004 Tour” has been cancelled due to Rob Swift throwing a tantrum and dissolving the turntablism trio… The last tour by the X-ecutioners was cancelled when Mista Sinista left the group, this time Swift has just canned the whole crew! Tickets will be refunded at point of purchase.

UK underground cats – [JEHST] are headed to Australia as part of their “Falling Downunder Tour” with special guests Asaviour + DJ IQ. Jehst, Asaviour + DJ IQ will hit… SYD. – Fri. Oct. 01, (Sat. Oct. 02 – AUK), Sun. Oct. 03 – BNE., Wed. Oct. 06 – SYD., Fri. Oct. 08 – MEL. + ADL. – Sat. Oct. 09. Venues to be confirmed – you can check out more on Jehst at… www.ynr-productions.co.uk/jehst.htm

Illusive Entertainment, Channel [V] + Club [V] present ‘The Stand Up Tour’ featuring [SCRIBE] along with some of NZ’s finest Rap talent; DJ P-Money, DJ D-Form, Con-Psy + Forty One (Frontline) and Savage + Mareko (Deceptikonz). Tickets are on sale now for shows in… MEL. – Wed. Sept. 29 @ Prince of Wales, Geelong – Thu. Sept. 30 @ Preston Hotel, SYD. – Fri. Oct. 01 + Sat. Oct. 02 @ Metro, CAN. – Sun. Oct. 03 @ ANU Bar, BNE. – Tue. Oct. 05 + Wed. Oct. 06 @ the Zoo, ADL. – Thu. Oct. 07 @ Adelaide Uni Bar and PER. – Fri. Oct. 08 @ Heat nightclub. For more info head to www.illusive.com.au

Hip-Hop uses its voice on Fri. Oct. 08 to [“SAY NO TO HOWARD”]! The “Say No To Howard” show will take place at the Zoo with a line-up featuring; Miss Brown, The Serenity, Tom Thum Tha Versatile Voicebox, Skill At Will Breakdance Crew, DJ Returnagain and others to be announced. Cover will be $10 with profits going to Refugee Advocacy + Support Groups – for more info hit up brisbanehiphop@hotmail.com

Get ready to break ya neck at the [CROOKNECK PARTY] Sat. Oct. 09 at The Rev featuring a huge line-up; Lazy Grey, Celcius, Mnemonic Ascent (Raph/BVA/Ransom), J-Red (Lyrical Commission), A-Love, Ransom (Mnemonic Ascent). $14 pre-sold / $17 @ the door.

After successful spots on the Big Day Out and independent tours, the [BLACK EYED PEAS] are set to head back downunder for a national tour in Oct. prior to the release of their fourth album – ‘Monkey Business’. Tickets go on sale Mon. Jul .19 for five shows on; Sun. Oct. 10 – BNE. (River Stage), Tue. Oct. 12 – ADL. (Thebarton Theatre), Wed. Oct. 13 – PER. (Robinson Pavillion), Fri. Oct. 15 – MEL. (Rod Laver Arena) and Sat. Oct. 16, Sun. 17 + Mon. 18 – SYD. (Hordern Pavillion).

With New Zealand Rap receiving some serious shine right now (Scribe, Decptikonz, Mareko), [NESIAN MYSTIK] are apparently setting themselves for another Australian tour with a Brisbane show scheduled for Thu. Oct. 14 at Mercury. Word is that Redcliffe R&B act – 315, will support Nesian Mystik. More details soon…

“The man” - [GEORGE BENSON], is returning to Australia for a series of live shows all around the country - here’s the dates… Mon. Oct. 04 – PER. (Burswood Theatre), Fri. Oct. 08 – ADL. (Thebarton Theatre), Mon. Oct. 11 – SYD. (State Theatre) and Thu. Oct. 14 - Gold Coast Convention Centre. I missed George Benson’s live show last time around and really regretted it – make sure you don’t make the same mistake this time around!

To promote their new Obese Records release – ‘Flowers in the Pavement’, Sydney’s [BLISS'N'ESO] are headed out on a national tour. Look out for Bliss’n’Eso with DJ Izm in QLD. on… Thu. Oct. 14 – Quest nightclub (Gold Coast) and Sat. Oct. 16 – Mary St. nightclub (BNE.).

Canadian Rap crew [SWOLLEN MEMBERS] are set to head downunder thanks to Hive Creative + DC Shoes to promote their fourth album – ‘Heavy’, with shows planned for mid/late Oct. Mad Child, Prevail, Moka Only + Rob the Viking will play shows in… BNE. – Sat. Oct. 20 (The Rev), ADL. – Fri. Oct. 22 (Traffic), SYD. – Sat. Oct. 23 (Gaelic Club) and MEL. – Sun. Oct. 24 (Prince of Wales). Swollen Members will also play support for Black Eyed Peas at their SYD. shows on Sat. Oct. 16, Sun. Oct. 17 + Mon. Oct. 18 @ the Hordern Pavillion.

The legendary [DJ KOOL HERC] is set to visit Australia in late Oct. for shows in MEL. and SYD. so far confirmed… On top of his live performances Herc will also participate in seminars featuring Q&A sessions. More info to come.

The Frontier Touring Company present… [ALICIA KEYS] live in Australia throughout Oct. The 23 year-old Keys will play MEL. on Fri. Oct. 22 (SOLD OUT!) + 23 @ Palais Theatre, SYD. on Sat. Oct. 23 (NEW SHOW!), Mon. Oct. 25 (SOLD OUT!) + 26 (SELLING FAST) @ Enmore Theatre and BNE. on Sat. Oct. 30 @ the Lyric Theatre. Please notice that the BNE. Alicia Keys has been CHANGED to SATURDAY OCTOBER 30! Q-Tix will exchange tix without any dramas…

For the first time ever [AND 1] will bring their AND 1 Mixtape Tour streetball team to Australia for a national tour, bringing some of the best streetballers (Alimoe, AO, Escalade, Flash, Go Get It, Half Man, Helicopter, High Octane, Hot Sauce, Main Event, Prime Objective, The Professor, Shane, Sik Wit It and “50” – only a select few of the listed will hit Oz in Nov.) to go up against some of Australia’s finest local talent! Tickets available now from Ticketek and Ticketmaster7 for the following dates… BNE. – Wed. Nov. 10 @ BNE. Entertainment Centre, SYD. – Fri. Nov. 12 @ SYD. Entertainment Centre, PER. – Wed. Nov. 17 @ Challenge Stadium and MEL. – Sat. Nov. 20 @ Rod Laver Arena. If you think you’ve got skills to go up againsdt the AND 1 mixtape crew or want more info on the mixtape tour head to www.and1.com.au

Bizarre, Kon Artis, Swift, Kuniva + Proof - better known as [D-12], are headed to AUS. in Dec. for a national tour without their main man – Eminem, but backed by a live band. Shows are scheduled for… Dec. 11 – PER. (Robinson Pavillion), Dec. 13 – MEL. (Festival Hall), Dec. 15 - SYD. (Hordern Pavillion) and Dec. 18 - BNE (River Stage) - Tickets are $74.80!

Former Roachford frontman - [ANDREW ROACHFORD] is headed to Australia in Oct. for a national tour to promote his new Jazz/Soul fusion LP – ‘Heart Of The Matter’. More details as they are released…

In mid-Oct [THE PHARCYDE] will be passing us by as part of their “Passing Me By” tour of AUS. and N.Z. Remaining Pharcyde members – Booty Brown and Imani will be joined by a tour DJ, drummer and keyboardist for the tour which will have details announced soon…

With two years having passed since his last national tour, the Bay Area’s underground champion - [SAGE FRANCIS] is set to return for a Dec. tour, hitting… SYD. - Tue. Dec. 07 (the Basement), BNE. – Thu. Dec. 09 (the Rev), Meredith - Sat. Dec. 11 (Meredith Music Festival – Vic.), MEL. – Tue. Dec. 14 (Corner Hotel) and Wed. Dsec. 15 (Manchester Lane – spoken word show).

Especially for Kina, [BRIAN MCKINGHT] will be heading to Australia accompanied by K-Ci + JoJo for shows in SYD., MEL. + BNE. – but unfortunately the BNE. show will not feature K-Ci + JoJo. Apparently the tour is scheduled for early Dec. and rumoured to be hosted by Mary Street nightclub.

Word is that… Scratch that, [DE LA SOUL] are headed back to Australia to lavish upon us some of the finest Hip-Hop there ever was! An Adelaide show has been confirmed for Dec. 29 at the Old Queen’s Theatre, supported by Terra Firma and the Beat Smugglers - tickets are $50 + b/f. De LA have also recently been confirmed as on the bill for the Falls Festival (Lorne – Vic. + Marion Bay – Tas.), which takes place from Dec. 30 to Jan. 01… No doubt dates for the rest of Australia will be announced soon (I hope)!

Apparently [BIG BOI] (of OutKast) is headed to Australia for a national tour in the coming months, most probably with Sleepy Brown and some select members of the Dungeon Family to make up for Andre 3000’s obvious absence – as he no longer tours as part of OutKast. By the way… Big Boi does NOT perform ‘Hey Ya!’ so don’t go to hear that one song!

Lookout for a huge upcoming national tour featuring; 1200 Techniques (Nfamas + DJ Peril only), Butterfingers, Maya Jupiter, Koolism and many other Australian acts… What’s more the tour will be [ALL AGES]!

Other Hip-Hop and R&B acts rumoured to be planning tours of Australia include; [BEASTIE BOYS] + [DILATED PEOPLES] (Big Day Out), [JANET JACKSON], [KANYE WEST] + [TALIB KWELI], [USHER], [TIMBALAND], [NELLY] + the St. Lunatics, [JAY-Z] (or S. Carter), [REDMAN] + [METHOD MAN] and [THA ALKOHOLIKS] – Keep your eyes and ears peeled as On Point will bring you all the news as to whether or not these shows go ahead…

[QUIKSHOTZ]
With a US$3 million out of his own pocket, [DAVE CHAPPELLE] rocked Brooklyn’s Fort Greene neigbourhood last week with a throwback Block Party like none other… Chappelle must have called in some big favours as the bill for the Block Party featured; Common, the Roots (who were joined by Kool G Rap + Big Daddy Kane), Talib Kweli, Mos Def, Kanye West, Jill Scott, Bilal, Boot Camp Click, Freeway, Dead Prez and a reunited Fugees! Lauryn Hill and Wyclef Jean were scheduled to perform at the Block Party as solo acts but partygoers were shocked when Ms. Hill joined ‘Clef onstage during his set and then Pras completed the trio before they dropping Fugee classics like ‘Fu-gee-la’, ‘Ready or Not’ and ‘Killing Me Softly (with his song)’ along with Lauryn’s Wyclef dis’ ‘Lost Ones’, which ‘Clef took in good humour. Common and Erykah Badu collaborated for renditions of ‘The Light’ and ‘Love of My Life’, whilst Kanye West was backed by the Roots for his performance. Chappelle kept the entire show moving with his unique brand of insane humour and luckily for us here in Australia the entire party was captured on film by director Michel Gondry, who will edit the event down to a DVD documentary for release next year!

With his career on the slide thanks to dismal live performances and numerous tantrums [50 CENT] has now landed himself the opportunity to follow in Eminem’s footsteps with MTV Films and Paramount Pictures signing on to produce ‘Locked & Loaded’, a semi-biographical look at 50’s rise from the streets to multi-platinum selling Rap artist. Like Eminem’s semi-biographical ‘8 Mile’, ‘Locked & Loaded’ will be headed up by Paul Rosenberg (Em’s manager) and Jimmy Iovine (Interscope/Geffen CEO), with ‘The Sopranos’ writer – Terrence Winter, penning the film’s screenplay. The proposed plot for ‘Locked & Loaded’ sees 28 year-old 50 play a drug dealer who gives up his life of crime to pursue a career on the mic. Part of the deal for ‘Locked & Loaded’ will see Shady Records release a companion soundtrack for the film – hopefully it will be as good as the ‘8 Mile’ OST. ‘Locked & Loaded’ is expected to hit screens in either 2005 or 2006.

Details have finally been released regarding Jay-Z and R. Kelly’s renewed [‘BEST OF BOTH WORLDS’] album… The original ‘Best Of Both Worlds’ LP from Kelly + Jigga will be re-released on Oct. 26 under the new title of ‘Best Of Both Worlds: Unfinished Business’ and will feature a second disc featuring eleven (11) new tracks with new joints – ‘Big Chips’ and ‘Don’t Let Me Die’ to be released to radio on Oct. 04. The ‘Best Of Both Worlds’ 40 city tour of the U.S. kicks off on Sept. 29.

