By: Rizoh Erstwhile Little Brother producer 9th Wonder is back on his grind. 9th’s sophomore disc, Dream Merchant Vol. 2, will be released on October 9th, 2007. To the delight of backpackers worldwide, two tracks on the album find 9th reuniting with his ex-Brothers Phonte and Big Pooh (the tracks were probably wrapped up before the split). Other guests on Dream Merchant 2 include: Saigon, Memphis Bleek, Sean Price, and Royce da 5’9”. Check out the tracklist below: 1 Mr. Dream Merchant Intro 2 Shots f/Big Dho & Sean Price 3 Merchant Of Dreams f/The EMBASSY, Skyzoo & Torae 4 Brooklyn In My Mind f/ Mos Def, Jean Grae & Memphis Bleek 5 Sunday f/Keisha Shontelle & Chaundon 6 Baking Soda f/Big Treal 7 Reminisce (Take Time) f/Big Remo & The Great Novej of the A.L.L.I.E.S. 8 No Time To Chill f/Little Brother 9 It Aint Over ft. Jozee Mo & Tyler Woods 10 The Last Time f/ Royce the 5’9, Naledge & Vandalyzm 11 Saved f/Saigon & Joe Scudda 12 Milky Lowa ft. Camp Lo 13 Backlash f/Sean Boog & Buckshot 14 Thank You f/ D.O.X & O-Dash 15 Let It Bang f/Ness & Skyzoo 16 What Makes A Man f/Rapper Big Pooh & Buddy Klein

By: Hot Gossip Gal There are talks of a legendary Fight Klub battle between the two MCs for 50 gs. Man not quite sure who I would go for on this one…both are in need of a career boost right now.

By Quibian Salazar-Moreno For those wondering how the anticipated Rock the Bells show, featuring everyone from the Wu-Tang Clan to Nas, was born, it was all captured on film back in 2004. From filmmakers Casey Suchan and Denis Henry Hennelly (who previously worked on lauded documentaries Beef, Beef 2, Thug Angel and The Freshest Kids), “Rock the Bells,” features the behind the scenes drama faced by organizer Chang Weisberg such as overselling the show and fans breaking in the venue and ODB not wanting to show up for the show even after RZA called him out. “If this event had been run by a large corporation, a disaster would have occurred,” say the filmmakers. “The split-second decision making and grace under pressure exhibited by the promotion team are innately human traits. It is this kind of interpersonal, organic touch that corporations will never be capable of, and it is the reason we must fight to support the independent spirit in the arts, whether it’s found in a group like the Wu-Tang Clan or a business like Guerilla Union.” The DVD will hit stores this week that will include special segments on O.D.B. and his last days before his death. Check out the film trailer below

By Quibian Salazar-Moreno Houston’s Paul Wall will be joining the USO/Multi National Corps – Iraq entertainment tour and perform troops in the middle of the war in Iraq. This will be the second time Wall has headed to the Middle East to do shows for the troops. Earlier this year, he was part of Jamie Kennedy’s Hip-Hop Comedy Tour which also featured comedians Bill Dawes, Stu Stone, DJ Joey Nicks and breakdancer, Casper. "Being a part of a USO tour and performing for the troops is amazing," Wall said. "It’s so easy to get caught up in the day-to-day and to forget what’s happening overseas — this is my way of letting them know I realize what they’re sacrificing and am truly grateful." Wall is still actively promoting his new album, “Get Money, Stay True,” which dropped back in April. He’s also still doing pretty well selling his grillz at GRILLZ BY PAUL WALL.

By: Hot Gossip Gal Supposed to be a low key event later this year when the two get married..perhaps that is to do with the fact that Spice Girl Mel B is going to be cleaning him out for child support. Wanna Be In My Gang? I am curious to know just what gang Jim Jones is down with beyond Byrd Gang..maybe I missed something along the way but it turns out that the new Beef DVD is about gangs and has testimonials from gang members including Weezy (yeah right), Snoop, WC, The Game (ahem) and Jim Jones. This I can’t wait to see.

By Quibian Salazar-Moreno Usher and his soon-to-be baby momma Tameka Foster called off their wedding this weekend. The couple were trying to keep the nuptials secret but word spread around the industry quickly that the wedding was going down on Saturday at music mogul L.A. Reid’s house. Well it didn’t happen. "It was announced today that the wedding ceremony for Usher Raymond, IV and Tameka Foster was canceled,” Usher publicist, Patty Webster, said in a statement on Saturday. “No additional information will be given regarding the circumstances of the cancellation, but we hope the privacy of this matter will be respected." According to People Magazine, there are several reasons why the wedding didn’t go down. Some say it was security, poor planning and Usher’s mother being against the whole thing. "Usher’s mother [and former manager, Jonetta Patton, whom he fired in May] is against the wedding. That is one of the main obstacles," a source told People Magazine. "They only decided two weeks ago to have a wedding. They wanted to have it take place before the baby bump started showing. They had a lot of differences about the details. For example, the bride wanted barbeque, [and] he wanted to have [renowned chef] Jean Georges cook. It was on again off again for the past few days. [Foster] was calling it off because she wasn’t getting the things that she wanted. The mother was calling it off. … Usher was calling it off." There’s also word that Usher just changed his mind.

