By: Quibian Salazar-Moreno For years hip-hop artists sampled from legendary Stax artists such as Isaac Hayes, the Bar-Kays, Booker T & the M.G.’s and a host of others. Now Stax Records has been re-launched and to celebrate “50 Years of Stax: A Concert to Benefit the Stax Museum of American Soul Music” will go down on June 22 at Orpheum Theatre in Memphis, Tennessee. Chuck D, alongside American Idol judge, Randy Jackson will host the event. "The logo of Stax says it all,” Chuck said. “That finger snap graphic brings a funky sound effect by just looking at it. With it comes a catalog of soul heroes and heroines whose heart, souls and passions still echo across this planet today." The legendary record label re-launched with Angie Stone, Soulive, Lalah Hathaway and N’Dambi as its marquee artists. They will all perform at the concert with Isaac Hayes, Booker T & the MGs (featuring Steve Cropper & Duck Dunn), Mavis Staples, Eddie Floyd, William Bell, the Soul Children, and the Reddings (honoring the legacy of their father Otis Redding). Check out the museum here:SOULSVILLE USA

By Quibian Salazar-Moreno It’s been a good year for Rihanna so far. She has a hit single with Jay-Z, she on the top of the charts in the U.K. and now she was named 2007 Venus Breeze Celebrity Legs of a Goddess. Venus Breeze in the Gillette razor for women who have also called on Rihanna to help judge a contest looking for the best legs in America. "I’m thrilled that Venus Breeze thinks my legs are award-worthy and I’m excited to kick off the search for the woman with the best legs in America," Rihanna said. "This contest is a fun way for women to showcase confidence, charisma and gorgeous legs on the runway." The search for the “Legs of a Goddess” will begin next month in San Diego and continue until the end of August in Boston. Women can also enter online at VENUS BREEZE. The winner will receive a yet to-be-determined “Goddess Getaway.” Here are the search dates: 1. San Diego, July 11 2. Dallas, July 25 3. Chicago, August 2 4. Miami, August 9 5. Boston, August 22

The Trap This week features T.I., Raekwon, and DJ Premier with Big Shug Click Here To View

By: Hot Gossip Gal The man who claims to be the Mel Gibson of the music business threw his Birthday bash in NY at the Louis Vuitton store on Fifth Avenue last night. Everyone was in the house, from CEO’s to sports stars to pretty much the A List of Hip-Hop and R&B was in attendance and of course his momma and the soon to be Mrs West. No worrying about the big 3-0 for the big E-GO

By: Rizoh The Game, who has been charged with threatening to shoot a man at a basketball game in Los Angeles, pled “not guilty” to the criminal charges. The 27-year-old west coast wordsmith entered the plea in an LA Superior Court. Game was hit with three felony counts of making a criminal threat, possessing a firearm in a school zone and exhibiting a firearm in the presence of an officer. During a Feb. 24 pickup basketball game, the Game allegedly punched another player, then pulled a gun from his red Cadillac Escalade and threatened to blast him. He was briefly detained, following that incident, but was released on a $50,000 bail. If convicted, he faces up to five years in behind bars.

By: Rizoh There’s no doubt that Chris Brown is a Michael Jackson wannabe, but the teen sensation is now hoping that his idol will collaborate on a will.i.am-produced track for his new album. Brown told MTV News that Jackson had called him on his birthday and that they discussed the possibility of jumping in the studio together. “Man, it was crazy,” Brown said. “He actually spoke to me like a regular person, and he was like, ‘I like your music.’ He said his favorite song was ‘Shorty Like Mine’ that me and Bow Wow did. I appreciated talking to him.” For now, Brown will just have to settle for the collaborations he’s already scored with the Game, Juelz Santana, Lil’ Wayne, and others. Chris Brown’s sophomore album, Exclusive, is due out on August 28.