Last week On Point reported that [RAEKWON] is working on a sequel to his classic ‘Cuban Linx’ LP, well now it’s understood that RZA and Dr. Dre will co-executive produce the entire project with the duo to supply all the beats exclusively! Let’s hope this is not just a rumour…

Although [GHOSTFACE KILLAH] appears on the upcoming De La Soul LP – ‘The Grind Date’, it wasn’t by choice… Apparently De La failed to pay Killah for his verse on ‘The Grind Date’ so he’s turned around and dropped a new joint called ‘Toney’s Money’ over De La’s beat and just straight disses the classic crew. Look out for more info on this one – Ghostface Killah vs. De La Soul.

[NAS’] upcoming solo album – ‘Streets Disciple’ has had a new release date scheduled… Nov. 30. Get ready for it!

After strong suggestion from numerous fans worldwide, Jurassic 5's [CHARLI 2NA] is finally putting down his solo debut… before that drops though, Charli is pressing up a seventeen-track mixtape entitled ‘Fish Market’, which is mixed by Slum Village’s DJ Dez. ‘Fish Market’ features collabos with; Evidence + Rakka (Dilated Peoples), Kardinal Offishal, Akil + Marc 7 (Jurassic 5), Roots Manuva, Swollen Members, Supernatual, Rasco, Click Tha Supah Latin, LaidLaw, Solitaire, Don Coleon, Ang 13, Shockwave, Anyi, Al Master, Tippa Irie and Linkin Park. ‘Fish Market’ is due for a Nov. 11 release.

[KELIS] recently missed a show in London claiming illness but rumour is that she and Nas eloped and got married! The pair then went to Egypt for five days – honeymoon perhaps? Kelis and Nas have been engaged for two years now so a wedding should have been set to happen pretty soon…

Now this is just wrong… 14 year-old pop sensation, JoJo, has hooked up with the “Teen President” – 19 year-old [J-KWON]. The pair apparently met whilst touring and have been hooked up since… I wonder if JoJo knows about Kwon’s two kids to two different women?

In between time spent with 1200 Techniques and his numerous DJing commitments, [DJ PERIL] has been hard at work developing his Street Elite Records and is now ready to drop a new EP – ‘DJ Peril presents Street Elite’. The EP features a new solo track from Daz (Downsyde), debut cut from Suburban Intellect (Nate B + Surreal), an unreleased 1200 Techniques joint – ‘World Wide’ and Peril’s remix of ‘B-Boy Shit’. Look out for it soon or head to www.streetelite.com.au

Dru Hill frontman - [SISQO] nearly got into some drama at London nightclub – Pangaea last week… Apparently the “R&B superstar” tried cutting in line for the toilets at the club after enduring a five-minute wait. According to an onlooker Sisqo apparently tried to reason with the guy in front of him, explaining that there was two of them and only one of him (the guy in front) – suggesting Sisqo and his friend (UK designer – Scott Henshall) were trying to go into the cubicle together… hmmm? When that didn't work Sisqo tried to bribe the guy – which failed, eventually resorting to pushing the guy and saying “you know I've been working out”.

Thirtysomething year-old Rap pioneer – James Todd Smith a.k.a. [LL COOL J], has been copping some flak of late from Hip-Hop media with allegations that LL underwent plastic surgery to achieve his sculpted muscular body and rumours that he also had a nose job?! Mr. Smith brushed off the rumours like dirt off his shoulder and said his hard body was purely down to hard work in the gym.

Word is that Steve Rifkind’s [LOUD RECORDS] may be resurrected but it’s not quite clear who will be running it or where the label will be housed – Loud was under the Columbia umbrella of labels whilst headed by founder, Steve Rifkind, but Rifkind now heads his new label – SRC (Street Records Corporation) Records, under Universal Motown, which features a roster including; Terror Squad, Akon, Ric-A-Che, David Banner and others… More news as it comes to hand.

A media listening party for [EMINEM’s] new album – ‘Encore’, was held in the U.S. last week and according to reports this album sees a very different Slim Shady attack the mic. It seems that Em’s mother and ex-wife Kim are no longer the targets of his wrath, rather President George W. Bush is in the firing line this time around as much of the album’s content is said to be socially commentary and political observations. ‘Encore’ is set for release on Nov. 16 and will also include a second disc full of Eminem tracks that have been leaked to the internet throughout 2004/2003.

The video for Eminem’s new single – ‘Just Lose It’, will not only feature Em in a sock and pair of sneakers but also multibillionaire heiress come reality television tramp – [PARIS HILTON]. Apparently the elder Hilton daughter turned up at the video shoot with an empty bottle of SKYY vodka in tow and a rather intoxicated demeanour. BTW… recently heard ‘Just Lose It’ on NOVA and was left thinking that Eminem sounds like a one man “boy band” on thew track! Not feeling it at all.

U.S. music television channel - VH1, which is owned by Viacom whom also own the MTV network, are set to present their first ever [HIP-HOP HONOURS] ceremony on Oct. 03 at NYC’s Hammerstein Ballroom with Mos Def and Vivica A. Fox to co-host the event. The Hip-Hop Honours will pay tribute to DJ Hollywood, KRS-One, Public Enemy, Rock Steady Crew, Run DMC, Sugarhill Gang, Tupac Shakur and The Graffiti Movement, with live performances from; Nas, Beastie Boys, Fat Joe, Kid Rock, Public Enemy, The Sugarhill Gang, Chic, MC Hammer and Grandmaster Flash. VH1’s Hip-Hop Honours will air on Oct. 12 – subscribers to Foxtel/Austar’s digital service will be able to view this ceremony, just check your cable guide.

[MISSY ELLIOTT's] Adidas backed “Respect ME” clothing line was release in the U.S. last week with the line primarily designed for the ladies and carries the slogan - “Be sexy, be bold, be positive, be original.” Missy has ensured fans that a percentage of profits will go to a non-profit organization called “Break The Cycle”, which works towards preventing domestic violence. You can check out Missy’s “Respect ME” line at http://thestore.adidas.com and head to “Originals”. Word is that Adidas is currently preparing a clothing line in tribute to “The Greatest” – Cassius Clay a.k.a. Muhammed Ali.

After rumours earlier in the year it’s finally been confirmed that [CHINGY] has left Ludacris’s “Disturbing Tha Peace” crew… Word is that he felt he was being cheated out of money by Luda’s manager – Chaka Zulu, who also handled Chingy. There’s a whisper that Chingy may hook up with Nelly + the St. Lunatics crew as he too is from St. Louis.

The demented dog himself - [DMX], is now facing further legal dramas… as if imitating a FBI agent wasn’t enough. X was recently served with a paternity suit over a child he allegedly fathered in Washington D.C. 24 year-old Monique Wayne, the mother of the five-month old child in question, holds no grudge against the “Dark Man” but just wants to make sure her son is looked after. Wayne’s lawyer insists that X and Monique had an ongoing sexual relationship for the last two years and that X had been involved in parental discussions with Monique regarding their son. When DMX was served with the paternity suit he was coming out of court in relation to his Jun. incident at JFK airport where he was arrested on drug and weapons charges when the process server handed X the paternity suit!

American mobile network provider – Sprint PCS, has just signed a deal with Rockwilder, Hi-Tek, J Dilla and DJ Twinz for exclusive [“BLINGTONES”]. Sprint has contracted the quartet of high profile producers to create exclusive beats to be used as ringtones for Sprint customers. Also part of the new promotion are “BlingPix” – various symbols, signs and artwork which are popular within urban culture.

[UNDAGROUND SOUNDS]
[SPECIAL ED] is back with a new album entitled ‘Still Got It Made’, which will be executive produced by “Hitman” Howie Tee – the man who handled Ed’s ’89 debut – ‘Youngest In Charge’. ‘Still Got It Made’ will feature guest collaborations from Daz, Soopafly, Teddy Pendergrass, Snoop Dogg, Gotti, Young Rascoe and others…

Producer [KUTMASTA KURT] has sisnged a new deal with Waxploitation Records to release a new solo project entitled ‘Redneck Olympics’, which will feature rare tracks, B-sides and other previously unreleased tracks – including collabos with; Beastie Boys, Dilated Peoples, Mos Def, Linkin Park, Del tha Funkee Homosapean, Mr Lif, Planet Asia, Blackalicious, Grand Agent, PMD (of EPMD) and Kool Keith to name a few…

Leader of the Universal Zulu Nation and pioneering Electro/Hip-Hop icon - [AFRIKA BAMBAATAA], is preparing a new album for release… ‘Dark Matter Moving At The Speed Of Light’ will be released though Tommy Boy Records as a douple vinyl release on Sept. 28 or CD on Oct. 24. Bambaataa recently established the Universal Federation for the Preservation of Hip Hop Culture as after twenty-odd years he still believes in Hip-Hop culture and continuing the core elements.

[UTHA STUFF]
Round one of the 2005 [NBL] season kicks off this week with six games spread across the week, beginning on Wed. Sept. 29 - NZ Breakers vs. Adelaide 36ers, Thu. Sept. 30 – Hunter Valley Pirates vs. Brisbane Bullets, Fri. Oct. 01 – Wollongong Hawks vs. Melbourne Tigers, Sat. Oct. 02 - Perth Wildcats vs. West Sydney Razorbacks, Sat. Oct. 02 - Crocodiles vs. Adelaide 36ers and Sat. Oct. 02 – Tigers vs. Taipans. Support Australian Basketball by attending games LIVE or checking it out on FOX Sports – no free to air televised games yet, to change that head to… http://www.petitiononline.com/bballtv/petition.html

3x Australian DMC champion and Avalanches DJ – DJ Dexter, in conjunction with RRR, Uprock and Ghetto Fabulous present the [2 ON 2 ALL CITY STREET BALL BATTLE] in MEL. on Fri. Oct. 08 inside the Metro nightclub, with an NBL size halfcourt basketball court inside the club! The 2 on 2 All City Street Ball comp will be anything goes as streetball not basketball rules will be in play (no blood, no foul!) so it’ll be rugged and raw as $1,000 is up for grabs… expect more elbows to be thrown than at a Ludacris concert! Ken Hell and Weapon X will host the event, which will feature performances from; Daniel Merriweather, Shook Daily Crew (Dexter, Kuya + 001), DJs - James De La Cruz, Devast8 + Rub-A-Dub plus breakin performances from – Lama, Carlo, Demi, Goddess + Miss Claudia Oliviera. Also on show will be; Ms Butt, Bass Bin Laden, Paz, Tom Tom, Wax Vandal and Spline. For more info on this event (or to bug Dexter into bringing this to Bris Vegas) hit www.djdexter.com

EA Sports have once again enlisted some bigname rap artists to contribute to one of their leading games, this time it’s [NBA LIVE 2005] which will feature new joints from; Lloyd Banks, Young Buck, Murphy Lee, will.i.am, Jazze Pha, Jody Breeze, Bump J, MC Lyte, The D.O.C., Pete Rock, Kardinal Offishall, Stat Quo, Wylde Bunch, Dirtbag, Brand New Heavies, Don Yute and EA Sports MC Battle winner – Joel Ortiz. Stat Quo has handled some of the score for ‘NBA Live 2005’, putting his name up on the board as not only an emcee but producer too – Terror Sqadians, Cool + Dre handled the rest of the game’s beats. Contributing artists to ‘NBA Live 2005’ will also feature on a fourteen-track soundtrack to the game, which will be released for sale on Oct. 05 (U.S.).

With hot new producers popping up left, right and centre, here’s another crew to look out for… the West Coast’s hottest new shit - [DA RIFFS]. Da Riffs recently hooked upo a deal to produce the entire score for EA Sports’ ‘NBA Street’ plus four tracks for ‘NFL Street’. The tracks for EA Sports include vocals from Planet Asia, Royce Da 5’9”, Rock (Heltah Skeltah) and new West Coaster – Bishop Lamont amongst others. Da Riffs are also currently working on a new full length LP with Planet Asia under his pseudonym – “King Medallions”. Da Riffs have also worked on DanceHall joints for Don Yute, Tany Astevens and VP Records plus tracks for Shady/Aftermath. Also look out for their new mixtape, ‘Coast Control; Defend Your Borders’, featuring DJ Warrior and DJ Sickamore plus verses from; Method Man, King Tee, Rah Digga, Planet Asia, Roscoe, Capone, Young Zee, Ali Vegas, Maylay, Stat Quo, Game, Crooked I, Sly Boogie and Balance. For more info head to www.DaRiffs.com

The “Abbott of the Wu-Tang Clan” - [RZA] has scored the finale to Wesley Snipes’ ‘Blade’ trilogy – ‘Blade: Trinity’, which is due for release on Dec. 10 (U.S.), and is now set to appear in an animated short film fighting gold-fanged vampires. The three-minute animation will be packaged on DVD accompanying the soundtrack to ‘Blade: Trinity’, which is due for release on Nov. 23 (U.S.).