By Quibian Salazar-Moreno For the past week, MTV and VJ/News guy Sway have been counting down who they think are the hottest emcees in the game in 2007. The final emcee was announced over the weekend and according to the MTV crew, Lil Wayne if their hottest emcee in 2007. “Lil Wayne has distanced himself from his peer group simply by embracing his love for rap with open arms — much like the way the lovably rotund Mabel Thomas used to lovingly squeeze her son Roger on "What’s Happening!!’,” the MTV hip-hop brain trust said. “Last year MTV News unofficially stamped Weezy F. Baby as the hottest MC on the planet, but now we’ve pulled out all the bells and whistles! We had to: When the MTV News hip-hop brain trust started coming up with this competition, Wayne was #1 on just about everyone’s list. He’s undeniable to us, the fans and the rest of the rappers out there.” As for the rest of the list, #2 T.I., #3 The Game, #4 Andre 3000, #5 Kanye West, #6 Young Jeezy, #7 Jay-Z, #8 50 Cent, #9 Common, and #10 Jim Jones. To watch clips from the list-making process and why the list of emcees was chosen, check out MTV.

By: Hot Gossip Gal Nothing nice about the British tabloids. They print what they want even if it is right or wrong and 50 knows this first hand. The Daily Mirror recently retracted a story which implied him sleeping with a reality TV star from the UK after she convinced his minders to let her back stage at one of his concerts while in the UK hoping to play with his ‘magic stick.’ Like the old saying goes, all press is good press and September 11th is coming up real soon. I am still amazed at people faking track listings for the album all over the net. When oh so many people seem to have a strong dislike for Curtis people spend a whole lot of time typing about him.

By: Hot Gossip Gal A couple weeks ago, Cassidy dropped a freestyle over 50 Cent’s “I Get Money,” in which he addressed some unnamed imposters. The song set the streets ablaze with rumors that Cass may have been dissing 50 (for swaggerjacking the “I’m a Hustla” production idea) and T.I. (for stealing his split personality concept from “The Hustla vs. The MC”). In a recent interview with Realtalkny.net, Cass decided to set the record straight: “The crazy part about it is that in the whole song I never mention anybody’s name,” clarified Cassidy. “I think when I said that, the people that feel funny and the people that feel some type of way is the people that you know it’s true. If it ain’t true and if it don’t apply to you, you just let it fly.” According to the Full Surface rapper, the freestyle is a reflection of what the street is buzzing about and he’s only a vessel of communication in this case. “It’s just that I’m in the streets everyday and I know what people in the streets were saying. Like, ‘Oh, that “I’m a Hustla” dance? I seen that somewhere.’ Or ‘Oh, that I Get Money? I heard that before. This person got split personality? Oh I seen that before.’ So, I just said that on the song cause everybody was saying it to me.” On Lil Wayne, Cassidy said, “He’s considered to be one of the illest rappers in the game right now. But, kissing a man? He’s not even his biological father. And even if he was, he still shouldn’t be kissing him in his mouth.”

By: Rizoh In today’s episode of “Blame it on Hip-Hop,” McDonald’s Corp. has yanked Chicago rapper Twista from their tour bus, following concerns about his “controversial lyrics.” Twista was scheduled to perform on August 7th as part of Mickey D’s 10-city, live music tour that kicked off in Los Angeles last Thursday. “Although we respect free speech and artistic expression, we do not condone or perpetuate derogatory language,” McDonalds said via a press statement. The “McDonalds Live” tour will carry on with the likes of Kenna, Kevin Michael, Ne-Yo, and Kat DeLuna. Artists play for free at various McDonald’s restaurant parking lots. As McDonalds scrambles to call in a replacement for Twista, we hereby wish them good luck in finding a rapper that’s never used the N-word.