By Will “Deshair” Foskey We, at Crackspace.com, pride ourselves in breaking the latest news, as well as delivering exclusive interviews with the people who are currently molding the infrastructure of Hip-Hop music. So it is only right that we continue that tradition by getting you familiar with Amadeus. Amadeus, born in the BX, entered the production game at the age of 16, landing his first production credit for Foxy Brown on the “Cradle to the Grave” soundtrack which went platinum. Since that time, Amadeus has taken on a full head of steam landing more production credits for the Dipset, 50 Cent, and Talib Kweli. In 2007, Amadeus has his musical hands on a few highly anticipated releases including Mike Jones sophomore album, Papoose’s debut album and the return of Freeway. In this Crackspace.com exclusive, Amadeus will put you up on his style of production, his year to come and why you should respect Mike Jones… If you can name 3 songs from your previous production catalog that you’d like for the listening audience to know you by, what are those 3 contributions? Amadeus: That’s a good question… the first one I would have to say is Cam’ron’s ‘Take Em to Church’, which was the diss record towards Ma$e. I believe that it was a big record in Hip-Hop being that they grew up together, same hood, same basket ball team, etc. I would have to say the second song is ‘Grandma’ which was on the first Mike Jones album. ‘Grandma’ was the song that meant to most to Mike on that album. If you know his story, you know how important is grandmother was to his life and his career. She was the one who pushed him to use his real name and to make sure that people remembered it. And finally, the third song would have to be ‘Yeah, Yeah, Yeah’ by Lil’ Mo. That was the first single off of her third album on Cash Money/Universal. The song was really a good look. But at the time, she was giving birth, so the song didn’t receive the push that it deserved. Who are you currently in the studio with? Amadeus: I’ve recently worked with Fabolous, Talib Kweli, 50 Cent, Joe Budden, Young Chris, Ceelo, Red Café, Jae Millz, Remy Ma… I just found out that I made it on the new Freeway album. I did about 5 records for Papoose. I did about 4 records for the Smiles & Southstar album. I’m out there right now… What was the vibe that you received from the press a few months back during Mike Jones exclusive listening session for his “American Dream” album? Amadeus: I felt that the overall review of the album was positive. I know that we’ve shocked a few people this time around with his product. Yes, he still mentions his name a lot on this record, but that’s Mike’s signature – a gift from his grandmother. The media gave us amazing feedback, saying that there were a lot of heavy bangers on the album. Talk about your chemistry with Mike and how many songs do you have on his new album? Amadeus: I felt that Mike and I really clicked on this album. I originally started off with 9 songs on his album, but due to some sample clearance issues and some of the features that he wanted on the album weren’t able to be a part of the songs in time for completion, I only have 4 now. I’d still be happy if I only had one song on his album, because it’s not about quantity to me, it’s about quality. I feel that the songs that I’ve completed with Mike are some of the best songs on his album, due to the fact that we’ve built universal music that can relate to both the males and the females. What can our readers be looking for to from you in 2007? Amadeus: I feel like this will be a set-up year for me. Papoose, Fabolous, Mike Jones , Smiles & Southstar, Lil’ Mo, Freeway and hopefully Joe Budden are all albums that will be dropping this year with my production stamp on it. And I just signed a deal with ESPN to produce tracks to be played during SportsCenter and ESPN News, so that is a good look. I’ve been in this game for 10 years, since I was 16 years old and now the world is starting to recognize my god given talent. If you like what’s going on right now in music, I am going to make you love what is going on in music.

By: Hot Gossip Gal Paris Hilton gets released after not even three days of her sentence becasue she is having a breakdown. Bitch please..there are women and men dying of cancer, and AIDS in jails throughout the world and they don’t get that treatment. LA has to have the most corrupt law enforcement, DA Office, judical system in the world man. But the judge who sent her there in the first place is not happy and has her ass back in court today. She probably wanted to hit up Ye’s party in NYC and Momma got her out of jail but we know that wasn’t for free. Check what she said in her statement as she swung her LV over her shoulder and sashayed into her chauffer driven limo yesterday after being released. "I want to thank the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and staff of the Century Regional Detention Centre for treating me fairly and professionally. I have learned a great deal from this ordeal and hope that others have learned from my mistakes." Whoopdeedoo. At a loss for words for once.

By Quibian Salazar-Moreno We really don’t know the qualifications of Dr. Ben Chavis (of the Hip-Hop Summit Action Network) to run a publicly traded company, but someone has put their trust in him. H3 Enterprises, the company responsible for the upcoming HipHopSodaShops and Ben Gordon’s energy drink, BG7 White Tea Energy Blast, announced that they have named Dr. Chavis CEO of the company. "H3 and the development of HipHopSodaShops will be the culmination of what I hope will be remembered as a lifetime of service to the betterment of our communities," Chavis said in a statement. "I feel truly blessed to be given the opportunity to create concrete avenues for equal access and economic empowerment for all of our youth and for generations to come. My vision for H3 is to lead the company forward to become the most profitable, community conscious brand in the world. We will utilize the magnificent talents of some of our greatest athletes, artists, and entertainers to fulfill the economic aspirations of the Hip-Hop Generation. We will educate our youth about the benefits and power of investment and ownership, and about the tremendous economic opportunities that lie ahead for all of us." H3 Enterprises is currently building its first HipHopSodaShop in St. Petersburg, Florida (check for info here HIP HOP SODA SHOP and is test marketing Ben Gordon’s energy drink. For more info on the company, check out H3 INC.