Replacing Victoria Beckham as the UK face of Rocawear will be waif thin supermodel [KATE MOSS], who is apparently a close friend of Roc-A-Fella CEO - Damon Dash.

The U.K.s [MOBO AWARDS] are looking like being a non-event this year as co-host – Alesha Dixon (Mis-teeq) has pulled out due to prior commitments with Mis-teeq (concert in Dubai), leaving Pharrell Williams without a partner to co-host the event which is suffering receiving numerous “thanks, but no thanks” replies from big name urban artists. According to insiders, many of the nominated artists are simply not willing to attend – I guess that’s what happens when a U.K. awards show nominates predominantly U.S. artists.

[LIL' KIM's] bodyguard – Suif Jackson, was sentenced to twelve years in prison last week after he admitted his involvement in the HOT97 shootout, having fired at least twenty shots in the fracas. The incident which saw Kim’s crew and Capone-N-Noreaga’s crew go head to head occurred outside NYC’s HOT97 radio station offices, shots were fired after a heated argument which arose due to the ongoing beef between Lil’ Kim and Foxy Brown (Brown was down with C-N-N). Lil’ Kim is currently awaiting trial on allegations of perjury in relation to the shooting incident.

Damon Albarn of Blur’s animated side project – [GORILLAZ] is set to make a return with a new album and new line-up. Albarn will return to handle vocals but production will now be handled by ‘The Grey Album’s’ DJ Danger Mouse, who takes over from Dan the Automator. Albarn and Danger Mouse are currently in the UK working on a second Gorillaz LP for release late in the first half of 2005 with a broad range of guest vocalists – so far De La Soul are the only confirmed vocal contributors but many more are set to be enlisted. The animated component of Gorillaz previously supplied by ‘Tank Girl’ creator/artist – Jamie Hewlett, will once again be a major component but it’s unknown whether Hewlett will provide the art.

With his sitcom now in hiatus and his most recent album gaining mediocre success, [METHOD MAN] has a few bones to pick with the FOX network and Def Jam… Meth recently discussed how he felt the that FOX managed to alienate Red and Meth’s fans with the direction of the show and that the storylines were just too unbelievable for their fans. He described the relationship with FOX as a marriage gone bad, which he had to get a divorce from – Meth went on to say that he held no animosity towards FOX just thought it was better to move on. AS for Meth’s relationship with Def Jam, that’s a different story… After eight or nine years of loyalty to Def Jam, Meth felt betrayed by the label as they failed to support ‘Tical 0: The Prequel’ – he felt that they failed to offer proper promotion as MTV, BET and radio failed to get behind the album thanks to Def Jam not backing him despite the album going Gold with only one street single and Def Jam refusing to give him a budget for a second single/video. Only in recent weeks has Def Jam decided to give Meth a second single – ‘Show’, due to the Gold selling status.

[RAY CHARLES’] illustrious career will be celebrated on Oct. 08 with ‘Genius: A Night For Ray Charles’ at L.A.’s Staples Centre. The event will be filmed for broadcast on U.S. television network – CBS, and will feature tribute performances from Stevie Wonder, Usher, B.B. King, Al Green, Mary J Blige, Elton John, Norah Jones and others – with Qunicy Jones, Mos Def + Bruce Willis to participate as presenters with Jamie Foxx to host the event. Jamie Foxx stars in the biographic film of Ray Charles’ life as Charles – the film is due in U.S. cinemas on Oct. 29

Well… the [BEASTIE BOYS] have just confirmed a huge European tour for Dec. on the tail of an Oct./Nov. tour of the U.S. to promote their latest (and some believe best) album – ‘To The Five Boroughs’. Let’s hope that rumours of the Beasties hitting Australia for the Big Day Out tour in early 2005 pan out to be true! BTW… look out for MixMaster Mike’s new album – ‘Bangzilla’, on Oct. 19 through Scratch Recordings.

After their spotlight stealing interaction on VH1’s ‘Surreal Life’ reality series and the announcement that they are now a couple - [FLAVOR FLAV] and Brigitte Nielsen are now being given their own reality series which will see the couple travel across the U.S. to Las Vegas where Flav and Nielsen’s real life fiancée – Mattia Disse, will compete for Brigitte’s heart! According to Neilsen the show will begin on Oct. 04 where Flav will pick her up from Italy and fly to the U.S., go visit Flav’s mother before going to L.A. for two days and then onto Las Vegas. Neilsen is currently going through a divorce but is engaged to Mattia Disse, whom she met after taping ‘The Surreal Life’ – now she has Flavor Flav playing the fool.

Game publisher – Namco, has filed a lawsuit against self-confessed “King of The South”, [LIL’ FLIP], and Sony Music Entertainment (U.S.) over the use of “Pac-Man” and “Ms. Pac-Man” audio samples in the beat for Flip’s ‘Game Over’ (and the remix). Word is that Namco are seeking as much as US$10 million in damages for the illegal use of the samples – which were never cleared.

Straight outta Memphis, Tennessee, [LIL’ WYTE] has signed with Three 6 Mafia’s Hypnotize Minds label under Atlantic’s Asylum Records for the release of his second solo LP – ‘Phinally Phamous’. Lil’ Wyte bust into the spotlight with his debut LP – ‘Doubt Me Now’, which sold almost 130,000 copies independently without major label support or marketing! Wyte caught the ear of Three 6 Mafia’s Juicy J as part of an all white rap group but the broke up before J could sign the crew so he snapped up Wyte. Lil’ Wyte’s major label debut – ‘Phinally Phamous’ will drop sometime in 2005.

The events of Dec. 29 1999 have come back to haunt [P. DIDDY] as he has to give evidence for the fourth time in relation to the shooting incident at ClubNY in NYC’s Times Square. Seven clubgoers present on the the night have filed civil cases against ClubNY claiming they were injured in the incident so now Diddy must once again take the stand to give his version of events. It is unclear whether Jaml “Shyne” Barrows and Jennifer Lopez will also have to give evidence in this ongoing suit.

http://www/sceneonline.com.au

http://www.blackbeat.com.au

http://www. grooveon.com.au

ON POINT // Sun. Sept. 19 2004

2004-09-20T10:55:00.000+10:00

[ON TOUR]
DUME Entertainment, Showtime Entertainment and Mary Street nightclub present [BUSTA RHYMES] and the Flipmode Squad LIVE in Brisbane on Fri. Oct. 01! Bussa Bus will be backed with support from Brisbane’s own JNR, Dirty Mob and DJs Big Boyd + Toopz with host – Big Sire w/ DJ Demo (SYD.). Pre-sold tickets are $35 (+b/f) and available now from Central Station Records, Rockinghorse Records, Phat Stuff, Sunflower Records and Mary Street. Get your tix quick as there is a limit of 700 and they are selling quick!

UK underground cats – [JEHST] are headed to Australia as part of their “Falling Downunder Tour” with special guests Asaviour + DJ IQ. Jehst, Asaviour + DJ IQ will hit… SYD. – Fri. Oct. 01, (Sat. Oct. 02 – AUK), Sun. Oct. 03 – BNE., Wed. Oct. 06 – SYD., Fri. Oct. 08 – MEL. + ADL. – Sat. Oct. 09. Venues to be confirmed – you can check out more on Jehst at… www.ynr-productions.co.uk/jehst.htm

Illusive Entertainment, Channel [V] + Club [V] present ‘The Stand Up Tour’ featuring [SCRIBE] along with some of NZ’s finest Rap talent; DJ P-Money, DJ D-Form, Con-Psy + Forty One (Frontline) and Savage + Mareko (Deceptikonz). Tickets are on sale now for shows in… MEL. – Wed. Sept. 29 @ Prince of Wales, SYD. – Fri. Oct. 01 + Sat. Oct. 02 @ Metro, CAN. – Sun. Oct. 03 @ ANU Bar, BNE. – Tue. Oct. 05 + Wed. Oct. 06 @ the Zoo, ADL. – Thu. Oct. 07 @ Adelaide Uni Bar and PER. – Fri. Oct. 08 @ Heat nightclub. For more info head to www.illusive.com.au

The [X-ECUTIONERS] are set to return to Australia for their “Scratch 2004 Tour” throughout early Oct. featuring all three “X-Men”; Roc Raida, Rob Swift and Total Eclipse (Mista Sinista left the group a couple of years back). The X-ecutioners will play; ADL. – Fri. Oct. 01 @ Heaven, PER. - Sat. Oct. 02 @ Monkey Bar, SYD. – Sun. Oct. 03 @ Metro, MEL. – Wed. Oct. 06 @ Prince of Wales and finally BNE. – Thu. Oct. 07 @ the Tivoli. Make sure not to miss this show!

Get ready to break ya neck at the [CROOKNECK PARTY] Sat. Oct. 09 at The Rev featuring a huge line-up; Lazy Grey, Celcius, Mnemonic Ascent (Raph/BVA/Ransom), J-Red (Lyrical Commission), A-Love, Ransom (Mnemonic Ascent). $14 pre-sold / $17 @ the door.

After successful spots on the Big Day Out and independent tours, the [BLACK EYED PEAS] are set to head back downunder for a national tour in Oct. prior to the release of their fourth album – ‘Monkey Business’. Tickets go on sale Mon. Jul .19 for five shows on; Sun. Oct. 10 – BNE. (River Stage), Tue. Oct. 12 – ADL. (Thebarton Theatre), Wed. Oct. 13 – PER. (Robinson Pavillion), Fri. Oct. 15 – MEL. (Rod Laver Arena) and Sat. Oct. 16, Sun. 17 + Mon. 18 – SYD. (Hordern Pavillion).

“The man” - [GEORGE BENSON], is returning to Australia for a series of live shows all around the country - here’s the dates… Mon. Oct. 04 – PER. (Burswood Theatre), Fri. Oct. 08 – ADL. (Thebarton Theatre), Mon. Oct. 11 – SYD. (State Theatre) and Thu. Oct. 14 - Gold Coast Convention Centre. I missed George Benson’s live show last time around and really regretted it – make sure you don’t make the same mistake this time around!

To promote their new Obese Records release – ‘Flowers in the Pavement’, Sydney’s [BLISS'N'ESO] are headed out on a national tour. Look out for Bliss’n’Eso with DJ Izm in QLD. on… Thu. Oct. 14 – Quest nightclub (Gold Coast) and Sat. Oct. 16 – Mary St. nightclub (BNE.).

Canadian Rap crew [SWOLLEN MEMBERS] are set to head downunder thanks to Hive Creative + DC Shoes to promote their fourth album – ‘Heavy’, with shows planned for mid/late Oct. Mad Child, Prevail, Moka Only + Rob the Viking will play shows in… BNE. – Sat. Oct. 20 (The Rev), ADL. – Fri. Oct. 22 (Traffic), SYD. – Sat. Oct. 23 (Gaelic Club) and MEL. – Sun. Oct. 24 (Prince of Wales). Swollen Members will also play support for Black Eyed Peas at their SYD. shows on Sat. Oct. 16, Sun. Oct. 17 + Mon. Oct. 18 @ the Hordern Pavillion.

The Frontier Touring Company present… [ALICIA KEYS] live in Australia throughout Oct. The 23 year-old Keys will play MEL. on Fri. Oct. 22 (SOLD OUT!) + 23 @ Palais Theatre, SYD. on Mon. Oct. 25 (SOLD OUT!) + 26 @ Enmore Theatre and BNE. on Fri. Oct. 29 @ the Lyric Theatre. Tickets for the BNE. show went on sale last Fri. (Sept. 10) through Q Tix – www.qtix.com.au, better be quick!

