Hip-hop mogul Shawn ‘Jay-Z‘ Carter has reportedly proposed to his long-term girlfriend, Beyonce Knowles. According to British media reports, Shawn Carter canceled several U.S. promotional appearances for his Roc-A-Fella empire and flew out to France last week to surprise the Ms. Knowles with a romantic break in Cannes, where he allegedly popped the question.

Beyonce – who is currently in the U.K. as part of her world tour – accepted the proposal, and a source says the rapper has promised her “the biggest diamond she can fit on her finger”. The source adds, “This will be the hip-hop wedding to end all hip-hop weddings.”

Earlier this year, the former Destiny’s Child star gushed about her romance with Carter, saying: “I want to get married and really want a family – in a perfect world I’d have two boys and a girl. You know someone loves you by the way he treats you and respects you. Me and Jay respect each other.”

The couple are said to be planning to marry in Hawaii later this year.

The American Dream, the new album from famous Houston rapper Mike Jones, has been pushed back. It was originally scheduled for release this month but will not be released on July 10 backed by Swishahouse/Asylum/Warner Bros. Records. Expect guest vocals from Trey Songz, Pimp C, T.I., Lil’ Mo and even LeToya Luckett.

Last time it was his phone number… what trick does Mr. Jones have up his sleeve this time? Now, he has set up an “Ask Mike Jones” email address where fans can reach out to him directly with questions or comments at AskMikeJones@gmail.com

The Houston bred rapper promises to personally answer all of his fans’ emails.

“Because I received so many calls on 281.330.8004 there were many times where my friends (fans) couldn’t get through,” he explained via a statement. “With the email address it will be much easier for me to communicate with them because I receive emails from that address on my BlackBerry that is always with me.”

In order to promote his new album, Jones is also planning to release The American Hater, a CD of skits poking fun at Jones starring comedian Alex Thomas (The Players Club, The Wash).

The first single from The American Dream, “My ‘64″ featuring Snoop Dogg & Bun B, is presently in rotation on major radio station across the U.S. and the video premiered on BET’s “106 & Park” this past Friday (May 18).

Rap-A-Lot Records CEO James “J Prince” Prince will appear in court on Monday May 21 to face an assault charge made by studio owner Ronald Bookman.

Bookman, who owns legendary Houston studio 7023, claims that he was beaten after being lured to Prince’s gym, Prince Recreation Center for a business meeting.

Bookman claims he was meeting with Prince about receiving clearances to use Bun B. on a single from the new CD of Bookman’s first artist on his fledgling label, 7303 Records.

Upon his arrival to the gym Bookman spoke with Prince, but at the end of their discussion Bookman claims that Prince opened the door to let in seven men who were responsible for Bookman’s beating.

As a result of the beating, Bookman suffered severe head injuries, a broken nose, fractured ribs and had both eyes blackened with one eye requiring surgery.

“I think maybe we’re finally getting some of the politics out of the way with this case and we’re moving forward now,” Ronald Bookman said. “We’re going to get down to the nitty gritty of what happened, who was involved and what is going to happen next. And by my standing up, I expect anybody else here in Houston or elsewhere that they have done this to or jumped on, need to find their voice and their feet.”

The charge filed by Bookman on May 7 is actually Bookman’s second attempt at filing charges against Prince; earlier charges filed by Bookman were dismissed by a judge the same day they were made.

An arrest warrant was placed on Prince two days after charges were filed and Prince made bond.

According to Prince, Bookman’s claims appear to be nothing more than a meager attempt at gaining a little publicity.

“That dude is a clown. He’s always been a clown… He knows better than everybody why he got his ass whipped. For him to say I had anything to do with it, he’s telling a lie, there’s not a bit of truth in it,” Prince says.

Bookman also attempted to sue Prince for breach of contract, battery, unfair competition, duress, conspiracy and unjust enrichment.

“The most he’s going to get out of this is the publicity that he has so far,” Prince said. “I been dealing with these kinds of games for years with people suing. And not one of them was successful. This is a part of success man and the price that comes along with it. And I know how to deal with all these clowns.”

Courtesy: AllHipHop.com

If there was a record kept for the most time served by one person in the state of Texas, that record would go to Harvey Stewart, 79, who has spent only 28 months OUTSIDE of prison since March 1951. That information is according to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. That comes to 54 of the past 56 years all spent in prison. He is the oldest prisoner in terms of the length of his sentence.Mr. Stewart received a 10-year sentence in the early 1950’s for armed robbery and was also later convicted in July 1958 of the shooting death of 26-year-old James Laird earlier in that year. That crime landed him a life sentence.