By: Starrene Rhett Tony “Tum Tum” Richardson may still carry his childhood nickname given by his grandmother, but don’t let the name fool you. The Dallas, Texas native has released his album Eat or Get Ate, the effort that has gotten him attention from eyes an ears beyond Dallas. The album’s anthem, “Caprice Muzik,” has cast him into the big leagues and he’s ready to put Dallas on the map. When people think of Texas in relation to Hip-Hop, they think of Houston. However, Tum Tum wants everyone to know that beyond the signature chopped and screwed sound that Houston has made so popular, the Dallas sound is also a force that he’s about to unleash. Hiphopcrack: Tum Tum is a childhood nickname that you got from your grandmother, right? Tum Tum: Yeah. Hiphopcrack: Why did you decide to hold on to the name, as you got older? TT: Cuz that’s my name…my grandparents spot was where everybody gathered and stuff and she would come in the room and call me Tum Tum and all my homeboys started laughing at me but I don’t care so I just kept rolling with it like that. Hiphopcrack: Besides your name, what do you bring to the game that’s different? TT: Right now, I just feel like it’s a little watered down. People ain’t putting out complete albums, they’re just worried about the single. Me, I put no thought on the single and work hard on the other parts of the album, making sure it sounds legit where people ain’t gotta skip through. I’m still the same at the end of the day too. Every Tuesday I go to Best Buy and pick up CDs and I’ve been let down a whole lot lately [laughing]. Hiphopcrack: [laughing] I understand… TT: So that was the main point, just putting out a complete point that everybody can everybody can jam from one to 19. I put 19 jams on there. Hiphopcrack: You started out on the mixtape circuit so how important is that to what you do? TT: The mixtape circuit in Hip-Hop is real, real important because labels be more concerned about other things besides Hip-Hop so we gotta keep the streets there and do the mixtapes — do the verses – that’s why I do it, because I know the labels gotta wait until singles got this many this, this doing that, and the set up is just right…fans ain’t really worried about all that, they want to hear something new, so that’s why I do a lot of mixtapes. Hiphopcrack: You didn’t really take rapping seriously until you witnessed the Hard Knock Life Tour. What about that tour, or what about Jay-Z or any other artist on that tour got your attention to where you wanted to do this for real? TT: I was always with Jay-Z but to go somewhere and see 45,000 people with the same opinion that I got and everybody was screaming for him…that right there just made me be like, “Man, I want to do that.” But being from where you from and reaching other areas like, everybody is like, “Them dudes from Dallas,” I just wanted to show everybody what Dallas was like without them coming here — like what Dre and them did with LA, or even Nelly with St. Louis. Hiphopcrack: You mentioned being a Jay fan so being that you’re from Texas, how was it when Jay-Z teamed up with UGK for “Big Pimpin?” TT: Them the homies right there [UGK]. That really solidified Jay down here. When I was in school, I’d be like Jay is dope but a lot of cats was like, “Nah, man, he ain’t all that,” but when he got Pimp (Pimp C) and all of them on the record, it made people down here pay attention to him. Hiphopcrack: I can imagine that you’re inspired by UGK as well. Is that the case? TT: Oh yeah, them dudes cool. I like Pimp, not even his music…I like him because he’s a real dude. He say whatever the f – - k he wants to say, and tell it like it is. That’s why I like Pimp. Them dudes are OGs, they tell us what’s good, what’s going on and they really look out for us by telling us the labels are gonna do this or aint gonna do that, do it yourself so yeah, them the big homies. Hiphopcrack: Who are some of the other people you look up to in the rap game? TT: The industry game…I’m cool with Slim [Slim Thug], that’s my motherf – - king dude, Paul Wall, that’s my pahtna, E-40, that’s my dude, Shop Boyz, them my dudes [laughs]…I mess with a whole lot of people, my homeboy Trae, that’s my dude right there too. I got a lot of homeboys in there. Hiphopcrack: Being that you’re just starting to get your name out there, beyond Texas, how do you plan to solidify your place in the game? TT: I’m just gonna let my actions speak louder than words. I got videos coming out. I got two movies that I’m paying for out my own pocket…just to get the buzz to keep going. I got mixtapes still coming out, so I just want to solidify my place in the game as that dude that put Dallas on the map, made them see what Dallas is like. Hiphopcrack: So you have two movies coming out, are they documentaries about you as an artist? TT: Yeah it’s like a documentary. We’re showing everybody where I live, the clothes I got, how I get down, a couple of shows, me in the studio, me and my homeboys, and me on the road shutting down these shows. Hiphopcrack: Texas has been on the map for a while, but what is it about artists that come out of Texas or the Texas sound that makes it have such a stronghold on the game right now? TT: I guess it’s just time for some new cats to come through and do something different. If you listen, everybody got a little screw in somewhere…everybody just needs a new sound. To tell you the truth, that’s why I think my homeboys, Shop Boyz are doing what they do. It’s different. Hiphopcrack: Let’s talk about your album, Eat or Get Ate. What can people expect? TT: A real different sound. If you heard my single, “Caprice Muzik,” I know it don’t sound like no other beat or what no other rappers have right now, so they can just expect a lot of left field from me. I’m just doing something different because I’m even tired of hearing the same ol’ crap on the radio. Hiphopcrack: What producers do you have on your album, and what artists did you work with? TT: I worked with Jim Jones, my homeboy Trae from Texas – them the only two features I got on there. Production, that’s what I like. I got PIT, the one who did that “Party Like a Rockstar” I got Play N Skillz on there, they did “Ridin’ Dirty” for Chamillionaire, I got Scott Storch and I got a lot of Dallas producers on there as well. Hiphopcrack: You worked with Jim Jones. What was it like getting Harlem and Dallas together on a track? TT: I think we got the same swagger. A lot of people say that I act like I’m from New York. They say I’m a little bit too straightforward and cocky like New York niggas but that sonng — me working with Jimmy — that song came out real dope. Hiphopcrack: Is there anyone that you haven’t worked with that you’d like to work with? TT: I want to work with 50 Cent. Hiphopcrack: You put that out there now so who knows, it might happen. TT: Yeah. Hiphopcrack: Where do you see yourself in the next five years? TT: Doing it big! I want the city [Dallas] to be known in five years as one of the next Hip-Hop meccas like Houston was, like Atlanta was, New York was, the West Coast…you know what I’m sayin? Like that… Hiphopcrack: Your goal is to put Dallas on the map but is there a difference in sound between Dallas and Houston? TT: Oh yeah, you can ask anybody that. Their stuff is a little bit more slowed down, more chopped and screwed and ours is a little bit more amped up than them. They like their stuff super slow and everybody just be chillin. With Dallas, it gotta be amped up and everybody going crazy Hiphopcrack: Any last words? TT: Just check out my Crackspace page: ihiphop.com/tumtum.