For the first time ever [AND 1] will bring their AND 1 Mixtape Tour streetball team to Australia for a national tour, bringing some of the best streetballers (Alimoe, AO, Escalade, Flash, Go Get It, Half Man, Helicopter, High Octane, Hot Sauce, Main Event, Prime Objective, The Professor, Shane, Sik Wit It and “50” – only a select few of the listed will hit Oz in Nov.) to go up against some of Australia’s finest local talent! Tickets available now from Ticketek and Ticketmaster7 for the following dates… BNE. – Wed. Nov. 10 @ BNE. Entertainment Centre, SYD. – Fri. Nov. 12 @ SYD. Entertainment Centre, PER. – Wed. Nov. 17 @ Challenge Stadium and MEL. – Sat. Nov. 20 @ Rod Laver Arena. If you think you’ve got skills to go up againsdt the AND 1 mixtape crew or want more info on the mixtape tour head to www.and1.com.au

Bizarre, Kon Artis, Swift, Kuniva + Proof - better known as [D-12], are headed to AUS. in Dec. for a national tour without their main man – Eminem, but backed by a live band. Shows are scheduled for… Dec. 11 – PER. (Robinson Pavillion), Dec. 13 – MEL. (Festival Hall), Dec. 15 - SYD. (Hordern Pavillion) and Dec. 18 - BNE (River Stage) - Tickets are $74.80!

Former Roachford frontman - [ANDREW ROACHFORD] is headed to Australia in Oct. for a national tour to promote his new Jazz/Soul fusion LP – ‘Heart Of The Matter’. More details as they are released…

In mid-Oct [THE PHARCYDE] will be passing us by as part of their “Passing Me By” tour of AUS. and N.Z. Remaining Pharcyde members – Booty Brown and Imani will be joined by a tour DJ, drummer and keyboardist for the tour which will have details announced soon…

Word is that… Scratch that, [DE LA SOUL] are headed back to Australia to lavish upon us some of the finest Hip-Hop there ever was! An Adelaide show has been confirmed for Dec. 29 at the Old Queen’s Theatre, supported by Terra Firma and the Beat Smugglers - tickets are $50 + b/f. No doubt dates for the rest of Australia will be announced very soon!

Apparently [BIG BOI] (of OutKast) is headed to Australia for a national tour in the coming months, most probably with Sleepy Brown and some select members of the Dungeon Family to make up for Andre 3000’s obvious absence – as he no longer tours as part of OutKast. By the way… Big Boi does NOT perform ‘Hey Ya!’ so don’t go to hear that one song!

Lookout for a huge upcoming national tour featuring; 1200 Techniques (Nfamas + DJ Peril only), Butterfingers, Maya Jupiter, Koolism and many other Australian acts… What’s more the tour will be [ALL AGES]!

Other Hip-Hop and R&B acts rumoured to be planning tours of Australia include; [BEASTIE BOYS] + [DILATED PEOPLES] (Big Day Out), [JANET JACKSON], [KANYE WEST] + [TALIB KWELI], [USHER], [TIMBALAND], [NELLY] + the St. Lunatics, [JAY-Z] (or S. Carter), [REDMAN] + [METHOD MAN] and [THA 'LIKS] – Keep your eyes and ears peeled as On Point will bring you all the news as to whether or not these shows go ahead…

[QUIKSHOTZ]

The romance between [ASHANTI] and [NELLY] appears to be growing and the pair are apparently not trying as hard as they used to hide it and Ashanti has reportedly even asked Nelly to come meet her parents… Ashanti’s boss- Irv Gotti, isn’t feeling the love though as rumour has it that Irv is rather jealous as he and Ashanti once had a lil’ sumthin’ sumthin’ which went nowhere.

Word is that [ALICIA KEYS] has hooked up with Lenny Kravitz and the two have been seen around NYC of late, most recently having dinner at upmarket restaurant - Megu.

Despite his “confessions”, TLC’s Chilli has apparently taken back her man [USHER]… the pair were recently seen in Las Vegas shopping.

Once again rumours have emerged of a possible reunion of [THE FUGEES]… as always, Wyclef Jean is the former Fugee spouting claims that he, Pras and Lauryn Hill are to reform after an eight year break – this time though with the startling revelation that the trio are back on speaking terms, with everything good between the three. Wyclef said it was too early to expect a new album but if things continue on their current path we could see a third Fugees album within eighteen months!

Preparing for the Nov. 16 release of his new album – ‘Encore’, [EMINEM] has recently filmed the music video for the first single – ‘Just Lose It’, which features Em wearing nothing but a pair of sneakers and a sock! Em is also preparing a second single called ‘Mosh’, which is apparently a track to encourage America’s youth to vote – anti-Bush! Apparently bootlegging of Em’s new album is going to be a hard task this time around as it’s rumoured that Em won’t complete ‘Encore’ until only a few days prior to its release in an effort to counter internet leaks and pirating. Things are so top secret that Em is keeping a lot of things in his head until the week prior to release, at which time he will work plat out to complete the album.

With two years since his last album, [SNOOP DOGG] is now preparing for the first release under his new deal with the Neptunes’ Star Trak label. ‘R&G (Rhythm & Gangtsa) – The Masterpiece’ is set to hit shelves on Nov. 23 with the first single – ‘Drop It Like It’s Hot’ w/ Pharrell, already hitting U.S. radio. Most of the album’s production will be handled by the Neptunes but Soopafly, Jelly Roll and Lil’ Jon are all set to contribute, along with Trina who’ll drop a guest verse.

Another up and coming emcee straight outta Compton… [GUERILLA BLACK] is looking to create some heat with a style reminiscent of the late Notorious B.I.G., which has earned him the support of his label – Virgin Records. For Black’s debut LP he will be joined by; Mario Winans, Nate Dogg, Jazzed Pha, Beenie Man and more… Guerilla Blacks’ ‘Guerilla City’ drops on Sept. 28.

The third installment of [DE LA SOUL’s] ‘Art Official Intelligence’ trilogy is still blowing in the wind according to group member Maseo, who elaborated that the third installment is yet to even be recorded as the trio has been working on their new album – ‘The Grind Date’. Maseo explained that the third ‘AOI’ CD is to be dedicated to that art of DJing whilst ‘The Grind Date’ is more De La Soul keeping it contemporary – something the band felt it had to do after being dropped by Tommy Boy Records. ‘The Grind Date’, which is due for release on Sept. 28, will feature production from JayDee, 9th Wonder, Supa Dave West, Jake One and Madlib along with De La themselves, plus guest vocals from Ghostface Killah, MF Doom, Common, Verses, Butta, Yummy, Flavor Flav and others… For more info on upcoming De La Soul projects head to www.spitkickers.com

With Terror Squad’s ‘Lean Back’ still red hot on the U.S. charts, [FAT JOE] is being rather quick in building publicity for his upcoming album – ‘Things Of That Nature’, which is due in Nov. At a recent media listening in NYC Joe disclosed details of his new album, which includes guest appearances from; R. Kelly, Mashonda, Eminem + Mase (‘Lean Back’ rmx) and the Terror Squad (Tony Sunshine, Remy Ma, Armageddon + Triple Seis) with production from; Timbaland Cool + Dre, Swizz Beatz, Lil’ Jon and DJ Khaled. The first single from ‘Things Of That Nature’ is ‘Victim’, which is currently creating heat on U.S. radio as the track calls out false “Kings of New York”, whom some have theorized is aimed at either 50 Cent, Nas, Juelz Santana or another.

Grimy Rap producer extraordinaire - [THE ALCHEMIST] drops his debut LP, ‘1st Infantry’, this week featuring guest spots from; Nas, Mobb Deep, the Lox, M.O.P and Game, plus Al himself rhyming on two joints – including the first single, ‘Hold You Down’, which also features Prodigy (Mobb Deep), Illa Ghee and Nina Sky.

[50 CENT] and [LLOYD BANKS] have come out spitting fiya at Nas and Shyne on Big Mike’s new mixtape ‘Professional Hood Shit’. On the track – ‘Y’all Ni**az Starvin’, 50 and Banks don’t even try rhyming they just shout disses at Nas + Shyne in the background over the beat but Banks does bring it with “To fade me it's going to take more than guts / you need the eye of the tiger, heart of a lion and King Kong's nuts”. Despite all the heat it appears Nas will not dignify the dis’ with a reply.

Of late, former Luniz member - [YUKMOUTH] has been gunning for 50 Cent and the G-Unit with the aid of former Guerilla Unit crewmembers, Bang ‘Em Smurf + Domination. After a recent dis’ on television directed at [GAME], the G-Unit young gun has picked up the gauntlet to defend his crew and issued a warning to Yukmouth on his BlackWallStreet website – cease and desist or it will be on! Yuk took the warning as a challenge and consequently jumped on his own website to dis’ Game back. Game has now released a Yuk dis’ entitled ‘I Got A Million On It’ over tha Luniz’s ‘I Got Five On It’ instrumental. Of course Yuk wasn’t going to let that slide so he has now issued ‘Game Over’, which uses Young Buck’s ‘Let Me In’ beat - you can catch both tracks exclusively on www.raptism.com

U.S. cable television channel – Bravo, has picked up [BOBBY BROWN’s] reality series – ‘Being Bobby Brown’ for a ten episode run in early 2005! The show will focus on six months of Bobby’s life, centering on his goals of resurrecting his music career and straightening out his legal dramas. It’s still unknown as to whether Whitney Houston will participate in the show as she is currently working on her seventh album but other members of the Brown family – Bobby Kristina (daughter), Tommy (brother) and his two kids from previous relationships; La Princia (daughter) and Bobby Jr. (son).

Bay Area legend – [E-40] has signed with Lil’ Jon’s BME Records under a deal with Warner Music Group. E-40 Fonzarelli has already begun working on his new BME album with Lil’ Jon and Rick Rock handling production duties on the album which 40 hopes will see him elevated into the commercial spotlight after years spent gaining underground respect. The new E-40 album is yet to have a release date scheduled but will be a joint effort between Warner Music Group, BME records and 40’s own Sick Wid It Records.

[WHITNEY HOUSTON] is back with the man that discovered her great talent – Clive Davis, to work on her seventh studio LP. At this time the pair have not disclosed any details pertaining to a release date or title… more info to come.

With the success of their single ‘Salt Shaker’ and guest appearances on Lil’ Jon’s ‘Get Low’ behind them, Kaine + D-Roc a.k.a. [YING YANG TWINS] are preparing for the release of their new album – ‘My Brother & Me’, on Nov. 02. ‘My Brother & Me’ follows up from last year’s ‘Me & My Brother’ and feature collabo’s with; Homebwoy, Lil’ Jon, Juvenile, Murphy Lee, Fat Joe, Jacki-O, Wyclef Jena + UTP. ‘My Brother & Me’ also features a DVD component, which will include behind-the-scenes footage and music videos for ‘Naggin', ‘Salt Shaker’ and ‘What's Happnin!’.

It’s all happening for [FOXY BROWN]… a couple of weeks ago she was accused of skipping out on her manicure/pedicure bill and smacking a nail tech in the head with her mobile phone, the same day that she was banned from NYC’s Louis Vuitton store – now it seems Fox Boogie has been the victim of a robbery whilst out clubbing. Whilst in the bathroom at Club Show in NYC attending a Baby Phat fashion show, Brown was allegedly robbed of her Louis Vuitton purse and a diamond earing worth US$250,000! The suspected thief – 35 year-old Tanya Manderson, eluded pursuit by club security but later turned herself in to police after eyewitnesses identified her. Manderson has stated that Foxy version of events is totally false and that she never robbed Brown…

[UNDAGROUND SOUNDS]
The [TECHNICS WORLD DMC CHAMPIONSHIPS] were held last week in London at the Carling Apollo Theatre with the U.S.A.’s I-Emerge coming out on top to become only the sixth American to win the World title. I-Emerge is a member of the 5th Platoon DJ crew, which consists of; Neil Armstrong, Daddy Dog, Kuttin Kandi, Vin Roc, Do Boy and Roli Rho. Germany’s Rafik placed second with defending champion – DJ Dopey (Canada) rounding out the three, Australia’s Staen 1 unfortunately picked up the final place in the comp (but all three members of Birdy Nam Nam placed Staen 1 on their score sheets!). Japan’s Akakabe took out the Battle for World Supremacy title over Silk Kuts (UK) and France’s C2C picked up the Teams title, beating out La Guilde (France – 2nd) and Lordz of Fitness (Germany – 3rd), Australia’s J-Red + Selekt (Dirty Duo) placed fourth.