By Quibian Salazar-Moreno What’s the new thing online nowadays? These little cartoon characters as your aliases and you dressing them up with fresh gear like virtual paper dolls. Sites like Wee World and Zwinktopia have capitalized on the trend with users putting their cartoon alter-ego as their instant messaging background and MySpace page header. Now 50 Cent is getting in on the fun. Zwinktopia and 50 is offering virtual t-shirts of him and his upcoming album, “Curtis”, for fans’ virtual alter-ego’s to wear around the online world. "It’s the equivalent of sending a marketing team to a new country where there is a new economy," Chris "Broadway" Romero, creative director of digital media for 50 Cent, told Reuters. Other artists getting down with Zwinktopia include The Clash, the Sex Pistols and Slipknot.

By: Hot Gossip Gal I find it hardly unlikely but he was caught on the phone talking about splitting up ‘the red and the yellow’ with business partner Charles Patton, who just caught 44 years after being found with a whole lot of heroin in his possession. To his defense Lupe said what he was actually talking about when it came to the colors was mixing tracks in the studio. Not quite sure if I am believing what my fave skateboarder said there though.

By Kevin L. Clark Being young is certainly a gift and a curse. You have the energy to do anything your heart desires, but the public gives you its fair chance of troubles. For 21 year-old, Yung Berg, the Chi-Town rapper is gaining increasing spins off of his single “Sexy Lady.” The rapper, who got his start with DMX’s Bloodline Records, built up his weight with writing songs and being a hype man for DTP’s Shawnna. Through all the learning experiences, the young gunner has applied his wherewithal to the rap business and on the strength of “Sexy Lady,” was signed to Epic Records. Crackspace chops it up with the upstart from Chicago as he talks about his humble beginnings, how military school affected his life and explains why there are a lot of Barbie Dolls in rap today. HHC: You signed on as a hype man for Shawnna – what did you learn about the business that has helped you with your career now? YB: I’ve known Shawnna my whole life. I was originally signed to Bloodline Records. I grew up in there. I had seen the ins and outs of the business from working with them. But last year, I was her [Shawnna] hype man and “Getting Some Head,” was poppin’ on the charts, on the radio and all that. From working with them, I learned how to really rock a show. And that’s what we did… we rocked it for 6-8 weeks. Later on, I came out to California met up with management and we started cooking up my first single. HHC: Also, you kind of bounced around when it came to labels. Being signed to Bloodline Records – what was the hardest thing to accept by being with a struggling label? YB: Honestly, I wasn’t there when they were struggling. I was their first artist signed. X was still burning up hot, so it was all love over there. I was taken care of. But I know what it is to be unsigned and struggling. That shit is absolutely terrible. HHC: So, from that position of knowing what not to do – how did you get to this stage in your career? YB: I kept God first and I always knew that I was talented. I was always goal-driven. Everyone else didn’t understand what I was trying to do. Not my family, not anyone, so that’s why I named the album Look What You Made Me. The album holds all of the struggle and hard times in my life and it turned into this. My crew and I, the Young Bosses, are going to ride this out. Because without any struggle, there can be no progress. HHC: The music business is a shady beast, anyways, so amidst weak album sales – if the album doesn’t do the numbers, what’s the next plan? YB: That’s not even an option. I’ve already combated that. My single is doing incredible. The video just dropped. It’s MTV Jam of the Week. We’re dropping the remix with Rich Boy and Jim Jones. It’ll be the newest summer anthem. The album should be in stores around August 28th – early September. I have so much star power on the album, even if you didn’t like me, you’d buy it. I show love to the ladies on this one. I got Eve, Fabolous, Twista, Jim Jones, Rich Boy, DJ Khaled, Collie Buddz and the list goes on – Ray J… Shawnna. It’s damn near like a Diddy album. It’s an epic event which is why I signed to Epic Records. Not to mention, we produced our whole album. For a minute, during my struggle, I was just like… upset with people misrepresenting young artists. There’s a lot of microwave music that’s out nowadays. I’m tired of a lot that. But I feel like guys like Juelz Santana and Lil’ Wayne are really spitting! But I don’t think a lot of these younger guys are really writing. They’re like a Barbie doll… they look good, but they’re not good for you. HHC: How does you military school training help discipline you as a recording artist? YB: Military school forced me to remain focused and utilize my surroundings. I had no television, no radio, nothing. I was cut off from a lot of things. I didn’t even know that 9/11 happened. It forced me to hone my craft without any tracks. I didn’t even know that Nas and Jay were beefing. So, I learned that you could grind and work without having anything to distract you. HHC: It’s key to be versatile in this business. Aside from just being a rapper – what other hats do you wear? YB: I am an exec. I run my own label through Epic. I’m president and CEO. After me, I have Junior who sings on “Sexy Lady,” Hundred Grand, Tony Loco and Cap One. JFK and Rob Holliday are the producers. The three of us are the founders of this whole situation. We’re the triangle offense that holds it down for the whole time. HHC: Your single is making a nice climb into people iPods and all that. How can you cultivate a success when record companies are having a hard time promoting? YB: Basically, I didn’t get signed. We put out “Sexy Lady” ourselves and due to it getting burn, we got signed off of that. We’re priority. There are no acts at Epic, so we’re first on their list, you know? When there’s no other artists to worry about I think that that’s a perfect opportunity to create success. HHC: Have you musical influences ever affected certain business decision? YB: I have been around Jay and X since I was a kid. They influenced me heavily. Everything that they learned and done has trickled down; the way Jay inspires dudes is crazy. But none of what they do sounds like what I do. My album is totally conceptual. I have live instrumentation. So, the public may think it’ll be one thing, but it’s really another. It’s going to be crazy to see. It’s going to be a doozy! HHC: How do you measure the caliber of an ill MC? YB: An ill MC to me is someone who’s about spitting. I’m not going to say that I’m the illest MC, but I’m the greatest artist that’s ever hit the stage. I’ve been conditioned for this. I’m a young Muhammad Ali in this game. I’m just trying to get it. A lot of artists aren’t entertaining. It’s just a record that they drop. I’m going to set the new standard. I’m going to kill ‘em in the studio, on the press, just by saying, “Look what you made me!” To all these rappers who’ve went to the movies, I’m saying that I’m there, too. There’s no way that I’m not going to explore every option of this business. HHC: With fans listening more to hooks and catchy beats – how do you stand out within a crowd of other talented artists? YB: I’m about opening myself up to people. Barbershops are going to be arguing about what I’m doing. It is going to be something real serious. A lot of cats got some nice hooks and nice beats, people say that about “Sexy Lady.” But that’s an uncontrollable record. If you think about the process of creating the record, we did it in the backyard. We literally took it the radio station and it blew up. It wasn’t like I was trying to make my first single and everything was forced. We did that shit in 30 minutes! When you get the album, you’re going to realize what’s going on with me. HHC: What’s next for you, Yung? YB: Branding the Young Bosses, period! I’m trying to do everything from movies to film to product placement; everything to brand and break any artist that I’m working with. That equals getting money.