By: Hot Gossip Gal Industry insiders are predicting that Shawn Carter is heading to Columbia when his contract is up at Def Jam. Hairy man (aka Rick Rubin) is looking for a team of the best to head up Columbia….hmmm would we say Jay is the best in an executive position??? I mean it means he has more hands on Beyonce now….if that was possible.

By: Rizoh A strong effort is underway to secure a presidential pardon for Ron Isley of the Isley Brothers. After learning that the President is doling out pardons like coupons these days, the folks at Def Jam hired a publicity firm to help raise awareness and rally support for Mr. Isley who’s facing tax evasion charges. As part of the campaign, fans are being urged to harass the White House with phone calls, fax or email messages to help keep Ron from facing incarceration. Mr. Isley is scheduled to start serving a 3 year bid on August 7th of this year. He’s currently in the process of a total restitution of his financial obligations to the IRS, and has even offered to play for the U.S. troops at various military bases. See the info below to find out how you can help: 1. To contact the President of the United States: Call: 1-202-456-1111 Fax: 1-202-456-2461 Email: president@whitehouse.gov 2. To contact The Congressional Black Caucus: Go to CONGRESSIONAL BLACK CAUCUS

By: Rizoh Natalie Stewart, aka the floacist member of Floetry, has parted ways with the duo. Following Stewart’s exit, Marsha “the Songstress” Ambrosius tapped MTV personality and fledgling rapper Amanda Diva as her new partner in the group. The new group are already up and running, with a Floetry Remixed tour lined up for this summer. The duo will perform both old and new Floetry songs throughout the tour. Check out the Floetry Remixed tour schedule below: 7/27-Fri-Jul Washington, DC Club Love 7/29-Sun-Jul New York Highline Ballroom 7/30-Mon-Jul Baltimore Ram’s Head Live 7/31-Tue-Jul Richmond Toad’s Place 8/01-Wed-Aug Norfolk, VA The Norva 8/03-Fri-Aug Atlanta Earthlink Live (Cener Stage) 8//04-Sat-Aug Charenton, LA Box Nite Club 8/05-Sun-Aug New Orleans, LA House of Blues 8/06-Mon-Aug Dallas House of Blues 8/09-Thu-Aug Los Angeles House of Blues 8/10-Fri-Aug Las Vegas House of Blues 8/11-Sat-Aug San Diego House of Blues 8/14-Tue-Aug San Francisco The Independent 8/15-Wed-Aug Sacramento Harlows 8/18-Sat-Aug Boulder Fox Theatre 8/20-Mon-Aug Chicago House of Blues 8/21-Tue-Aug Chicago House of Blues 8/22-Wed-Aug Detroit Elysium Lounge 8/23-Thu-Aug Cleveland, OH House of Blues

By: Hot Gossip Gal Turns out the R&B diva didn’t want the world to see her falling at her recent show. Sony and her camp had youtube pull the uploaded vid of her going ass over heels and weave.