Former Gangstarr affiliate - [JERU THE DAMAJA] is back with a new album entitled ‘Divine Design’ through his own Ashenafi Records. Look out for the album’s first two singles – ‘Rap Wars’ and ‘Don’t Get It Twisted’, you can check them both out at www.tygereye.net/jeru

Vinnie Paz + Stoupe a.k.a. [JEDI MIND TRICKS] are back with their fourth album – ‘Legacy of Blood’, celebrating eight years in the industry with guests spots from; GZA, Killah Priest and Sean Price with Stoupe handling the production solo. Jedi Mind Tricks’ ‘Legacy of Blood’ is set top drop this week (Sept. 21).

[UTHA STUFF]
The results from [RICK JAMES’] autopsy are finally in and to nobodies surprise it was revealed that the 56 year-old funkateer’s death was drug related… The coroner discovered that James suffered a heart attack (officially acute cardiac dysfunction due to idiopathic cardiomyopathy) due to an enlarged heart, with toxicological tests revealing numerous drugs in his system including; Xanax, Valium, Wellbutrin, Celexa, Vicodin, Digoxin, Chlorpheniramine, methamphetamine and cocaine. James’ death was ruled an accident and a drug overdose was ruled out as drug levels in his bloodstream were not at lethal levels, it was also revealed that James also suffered from focal pneumonia and the ill effects of numerous drugs.

With his new LP - ‘Weapons Of Mass Destruction’, due for release on Nov. 09 [XZIBIT] recently spoke openly to German Hip-Hop magazine – Backspin, on a few issues… X to tha Z confirmed that he is no longer down with Defari or Tha Liks and will not being working on future projects with them. Xzibit also answered questions regarding a recent single entitled ‘Make Y’all Bounce’ released by fellow West Coaster – Raptile. X revealed that ‘Make Y’all Bounce’ originally featured the entire Strong Arm Steady crew and Raptile just cut them from the joint for X’s verse – which has really pissed Xzibit off! Xzibit was pretty open during the interview which you can check out at www.backspin.de

St. Lunatics member – [MURPHY LEE], has enrolled at Southeast Missouri State University with aim to undertake a business degree. Murph is also working on his second solo LP, the follow up to his platinum selling debut – ‘Murphy’s Law’.

The other week it was Twista in a van crash, this week it’s G-Unit’s [LLOYD BANKS] spinning wheels on America’s highways… Banks was en route to a show in Virginia when his tour bus swerved off the road and jumped a hill landing on its wheels. All 26 passengers on the tour bus were uninjured and Banks was able to get to his show on time.

Boston’s mixtape maestro – DJ Clinton Sparks has been rapidly building a name for himself on the mixtape circuit and to further hype his skills he’s brought in a very unlikely collaborator… [BRITNEY SPEARS]! Apparently on Sparks’ next mixtape he will feature a sixteen-bar “freestlye” rhyme from Miss Spears which was initially recorded with Ali G for his ‘Da Ali G. Show’. In the meantime Sparks is working on a mixtape with DJ Kay Slay, mixtapes for N.O.R.E. and Memphis Bleek plus his own self-produced album featuring Mobb Deep, Joe Buddens, Capone-N-Noreaga and others.

The other week I reported on [FLAVOR FLAV’s] insane behavior on VH1’s ‘Surreal Life’ reality series, particularly his erratic behavior towards Brigit Nielsen, well its now been revealed that Flav and Brigit are an item! Apparently the pair have been seen all over NYC hugging and kissing – this has got to be amongst the most insane couples ever, I wonder how Flav’s thirteen kids feel about their dad dating the bride of “Ivan Drago”?

The [WORLD MUSIC AWARDS] were held last week (Sept. 16) in Las Vegas for the first time (as the ceremony is usually held in Monte Carlo) with (surprise, surprise!) Usher and OutKast coming out on top - picking up three awards each on the night. Kanye West wasn’t left out on the night as he picked up Best New Male Artist whilst former BMG CEO – Clive Davis was honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award.

The [AMERICAN MUSIC AWARDS] recently announced the nominees for their 32nd awards ceremony which will take place on Nov. 14 in L.A…. Usher lead the pack with four nominations with OutKast and Kanye West sharing three nominations a piece. Also nominated for AMA’s are; Prince (2), Jay-Z (2), Alicia Keys (2), Beyoncé, Janet Jackson, R. Kelly, Ruben Studdard, Michael McDonald, Juvenile, Lil' Flip, G-Unit and the Ying Yang Twins. The AMA’s are not a particularly credible awards ceremony with winners decided from a national (U.S.) survey of 20,000 music listeners – so basically it is a popularity contest decided by 0.005% of the American population (of 293,027,571)!

Jamie Foxx recently appeared on a Houston radio show and revealed that former television series – [‘MIAMI VICE’], is to be resurrected into a feature film with original director Michael Man at the helm. Foxx stated that he has been cast to play Phillip Michael Thomas’s character “Tubbs”… no word as to who will play “Crockett”, the character made famous by Don Johnson.

Redman and Method Man’s Fox sit-com - [‘METHOD + RED’] has been placed on hiatus after the show was receiving dismal ratings and Meth + Red themselves were less than impressed with the show’s direction and were struggling for more creative control from Fox executives with little success. The hiatus is merely a formality as both Meth + Red agree the show was dismal and will be cancelled by Fox!

[P. DIDDY] is back with a third series of MTV’s ‘Making The Band’ reality show (Diddy’s second series) in the U.S., this time around though he is looking to put together an all girl R&B/Rap group. The last series of ‘Making The Band’ saw Diddy put together a six person R&B/Rap crew of mixed genders entitled “Da Band”, which eventually saw the group disintegrate before the end of the series – hopefully this time around Diddy will have better luck.

Al Pacino’s classic crimelord character – [“SCARFACE”] is coming to your PS2, X-Box and GameCube thanks to a new first person game where you are Tony “Scarface” Montana! In the game you become Tony Montana and must work your way through the streets of Miami, Florida Keys and the Bahamas whilst all the while dodging DEA agents and underworld rivals in an effort to re-build your fallen crime empire. The “Scarface” console game wont be available until late next year, until then check it out at www.scarfacegame.com

With financial woes plaguing [THE SOURCE] Hip-Hop magazine, the former Bible of Hip-Hop culture has now turned to selling Rap ringtones to back a few quid… The Source have partnered with Hudson Entertainment to provide the ringtones, of which they currently stock a catalogue of 100 various songs. In other Source related news… the magazine has been ordered to pay Eminem US$131,388 over the legal tangle surrounding the bootlegged audio of Em dissing African-American women as a teenager. The Source were ordered last Dec. not ot publish the entire song or lyrics but ignored the court order and published the songs entire lyrics with an audio snippet attached to an issue of The Source in CD format.

With allegations of criminal rape stemming from an incident in Jun. Hanging over his head, actor - [ANTHONY ANDERSON], best known for his roles in ‘Cradle 2 The Grave’, ‘Barbershop’, ‘Two Can Play That Game’ and others. The 34 year-old must now face allegations from another woman who has come forward claiming Anderson sexually assaulted her a year ago during filming of Anderson’s short run television sit-com – ‘All About The Andersons’. Anderson’s accuser claims that Anderson manhandled her on Sept. 18 in his dressing room by pinning her against a wall and pulling her blouse down – she is seeking US$90,000 in damages for injury, emotional distress and other damages.

Khyam "tha BEAST" Baines

KOBE BRYANT's arrest transcript...

2004-09-18T14:41:00.000+10:00

KOBE BRYANT done fucked up when he was arrested last year on allegations of raping a 19 year-old fan in Colorado - here's the lowdown thanks to ESPN...

Panicked Lakers star admitted other affairs
Associated Press

DENVER -- In his interview with police the night after he was accused of rape, NBA star Kobe Bryant insisted the sex was consensual, that he stopped when she said "no" and wondered if she would accept money to recant a claim that could damage his reputation.

A transcript of the interview was published Thursday by the Vail Daily, which said it obtained the printout and an audio recording from someone who mailed it anonymously from Denver. A source close to the prosecution told The Associated Press the transcript appeared accurate.

John Clune, an attorney for the accuser, declined comment on the transcript but criticized the leak, which follows several mistakes by courthouse staff that publicly revealed the woman's name.

"The continued evidence of the lack of integrity of the criminal case reaffirms our client's decision to not proceed in that court," Clune said.

Defense attorney Pamela Mackey did not return a call. At Mackey's request, a judge has issued a temporary restraining order prohibiting any public release of records or evidence from the case.

The interview was taped by Eagle County sheriff's investigator Dan Loya as he and fellow investigator Doug Winters talked to Bryant for about 75 minutes in the parking lot of the Lodge & Spa at Cordillera and in his room last summer.

The transcript contains profanity and some graphic descriptions from Bryant, who also admits he has had frequent similar encounters with another woman named "Michelle" who could testify that he held her from behind. Bryant, who had been married for two years and had a 5-month-old daughter, said his wife did not know about the other woman.

He told Winters and Loya he was concerned about damage to his marriage, his career and his image if word of the rape allegation got out.

"Is there any way I can settle this, whatever it is?" Bryant asked.

"Well, what do you mean by settle?" Winters replied.

"If my wife, if my wife found out that anybody made any type of allegations against me she would be infuriated," Bryant said.

At the time, his 19-year-old accuser had already had a hospital examination and had been interviewed by Winters. The felony sexual assault charge that could have landed the Los Angeles Lakers star in jail for life was dismissed at her request earlier this month because she no longer wanted to testify. Her civil lawsuit against Bryant is pending in federal court.

During the interview, Bryant at first denied having sex with the woman. But after investigators said they had physical evidence indicating the two had sex, he told them she initiated it.

"It was totally consensual," he said.

"What makes you believe it was consensual?" Loya asked.

"'Cause she started kissing me, (inaudible) then she bent over and (inaudible)," Bryant said.

Later, Bryant said "We were still only this close, and she gets up and she gives me a kiss, so I kiss her back, and then you know, I started caressing her or whatever, and then she puts her hand on my, you know, my thing or whatever, and it kinda goes from there."

Bryant told investigators he was willing to take a lie-detector test. He also denied asking her not to tell anyone about their encounter, though Winters testified that she told investigators that Bryant made that request.

Bryant said the woman offered to show him a tattoo of musical instruments and notes on her back, and she lowered a strap on her dress so he could see it. After that, he said, she kissed him and he kissed back. They caressed each other and she performed oral sex.

Bryant said he held her by the neck from behind while she lifted her dress and bent over a chair, and then they had sex. He said he stopped after she refused to let him do something he wanted to do. The newspaper said it edited the transcript to remove profanity and graphic sexual descriptions; a full copy was not immediately made available to the AP.

During a hearing last fall, Winters said Bryant grabbed the woman by the neck hard enough to leave a small bruise on her jaw, bent her over a chair, and pulled down her underwear before sex began.
"It was consensual, there was nothing weird, you know what I mean," Bryant said during the interview.

"Did she say anything to (you) to provoke any of this to happen?" Winters asked.
"She said she wanted to, you know, she hoped that I would (edited out) her," Bryant said.

When Loya told Bryant the woman had experienced some bleeding, he said he was surprised because he hadn't noticed any blood. The shirt he was wearing, which he gave to the investigators, was later found to be stained with the woman's blood.

Asked what happened while she was leaving Bryant's room, he told investigators she never cried. She put on her clothes, asked for his autograph and gave him a kiss, he said.Winters has said the woman cried during the act and said "no" at least twice. He also said Bryant told her to go into his bathroom to clean herself up before she left, and that bellman Bobby Pietrack told investigators she seemed upset and her clothes and hair were disheveled when she left work that night.

...taken from ESPN's website

SEPT. 2004 ALBUMS / SINGLES REVIEWS...

2004-09-17T14:30:00.000+10:00

[SINGLES]

‘Promo 2’ EP
Unda Dwella
Fam First Productions
Brisbane’s own Unda Dwella spits verse on his second promo CD, his fourth or fifth independent release, “going for delf” with a curious vocal sound that sounds kind of like he’s got a head cold at times…
Using a combination of jacked and self produced beats U.D. is putting himself out there to build his rep and congrats to him for being brave enough to get out there, but he still needs a bit of work on his cadence/flow as it can be rather disjointed and jarring at times as it departs from the beat occasionally as he follows his own internal metronome.
Lyrically Unda Dwella has some big hits and serious misses, at times his lyrics are quite witty and humourous and at other times it just doesn’t make sense or is just too “wordy” for the beat and doesn’t fit (getting back to delivery/cadence). An encouraging EP from U.D., no doubt his next promotional EP will reflect further evolution of his skills.