“I’m just another one of the jailbirds as far as I can tell,” he said recently in an interview at the Terrell Unit at Rosharon just south of Houston.

When he looks back over his long years in prison – the result, he will claim, of a wrongful conviction out of Jefferson County – Stewart can’t find much to show for his years on Earth.

Although he rails against the alleged injustice done to him, he admitted without rancor that with the path he was on, he was probably destined to spend a good part of his life in prison anyway because he was a thief, plain and simple.

“I’m not weak. I’m not weak up here,” he snapped, pointing to his head.

He will not admit to ambition for anything better for his life and said he didn’t mind school, but having no real use for it, dropped out after completing eighth grade. He wouldn’t let a little thing like a life without meaning or any real hope of ever getting out get him down.

Interesting… to say the least!

Courtesy: Examiner

A man condemned for the fatal shooting of a rap singer during a robbery 3 1/2 years ago lost the appeal of his conviction and death sentence Wednesday in the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals.Juan Edward Castillo, in his required direct appeal to the state’s highest criminal court, had argued evidence was insufficient to convict him of the December 2003 slaying of 19-year-old Tommy Garcia Jr. Evidence showed Garcia, as part of a robbery plot, was shot seven times in an ambush at a San Antonio lovers lane after he was lured there by Castillo’s girlfriend.

In the appeal, Castillo also contended the Texas death penalty is unconstitutionally cruel and that the Bexar County judge who tried his capital murder case improperly allowed testimony from two accomplices in the plot.

The appeals court rejected all the claims.

Castillo does not have an execution date and still could raise appeals in the federal courts.

Castillo’s girlfriend, Debra Espinosa, pleaded guilty before his trial as part of plea bargain and testified against him. Another participant in the plot, Francisco Gonzales, also entered a plea for a reduced sentence. Both were sentenced to 40 years in prison.

The Associated Press
Wednesday, May 2, 2007 

Courtesy: Examiner

UGK has apparently announced that their new album will be released on December 19, 2007.

This Port Arthur, Texas-based group, consisting of Pimp C and Bun B, is releasing a new double album, Under Ground Kingz, and recently leaked a single from the project, titled “Game Belongs To Me.” The song was produced by Pimp C, Avery Harris, and N.O. Joe.

The official lead single from the project will be “Stop & Go,” which was produced by Jazze Pha. Also expect to hear beats from Mannie Fresh, Timbaland, Cool N Dre and Three 6 Mafia. Artists featured on the album include Slim Thug and Rick Ross not to mention others.

This album sounds like its gonna be hot and it is building a lot of hype right now since its the first group album release since 2001’s Dirty Money. It is also the first group project from Pimp C since his release from prison.

Thanks go to Artisan News Service for the video

Right at a time where the hip-hop culture has already been cast in a bad light (after the Don Imus fiasco), a new incident in Dallas has caused even further uproar about the lyrics of rappers. A group of male students at Hillcrest High School in Dallas are facing suspension, after they recorded a song that degraded various girls in the school. The song labeled every girl who goes to ‘Crest’ as a ’slut’ and called various female students out by name.

“I done f***, I done f***, every girl who goes to ‘Crest is a slut,” reads one line from the song.
Another even called girls by name. “Laura, Keisha, Dee Dee, Janeesha.”

The song is called “Hillcrest” and the group calls themselves the Hillcrest All-Stars. The students passed out copies of the song on CD for the other students, and put the song up on their MySpace pages.

“I’m not a ho. I’m not a slut. I’ve never done anything like that,” Hillcrest High School student Lakeisha Till told CBS 11 News. “You don’t have proof I’ve done anything like that, to put it on a song, and then say my name.”

The spokesman for the Dallas Independent School District, Jon Dahlander, responded by saying that the students may have violated the student conduct code by circulating the recorded song around the high school and also by posting it on their MySpace pages (their conduct code deals with MySpace?).

“If you’re going to say something derogatory to anybody, regardless if it’s a students or teacher or anyone, we need to step in and take the appropriate action at that point.”

Find more information and video of this news story at CBS 11 TV

By now, I am sure that all of you know of the horrific and violent events that happened on April 16, 2007 at Virginia Tech university in Blacksburg, VA. Houston rapper Lil Flip has released his freestyle response to the victims and all of those who are suffering.

As foul-mouthed and explicit as rappers may be in their lyrics sometimes, they still are aware of what is going on. Congratulations to Flip for taking the time out to reflect on the situation America has been plagued with for the past week. Its on YouTube, its not a video, but who cares? … It is worth listening to anyway.

Courtesy: MactownGeorgiaBoi