By: Hot Gossip Gal Well I heard this from a couple of sources now but it turns out that BK rapper Uncle Murda got a beat down outside T Pains listening party the other night. The assailant was one of Pap’s boys, the weapon of choice…a fist and the crime…talking more shit about Papoose. I also heard that UM took the beating too and never retaliated..that is the part I am trying to believe.

By: Rizoh Actor Cuba Gooding Jr. is familiar with the sound of gunshots on the movie set, but he found himself near a real life shootout recently. The actor heard four gunshots, while waiting outside a Hollywood restaurant, according to CNN’s Showbiz. His decision to rush to the scene after hearing the shots may have saved the shooting victim’s life. Cuba supposedly saw a young, 20-ish man bleeding from his neck and walked towards him. He then wrapped the victim’s wounded area with a towel, hailed a passing police car, and waited on the scene until an ambulance arrived. The "Rat Race." star was picking up some food for his family at Roscoe’s House of Chicken ‘n’ Waffles, at the corner of Sunset Blvd., when the incident ruined his dinner plans. According to Cuba Gooding’s publicist, the victim’s condition improved in the hospital. Good for Gooding. I would’ve probably been afraid of getting my behind shot.

By: Rizoh R. Kelly has done it again. The soul man scored his sixth No.1 album with his new Jive set Double Up shifting as many as 386,000 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan. That’s an impressive showing in this age of illegal downloads and declining CD sales. Double Up defeated last week’s No. 1, Maroon 5′s It Won’t Be Soon before Long, which took a 60% dip to No. 2 with 172,000 scans. Much of the credit for Double Up‘ssuccess goes to Kelly’s steamy single "I’m a Flirt," which reached No.2 on the Billboard Hot R&B.Hip-Hop Songs Chart. I guess it pays tobe a “Flirt” after all.