'Wake Up With You'
Israel
Elite Fleet Productions/Sony Music Australia
Just from the support he’s getting from his hometown (Melbourne) Israel is destined to succeed, whether or not he has skills… Lucky for us this young Filipino has got a broad range of skills, which shine through on his debut single - ‘Wake Up With You’ (as he sings and raps on the single as well as having co-produced the joint).
Israel’s vocal skills are strong but not phenomenal, going by the ‘Wake Up With You’ his vocal range sounds a little limited but he sings well within his range and in harmony with the beats to create an easy to listen to flow. The mix on the tracks leaves a little to be desired, sounding a bit like a home job but with time and experience it will undoubtedly improve. A solid debut effort from Israel, who will surely develop further with the opportunities that will be available to him.

[ALBUMS]

‘The Hard Way’
213
TVT Records/Method Recordings
After over a decade, which has seen the rise and decline of “G Funk”, Long Beach homies – Snoop Dogg, Warren G and Nate Dogg have finally got back together to record the album they never got around to (thanks to Dr. Dre plucking Snoop from 213 and putting him on ‘The Chronic’). With Snoop concentrating on acting (and porn), Warren G languishing in obscurity and Nate Dogg occasionally lacing joints with his monotone hooks the trio aren’t quite on top of their games right now and unfortunately this much anticipated release is an obvious result of those circumstances… The trio are unable to recapture the “G Funk” sound of the early 90s and fail to bring back that West Coast gangsta vibe that initially brought them into the spotlight – perhaps becoming multi-millionaires has cost them their street edge which made their music so raw?
BTW… There’s currently a “G-Funk remix of ‘Groupie Luv’ produced by Warren G floating around the ‘net, check this joint out as that’s what ‘The Hard Way’ should have sounded like!

‘Journey To The Centre Of The Beats’
Paul Nice
Antidote/Inertia
This album is off the hook! DJ Paul Nice continues to produce top quality entertainment on the 1s and 2s and teamed with his impressive talents as a beatsmith makes ‘Journey To The Centre Of The Beats’ an exciting adventure filled with great guest spots from Lord Finesse, Masta Ace, Talib Kweli and Black Thought (the Roots) plus classic Biz Markie, Jeru the Damaja, Mobb Deep, Wu-Tan Clan and J-Live joints.
Paul Nice’s clever “bootleg” mixes are entertaining re-inventions of familiar tracks, particularly his new take on GrandMaster Flash + The Furious Five’s classic – ‘The Message’, Nice’s ‘Sugarhill Megamix’, the mashed-up remixes of William DeVaughn’s ‘Be Thankful For What You Got’ over Clipse’s ‘Grindin’ beat, DeBarge’s ‘All This Love’ over Jeru The Damaja’s ‘Come Clean’ instrumental and his remix of Jhelisa’s ‘Friendly Pressure’.
From track #1 through to track #18 (the beautiful ‘Everyday’), ‘Journey To The Centre Of The Beats’ is a winner!

‘Sunset Scavenger’
DJ Zeph
Ear Shot Music/Inertia
Expand your mind an allow yourself to think of Rap as more than just Chingy, Nelly and 50 Cent and your ears will be opened to a whole other world… DJ Zeph’s second album – ‘Sunset Scavenger’, inhabits the outer limits of this new broader horizon as it sees Rap fused with other influences to create a unique amalgam featuring guest spots from Lyrics Born, Boots (the Coup), Vursatyl (Lifesavas), Ken Flow, DJ Quest, Raashan Ahmed, Azeem, Ron E. Beck and Chester Thompson.
‘Sunset Scavenger’ has an overriding Jazz sensation to it with horns, keys, strings, drums and guitar interlaced with cruisy basslines and turntable scratches - best exemplified on ‘Midnight Crewsade’ and ‘Hands Up’ f/ Lyrics Born. Certain tracks on ‘Sunset Scavenger’, like ‘Floorwax’, have an almost cinematic feel to them, ‘Floorwax’ in particular brings back the vibe created by movies such as ‘Wildstyle’, ‘Krush Groove’ and ‘Beat Street’.
‘Sunset Scavenger’ is a refreshing twist on things, adding some spice to Rap smorgasbord.

‘Kiss Of Death’
Jadakiss
Ruff Ryders/Universal Music Australia
Despite having producers such as Timbaland, DJ Premier and the Neptunes handling his first album, Jadakiss’s solo debut tanked - as far as sales, but with ‘Kiss Of Death’ Jada has captured a broader “urban” audience with a vastly more commercial sound on this album as opposed to the much grimier street sound of ‘Kiss The Game Goodbye’. Track for track ‘Kiss The Game Goodbye’ was a better album than ‘Kiss Of Death’ despite its limited subject matter as ‘Kiss Of Death’ just seems to be a dilution of Jada’s sound as he himself said he was aiming to sell records with this album – perhaps trading artistic integrity for dollar dollar bills!
Production on ‘Kiss Of Death’ also seems slightly inferior to ‘Kiss Thew Game Goodbye’ despite having contributions from Kanye West, Scott Storch, The Alchemist, Havoc, The Neptunes, Jelly Roll, DJ Green Lantern and Red Spyda plus Elite, Eminem (+ Luis Resto), Black Key, Baby Grand and Neo.
Despite commercial success, ‘Kiss Of Death’ is a dilution of the real Jadakiss – go cop ‘Kiss The Game Goodbye’ to hear some truly grimy rhymes.

‘Diesel Truckers’
Kool Keith featuring KutMasta Kurt
Threshold Recordings/Method Recordings
Longtime collaboraters, Kool Keith and KutMasta Kurt return with another collaborative album – ‘Diesel Truckers’, which is probably their most “normal” album together ever (compared to Doctor Octagon or ‘First Come, First Served’)!
With the multitude of projects Kool Keith has on the go at the moment perhaps his undivided attention wasn’t given to ‘Diesel Truckers’ as the album just lacks that certain something to make it, even KutMasta Kurt’s usually tight production is lacklustre in comparison to other Keith/Kurt collabos (‘Masters of Illusion’ comes to mind).
KutMasta Kurt’s production sounds disappointingly amateurish at times, which comes as a real surprise, and Kool Keith’s witty rhymes fall down at times due to uninspired delivery. ‘Diesel Truckers’ was an unexpected disappointment due to the above points but not a complete loss as ‘Bamboozled’ and ‘Serve ‘em a Sentence’ are tight examples of how the entire album could have been.

‘Rahzel’s Greatest Knockouts!’
Rahzel
Sure Shot Recordings
This album is crazy! “The Godfather of Noize” has clearly shown why he is the (self-proclaimed) “Undisputed Beatbox Champion Of The World” with this large collection of beatboxing at its finest.
This album is best experienced whilst wearing headphones rather than through speakers, so you can pick up every intricate layer of subtle sound Rahzel produces only with the use of his mouth – no overdubs, 100% real!
You may of heard some of these recordings before from Rahzel but damn, its all so damn good that you just can’t tire from hearing what this guy can do, and what’s best is that he’s not only a beatboxer – he’s nice with the rhyme skills too!
Unlike Rahzel’s debut solo album, ‘Rahzel’s Greatest Knockouts!’ is simply a collection of live material and radio freestyles with a couple of full tracks in the mix, but its not some half-arsed thrown together project, its non-stop entertainment from go to whoa.

‘Spirit in Stone’
Lifesavas
Quannum Projects/Inertia Music Distribution
Coming from the Quannum crew (Blackalicious, Lyrics Born, Latyrx, DJ Shadow, etc.) you know Lifesavas are going to be tight – fo’ sho’, and ‘Spirit in Stone’ doesn’t fail to fulfil that expectation… The trio of (MC) Jumbo the Garbageman, (MC) Vursatyl and (DJ) Rev. Shines have hand crafted a well rounded album very much in the Quannum style, thanks in part to the album’s executive producer – Chief Xcel (Blackalicious), who definitely imparted some of the Blackalicious sound on ‘Spirit in Stone’.
Strong beats, handled by the Lifesavas themselves, creates a solid base for the trio to lay substantial rhymes, which sound strongly influenced by the Native Tongues crew (De La Soul, A Tribe Called Quest, Jungle Brothers + Leaders Of the New School) of the early nineties making for some refreshing listening amidst the “bling bling” of commercial rap.
‘Spirit in Stone’ is a heavy album, dripping in dopeness and richly layered in smooth styling. Oh yeah, J-Live, Latyrx, Blackalicious and DJ Shadow all make guest appearances on ‘Spirit in Stone’.

‘The Mixtape’
Rudy
Sureshot Enterprises/Midnight
Australia is experiencing a tidal wave of up and coming R&B talent right now and riding on the crest of that wave is Melbourne’s smooth operator – Rudy, who has been patiently building his reputation amongst Melbourne’s urban community with numerous live club performances to get him to this point…
To build hype for Rudy in anticipation of a full length album release Midnight have compiled ‘The Mixtape’, stuffed with fifteen dope Soul/R&B joints featuring guest spots from Goodfella, Revelino (Soul District) and L.A.’s Shade Sheist plus writing contributions from Static (Playa), who is best known for his work on Aaliyah’s last LP.
Without exaggeration, Rudy’s mixtape offering is one of (if not) the best Australian Soul/R&B release I have heard to date – everything is of a international level, the production (handled by Rudy), mix, songwriting and vocals are all on point with not a flaw to be spotted! Most impressive is Rudy’s smooth voice, which just oozes that classic seductive Soul/R&B style and makes him stand out from other Australian R&B artists.
Rudy should be the next Australian act to blow up.

‘Da Mixtape’
Soul District
Sureshot Enterprises/Midnight
In the tradition of Pete Rock + CL Smooth, South-East Melbourne’s Soul District (Revelino + Cee For) are here to bring the Soul to Australian Rap with their unique style.
Revelino’s individual production style is not trying to be anything else than an original and fresh sound, truly stealing the spotlight more than anything else on ‘Da Mixtape’. Along with Bliss n Eso, Hyjak n Torcha, Hilltop Hoods, etc., Soul District represent the new sound of Australian Rap – moving confidently into 2004 and shedding that misconstrued obligation to “keeping it real”.
‘Da Mixtape’ features a line-up of ten guest artists over Rev’s beats alongside Cee For and Rev’s verses, of which Rev’s unfortunately features a distinct hint of that infectious American twang that occasionally appears in Australian Rap and hopefully will fade with time as Australian Rap further strengthens its own image...
Soul District’s ‘Da Mixtape’ is an interesting look at another direction for Australian Rap, with Revelino’s production sure to turn up on numerous future Australian Rap and R&B releases…

‘Barn Of The Naked Dead’
Mr. Hyde
Psycho+Logical=Records/Method Recordings
After perusing the album’s CD booklet and knowing that Mr. Hyde is part of Necro’s Psycho+Logical=Records roster it was safe to say I was scared before I even pressed play… dude has some serious issues, having dismembered bodies of women and children featuring in his CD booklet!
Anyway, I persevered and pressed play… and was instantly transplanted to a horrific scene reminiscent of ‘Friday the 13th’, ‘Halloween’ or ‘Texas Chainsaw Massacre’.
Who listens to this stuff? I thought for a second that perhaps I’m just too old to appreciate it - but hang on, I’m only 30! Mr. Hyde truly is a sick fuck! I was repulsed by the words this guys was violently spitting out at me, even Necro’s production on this LP was disjointed and disorienting – like the score of a horror film, meant to create that terror filled feeling I guess.
Mr. Hyde successfully promotes violent and senseless violence on ‘Barn of The Naked Dead’ – if that was his goal then this LP is a hit, for the normal mentally stable listener… run away!

RAHZEL to tour Australia in Dec.

2004-09-14T10:00:00.000+10:00

** BIG NEWS **

Just found out that the "Godfather of Noize" - RAHZEL, is headed to Australia in early Dec. for a show at Platform One (MEL.) on Wed. Dec. 01 with DJ JS-1.

RAHZEL's beatboxing skills are superhuman and as a former member of the Roots he has established a network that has seen him collaborate with numerous artists, highlighted by his solo debut 'Make The Music 2000'. You can also check out Rahzel's skills on his latest mixtape - 'Rahzel's Greatest Knockouts', which was recently released through Sure Shot Recordings.

More news on RAHZEL's Australian tour in next week's ON POINT...

ON POINT // Sun. Sept. 12 2004

2004-09-13T10:54:00.000+10:00

[ON TOUR]
Bay Area turntablist and former protégé of KutMasta Kurt – [DJ ZEPH] is headed to Australia this month for a national tour to promote his new album – ‘Sunset Scavenger’. Zeph will be heading to… MEL. – Wed. Sept. 15 (Honkytonks), SYD. – Fri. Sept. 17 (Candy’s) and PER. – Sat. Sept. 18 (The Flying Scotsman).

I told y’all it was coming… DUME Entertainment, Showtime Entertainment and Mary Street nightclub present [BUSTA RHYMES] and the Flipmode Squad LIVE in Brisbane on Fri. Oct. 01! Bussa Bus will be backed with support from Brisbane’s own JNR, Dirty Mob and DJs Big Boyd + Toopz with host – Big Sire w/ DJ Demo (SYD.). Pre-sold tickets are $35 (+b/f) and available now from Central Station Records, Rockinghorse Records, Phat Stuff, Sunflower Records and Mary Street.

[SCRIBE] is set to return to Australia in Oct. to promote his album – ‘The Crusader’, with his “Stand Up” national tour featuring some of NZ’s finest Hip-Hop talent; P-Money, DJ D-Form, Con-Psy + Forty One (of Frontline) and Savage + Mareko (of Deceptikonz). Tickets for “The Stand Up Tour” go on sale Fri. Aug. 27 for shows in… MEL. – Wed. Sept. 29 @ Prince of Wales, SYD. – Fri. Oct. 01 @ Metro, CAN. – Sun. Oct. 03 @ ANU Bar, BNE. – Wed. Oct. 06 @ the Zoo, ADL. – Thu. Oct. 07 @ Adelaide Uni Bar and PER. – Fri. Oct. 08 @ Heat nightclub.

The [X-ECUTIONERS] are set to return to Australia for their “Scratch 2004 Tour” throughout early Oct. featuring all three “X-Men”; Roc Raida, Rob Swift and Total Eclipse (Mista Sinista left the group a couple of years back). The X-ecutioners will play; ADL. – Fri. Oct. 01 @ Heaven, PER. - Sat. Oct. 02 @ Monkey Bar, SYD. – Sun. Oct. 03 @ Metro, MEL. – Wed. Oct. 06 @ Prince of Wales and finally BNE. – Thu. Oct. 07 @ the Tivoli. Make sure not to miss this show!

Get ready to break ya neck at the [CROOKNECK PARTY] Sat. Oct. 09 at The Rev featuring a huge line-up; Lazy Grey, Celcius, Mnemonic Ascent (Raph/BVA/Ransom), J-Red (Lyrical Commission), A-Love, Ransom (Mnemonic Ascent). $14 pre-sold / $17 @ the door.

After successful spots on the Big Day Out and independent tours, the [BLACK EYED PEAS] are set to head back downunder for a national tour in Oct. prior to the release of their fourth album – ‘Monkey Business’. Tickets go on sale Mon. Jul .19 for five shows on; Sun. Oct. 10 – BNE. (River Stage), Tue. Oct. 12 – ADL. (Thebarton Theatre), Wed. Oct. 13 – PER. (Robinson Pavillion), Fri. Oct. 15 – MEL. (Rod Laver Arena) and Sat. Oct. 16, Sun. 17 + Mon. 18 – SYD. (Hordern Pavillion).

“The man” - [GEORGE BENSON], is returning to Australia for a series of live shows all around the country - here’s the dates… Mon. Oct. 04 – PER. (Burswood Theatre), Fri. Oct. 08 – ADL. (Thebarton Theatre), Mon. Oct. 11 – SYD. (State Theatre) and Thu. Oct. 14 - Gold Coast Convention Centre. I missed George Benson’s live show last time around and really regretted it – make sure you don’t make the same mistake this time around!

To promote their new Obese Records release – ‘Flowers in the Pavement’, Sydney’s [BLISS'N'ESO] are headed out on a national tour. Look out for Bliss’n’Eso with DJ Izm in QLD. on… Thu. Oct. 14 – Quest nightclub (Gold Coast) and Sat. Oct. 16 – Mary St. nightclub (BNE.).

Canadian Rap crew [SWOLLEN MEMBERS] are set to head downunder thanks to Hive Creative + DC Shoes to promote their fourth album – ‘Heavy’, with shows planned for mid/late Oct. Mad Child, Prevail, Moka Only + Rob the Viking will play shows in… BNE. – Sat. Oct. 20 (The Rev), ADL. – Fri. Oct. 22 (Traffic), SYD. – Sat. Oct. 23 (Gaelic Club) and MEL. – Sun. Oct. 24 (Prince of Wales). Swollen Members will also play support for Black Eyed Peas at their SYD. shows on Sat. Oct. 16, Sun. Oct. 17 + Mon. Oct. 18 @ the Hordern Pavillion.

The Frontier Touring Company present… [ALICIA KEYS] live in Australia throughout Oct. The 23 year-old Keys will play MEL. on Fri. Oct. 22 @ Palais Theatre, SYD. On Mon. Oct. 25 @ Enmore Theatre (SOLD OUT!) and BNE. on Fri. Oct. 29 @ the Lyric Theatre. Tickets for the BNE. show went on sale last Fri. (Sept. 10) through Q Tix – www.qtix.com.au, better be quick!

For the first time ever [AND 1] will bring their AND 1 Mixtape Tour streetball team to Australia for a national tour, bringing some of the best streetballers (Alimoe, AO, Escalade, Flash, Go Get It, Half Man, Helicopter, High Octane, Hot Sauce, Main Event, Prime Objective, The Professor, Shane, Sik Wit It and “50” – only a select few of the listed will hit Oz in Nov.) to go up against some of Australia’s finest local talent! Tickets available now from Ticketek and Ticketmaster7 for the following dates… BNE. – Wed. Nov. 10 @ BNE. Entertainment Centre, SYD. – Fri. Nov. 12 @ SYD. Entertainment Centre, PER. – Wed. Nov. 17 @ Challenge Stadium and MEL. – Sat. Nov. 20 @ Rod Laver Arena. If you think you’ve got skills to go up againsdt the AND 1 mixtape crew or want more info on the mixtape tour head to www.and1.com.au

Bizarre, Kon Artis, Swift, Kuniva + Proof - better known as [D-12], are headed to AUS. in Dec. for a national tour without their main man – Eminem, but backed by a live band. Shows are scheduled for… Dec. 11 – PER. (Robinson Pavillion), Dec. 13 – MEL. (Festival Hall), Dec. 15 - SYD. (Hordern Pavillion) and Dec. 18 - BNE (River Stage) - Tickets are $74.80!

Former Roachford frontman - [ANDREW ROACHFORD] is headed to Australia in Oct. for a national tour to promote his new Jazz/Soul fusion LP – ‘Heart Of The Matter’. More details as they are released…

In mid-Oct [THE PHARCYDE] will be passing us by as part of their “Passing Me By” tour of AUS. and N.Z. Remaining Pharcyde members – Booty Brown and Imani will be joined by a tour DJ, drummer and keyboardist for the tour which will have details announced soon…

Word is that… Scratch that, [DE LA SOUL] are headed back to Australia to lavish upon us some of the finest Hip-Hop there ever was! An Adelaide show has been confirmed for Dec. 29 at the Old Queen’s Theatre, supported by Terra Firma and the Beat Smugglers - tickets are $50 + b/f. No doubt dates for the rest of Australia will be announced very soon!

Apparently [BIG BOI] (of OutKast) is headed to Australia for a national tour in the coming months, most probably with Sleepy Brown and some select members of the Dungeon Family to make up for Andre 3000’s obvious absence – as he no longer tours as part of OutKast. By the way… Big Boi does NOT perform ‘Hey Ya!’ so don’t go to hear that one song!

Lookout for a huge upcoming national tour featuring; 1200 Techniques (Nfamas + DJ Peril only), Butterfingers, Maya Jupiter, Koolism and many other Australian acts… What’s more the tour will be [ALL AGES]!

Other Hip-Hop and R&B acts rumoured to be planning tours of Australia include; [BEASTIE BOYS] + [DILATED PEOPLES] (Big Day Out), [JANET JACKSON], [KANYE WEST] + [TALIB KWELI], [USHER], [TIMBALAND], [NELLY] + the St. Lunatics, [JAY-Z] (or S. Carter), [REDMAN] + [METHOD MAN] and [THA ALKOHOLIKS] – Keep your eyes and ears peeled as On Point will bring you all the news as to whether or not these shows go ahead…

[QUIKSHOTZ]
[URBANBEATZ] has apparently ended its run at Club V.I.P. with no news of a new venue on the horizon, apparently the organization behind UrbanBeatz have a new project planned along with their ongoing promotions at Brisbane Underground and Hotel L.A.

Look out for a soulful new R&B artist named [LYFE], his debut album is out now so go check it out….

With his album’s first single ‘Crabbuckit’ blazing up the Canadian charts and new single – ‘B-Boy Stance’, getting buzz stateside, [K-OS] is preparing for the U.S. release of his latest album - ‘Joyful Rebellion’ on Sept. 21. K-os’s 2003 album – ‘Exit’, won himself The Source Award for International Album of The Year.

‘Lose My Breath’ is the new single from [DESTINY’S CHILD], who released the track to AOL Music on Sept. 09. The Rodney Jerkins produced joint is the first offering from ‘Destiny Fulfilled’, which is due Nov. 16 through Columbia Records (Sony). ‘Destiny Fulfilled’ will feature CD/DVD content thanks to flip-side technology, which sees the album feature on one side of the disc and DVD content such as live footage, music videos and interviews on the other.

Inspired by their new joint tour, [JAY-Z] + [R. KELLY] are set to re-release their ‘The Best of Both Worlds’ LP under the title – ‘The Best of Both Worlds: Unfinished Business’ on Oct. 26 with a couple of new joints to freshen up the set (rumoured to be as few as three or as many as twelve making a double album). HOT97 announcer - Angie Martinez recently played ‘The Return’ and the TrackMasters produced ‘Don’t Let Me Die’.

[WU-TANG CLAN’s] Jul. 17 performance at the Rock The Bells festival is already being turned into an album to be released through Sanctuary Urban Records Group but now SURG are preparing the Wu’s live performance into a 34 track DVD for release on Oct. 05 entitled ‘Disciples Of The 36 Chambers’, featuring RZA, GZA/Genius, Method Man, Ghostface Killa, Inspectah Deck, U-God, Raekwon, Masta Killa and Ol’ Dirty Bastard.

After the dismal performance of his last two solo albums, [RAEKWON] is now looking at recording a sequel to his ’95 classic - ‘Only Built 4 Cuban Linx’. Apparently Raekwon has already approached Mobb Deep, Nas, Fat Joe, Busta Rhymes, The RZA, Alchemist and others to contribute to the new album, which is yet to have a release date scheduled.

Building up hype for his upcoming debut release in Oct., G-Unit’s first signing - [GAME] is dropping another mixtape entitled ‘Youknowwhatitis Vol. 2’, featuring new exclusives, freestyles and collabos from; Snoop Dogg, WC, Dr. Dre, Jay-Z, Rah Digga, Prodigy, 50 Cent, Lloyd Banks, Young Buck, Jim Jones, Crooked I, Old School, Vita, Lil’ Flip, Juelz Santana, Billboard, Life, Crooked I, and others…

[LIL’ JON] and the East Side Boyz are set to unleash their ‘Crunk Juice’ on Nov. 16 with a huge line-up of guest artists, which include; R. Kelly, Ludacris, Nas, T.I., Jadakiss, Ice Cube, Snoop Dogg, Nate Dogg, Suga Free, Lil’ Scrappy, Oobie, Triville, Jazze Pha and Tommy Lee amongst others.

[50 CENT] has got his ass covered in case some groupie tries to catch him out like Kobe… 50 recently revealed to ElitesTV that he videotapes all his sessions of “groupie luv” with multiple hidden cameras! 50 believes that the video footage is for his own peace of mind, covering him from any claims of rape as he can simply prove via video that the girls willingly gave it up. 50 also disclosed that if a groupie bears false witness against him he’ll just post her session on the internet until she retracts her claims!

Elephant Man and Vybz Kartel have lost their nominations for Best Reggae Act at this year’s [MOBO AWARDS] thanks to complaints from Gay and Lesbian rights organistions over their anti-homosexual lyrics… Elephant Man and Vybz Kartel were both asked to submit written apologies to the Gay and Lesbian community but failed to do so by the designated deadline so they are no longer eligible for their nominations.

Kanye West has dominated nominations for this year’s [THE SOURCE HIP-HOP MUSIC AWARDS] with eight nominations, Ludacris was the next best loved with six nominations whilst Lil’ Jon scored five nominations Twista, Jay-Z, Chingy, Lil’ Flip, OutKast and Ghostface Killah all scored multiple nominations - G-Unit surprisingly scored three nomination despite the Source vs. Shady/Aftermath beef. The Source Awards are scheduled for Oct. 10 in Miami, with BET to televise the event on Nov. 10 allowing for plenty of time to edit out on stage fights and to re-record award presentation which were not able to be given out on the night due to fights in the audience between rival artists. Not surprisingly, Source “co-founder” – Ray “Benzino” Scott has been nominated for two awards despite being the wackest cat on the planet!

Looks like we might have a new beef on our hands… Apparently [KANYE WEST] had a few words to say about Ma$e at the recent MTV VMAs - “how can Ma$e preach about Jesus when he's rapping about booty teasers". Kanye also had a few words on P. Diddy, saying that he is simply bringing back “throwback artists” by working with Ma$e and others like Craig Mack.

The ongoing beef between [T.I.] + [LIL’ FLIP] continues with things heating up of late thanks to T.I.’s latest dis’ track aimed at Lil’ Flip – ‘99 Problems (Lil’ Flip ain’t one)’, lifting Jay-Z’s beat from ’99 Problems’ (duh!).

With permission from Afeni Shakur, fifteen of [TUPAC SHAKUR’s] best tracks have been transposed into an 84-page book of sheet music for the piano entitled ‘The Tupac Shakur Collection’. Some of the tracks featured in the collection include; ‘California Love’, ‘Brenda’s Got A Baby’, ‘Dear Mama’ and ‘How Do You Want It’.

With his life in the toilet thanks to allegations of child molestation and his musical career seriously leaving a lot to be desired, [MICHAEL JACKSON] is about to have a retrospective collection of his career released by Epic Records on Nov. 16. ‘The Ultimate Collection’ will be a four-disc collection of 57 tracks spanning Jackson’s thirty-odd year career, the package will include a 64-page booklet of rare photos and a DVD of Jackson’s 1992 HBO concert in Bucharest, Romania. The collection will include previously unreleased tracks – ‘Scared of the Moon’, ‘Cheater’, ‘Sunset Driver’, ‘Fall Again’, ‘In the Back’, ‘Beautiful Girl’, ‘The Way You Love Me’ and ‘We've Had Enough’ plus demo versions of – ‘P.Y.T.’, ‘Dangerous’ and ‘Shake A Body’ plus a solo version of ‘We Are The World’. Also featured on the collection are some hard to find tracks, such as ‘Someone in The Dark’ (written for the E.T. storybook), ‘We Are Here To Change The World (from the IMAX 3D film – ‘Captain Eo’), ‘Someone Put Your Hand Out’ (Teddy Riley collabo from a Pepsi promo), ‘Childhood’ (‘Free Willy 2’ OST) and ‘On the Line’ (‘Get on the Bus’ OST).

Public Enemy hype-man - [FLAVOR FLAV] has apparently taken over VH1’s ‘The Surreal Life’ reality series with his insane shenanigans, grabbing the spotlight from the moment the show begins! Flav apparently didn’t recognize any of the other “celebrity” cast members including Brigit Nielsen whom he offended, snuggled and slapped! Flavor Flav also proclaimed himself to be the next “Flavzel” Washington – the master of disaster is back in the hizzouse!

[UNDAGROUND SOUNDS]
The Likwit Crew’s underground representative - [PHIL DA AGONY] is preparing to finally release his debut album on Oct. 19, entitled ‘Aromatic’, borrowing a few tracks from Phil’s previous ‘Steady Aromatic’ mixtape series. Guests on ‘Aromatic’ include; Xzibit, Raekwon, Talib Kweli, Planet Asia, Self-Scientific and Krondon, plus production from; E-Swift, Hi-Tek, Evidence, DJ Khalil and Joey Chavez.

Now that 25 years have passed since the debut release from [GRANDMASTER FLASH + THE FURIOUS FIVE], the legendary and pioneering rap crew are now eligible for nomination to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Flash + the Five are now at the semi-final stage of nominations, along with The O’Jays, The Harptones, ABBA, Jeff Back, Kraftwerk and Ringo Starr amongst others.

[UTHA STUFF]
Nokia are running a national competition called [TERMINAL 9] to find Australia’s up and coming Rap, Breaks and Drum ‘n Bass producers whom will end up on DJ Shredlock mixed ‘Terminal 9’ compilation due in Oct. If you are one of the lucky nine finalists you will score… Studio mastering of their winning track, their track included on the Terminal 9 CD - mixed by DJ Shredlock (which will also feature tracks from Downsyde, Koolism, Bass Kleph and Greg Packer), 1x Nokia mobile phone (for each member of production crew), a Nokia “Terminal 9” T-shirt and their bio featured on the official Terminal 9 website. To enter the Terminal 9 comp head to www.terminal9.com.au, you must submit at least two tracks of your work (MP3’s no larger than 3Mb each) before midnight Sept. 27 with winners announced Sept. 30. From Nov. 19 – Dec. 18 the Terminal 9 tour will head off around Australia on a nine-city tour featuring some of Australia’s best Breaks, Rap and Drum ‘n Bass artists with event goers scoring a FREE copy of the Terminal 9 CD with their (pre-sold) ticket. Once the Terminal 9 CD is released, purchasers will be able to vote for a Grand Prize winner via SMS with the winner announced on Dec. 20. The Grand Prize winner will score… mastering of your winning track + 3 additional tracks, your four mastered tracks pressed onto 50 CDs and full CD artwork/design for a demo EP, return trip to London (for 1) including one weeks' accommodation (Feb. 2005 only) and a one-hour meeting with the label/s of your choice from Terminal 9’s partner list (Fat Records, Fingerlickin’ Records, Lowlife Records and Catskills Records).

Whilst traveling through Pennsylvania from Syracuse (N.Y.) to Chicago on tour, [TWISTA’s] tour van was involved in a traffic accident on the highway resulting with two members of the touring party fatally injured and five other men including Twista himself suffering non-serious injuries. Apparently the van veered off the highway and hit the curb, causing the vehicle to roll – investigators have commented that it was a miracle anyone survived the crash as only the driver was wearing a seatbelt – see kids… “click clack, front and back”! In other related news… Twista’s ‘Kamikazee’ LP will be re-released on Oct. 19 with some new content added.

After his storming off stage tantrum at the Reading Festival in the UK a audience member there on the day has filed charges against [50 CENT] as he claims he was struck on the head and rendered unconcious by the microphone UK authorities are now seeking contact with Fiddy for questioning.

Despite his ‘Detox’ album being shelved indefinitely [DR. DRE] is now working on a new project with 76 year-old legendary songwriter/composer – Burt Bacharach. The duo first began working on the project in Feb. 2003 under Sony Music, who have apparently given the duo complete creative freedom. The album is due for release around Sept./Oct. 2005.

Bringing it back to the block, comedian - [DAVE CHAPPELLE] is putting together a series of NYC Block Parties featuring special performances from Lauryn Hill, Mos Def, Talib Kweli, The Roots, Kanye West, Common, Erykah Badu, Jill Scott and dead prez with Dave hosting the show! Chappelle has apparently footed the bill all by himself (no sponsors) and will take place at a secret location, apparently the party goers will have to catch a chartered bus to Brooklyn where they will transfer to another bus which will take them to the secret location, which is said to be on an actual Brooklyn street not a concert venue - a second party is also planned for an undisclosed rooftop location. Dave Chappelle’s first Block Party is set for Sept. 18 in NYC with a DVD documentary of the event rumoured to be released too.

With one hundred plus guest including Jay-Z, Naomi Campbell, Michelle Williams, Kelly Rowland and the Olsen twins, the NYPD recently stormed in on the NYC rooftop party for [BEYONCÉ’s] 23rd birthday party after numerous noise complaints from locals.

[P. DIDDY] is livin’ large! Diddy has been named in Fortune magazine’s “40 Richest American’s Under 40” list – earning #1 spot thanks to his expansive empire which includes; Bad Boy Records, Justin’s restaurant chain, Sean John clothing label, ‘Making The Band’ MTV reality series, Blue Flame Marketing and Advertising and other projects… Diddy’s approximated earnings for the last year is around the US$315 million mark. Jay-z also made the list with earnings around US$286 million as did Will Smith.

Whilst Andre (3000) Benjamin earned Esquire magazine’s most fashionable male award, (the Ecko owned) Complex magazine has voted [PHARRELL WILLIAMS] the most fashionably influential individual, beating out the likes of P. Diddy. Pharrell is applauded by Complex for his bold fashion choices and no doubt his Reebok backed Billionaire Boys Club clothing line will be a hit.

[BEYONCÉ] and her mother – Tina Knowles, recently unveiled their new “House of Dereon” clothing range as part of NYC’s fashion week. The label was named for Beyoncé’s Grandmother – Agnes Dereon, who was a seamstress, Beyoncé hopes to have the first range from the House of Dereon in stores by Sept./Oct. 2005. The label will use “Coutoure, Kick + Soul” as keywords for their design style.

With her own clothing line, perfume and cosmetics line, [JENNIFER LOPEZ] is now looking to take another step to expand her fashion and beauty empire with news that she recently launched her “Pretty In Pink” line from J.LO Lingerie in Canada, during a Toronto runway show. Jen is also looking to plaster her J.LO logo on a new range of watches for the end of this year and a line of shoes for next year. J.Lo’s aim is to have women rocking J.LO from head to toe.

Roc-A-Fella’s [ROCAWEAR] clothing label has had to scrap the proposed ‘Rocawear MUSE’ name of their new women’s clothing and jewelry line due to a rival company (Maggy London International) having a trademark on the MUSE name. Rocawear has also disclosed plans to expand its empire into sunglasses under a new deal with Colors in Optics Ltd.

With [JUVENILE] having signed to Atlantic in Jul. and the success of his recent single – ‘Slow Motion’, Cash Money Records have decided to capitalize on their former artist by releasing a greatest hits compilation. ‘Greatest Hits’ is set to drop on Oct. 19 lead by ‘Slow Motion’ f/ Soulja Slim and a remix of the cut f/ Wyclef Jean and Ying Yang Twinz, and also includes ‘Back That Thang Up’, ‘Ha’, ‘Bounce Back’, ‘In My Life’ and others.

To coincide with the release of the new console game - ['DEF JAM: FIGHT FOR NY'], Def Jam Recordings have compiled a soundtrack featuring classic joints from Public Enemy, Big Daddy Kane, LL Cool J, Ultramagnetic MC's and Ice-T plus new tracks from Joe Budden, Xzibit, Fat Joe, Busta Rhymes, Method Man, Ric-A-Che, Capone-N-Noreaga, Sticky Fingaz, Beezle (f/ Bonecrusher) and others, which all appear in the game’s soundtrack. ‘Def Jam: Fight For NY’, is set for release on Sept. 20 through Electronic Arts and features forty Rap artists and identities going toe-to-toe, including Busta Rhymes, Ludacris, Ice T, Lil' Kim, Method Man, Redman, Snoop Dogg and others.

Field Mob member Shawn [“KALAGE”] Johnson was arrested in Atlanta on kidnapping charges after he allegedly took a six-month old girl in Jul., whom he apparently fathered. Kalage is now in custody but the child in question is still missing as Kalage will not disclose the child’s whereabouts.

Bad Boy Records recording artist - [LOON], has seen his assault charges dropped by a Superior Court judge after the victim and witness failed to identify Loon as the assailant. Loon’s assault charges stemmed from an incident outside L.A.’s House Of Blues where he was accused of stabbing a security guard after he wouldn’t let Loon and his boys in the venue for a performance by Lil’ Jon and the East Side Boyz.

The 6th Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati last week ruled that rap artists should pay for the rights to use any music sampled in their compositions – including minor and unrecognisable snippets of music, like the two-second, three note guitar riff, sample of George Clinton and Funkadelic’s [‘GET OFF YOUR ASS AND JAM’] which was looped into a 16 beat piece and appeared only five times on the beat for N.W.A.’s classic ‘100 Miles and Runnin’. The N.W.A. track appeared on the soundtrack to No Limit Film’s ‘I Got The Hook-Up’ and the alleged owners (Bridgeport Music + Westbound Records) of ‘Get Off Your Ass and Jam’s copyright have been seeking financial recuperation for the illegal sample… Previous proceedings on the sampling issue had seen courts rule that sampled work must be paid for but snippets such as a note or chord, as long as it is unrecognisable, was legal – this new decision overturns previous rulings making all borrowing illegal unless paid for.