By: Rizoh " Ghost-riding the whip," a relatively new fad in which a driver exits the car and dances around or on top of the moving vehicle, has claimed two lives and led to several injuries in others. Ghost-riding (also known as "ghosting") was ushered in with the west coast-bred hip-hop subgenre known as hyphy. Lastmonth, 18-year old Davender Gulley, died after his head slammed into a parked car while he was hanging out the window of an SUV in Stockton, according to police reports. In October, a 36-year-old man dancing on top of a moving vehicle fell, hit his head and died in what authorities noted as Canada’s first ghost riding fatality. E-40′s hyphy smash "Tell Me When to Go" is a highly favored ghost-riding soundtrack. The song offers a step-by-step on how to undertake the ghost-riding stunt, and includes the lyrics: "Ghostride the whip."

By: Rizoh The New York rapper, who has an outstanding court date for allegedly assaulting a fan, will be slapped with fresh charges when he returns to the country. According to the New York Post, Busta (born Trevor Smith Jr.) allegedly threw some punches at one of his drivers on December 26, 2006. The driver, Eddie Hatchet, had gone to the rapper’s office to demand payment for his services. Rhymes, 34, is still facing a weapons charge from an earlier assault case, following his alleged beating of a teenage fan who allegedly spat on his car. Busta was cuffed on August 12 for allegedly assaulting Roberto LeBron following the AmsterJam Music Festival. Busta reportedly declined a plea deal of six months in the slammer.

Denver Broncos cornerback Darrent Williams was shot and killed in a drive-by shooting in downtown Denver early Monday morning. Team spokesman Jim Saccomano said police called him about 3 a.m. local time from the scene of the shooting and told him three people had been shot and that Williams had been killed. A little after 4 a.m. EST, a white Hummer limousine was sprayed with bullets from a vehicle that up along its side, said Sonny Jackson, spokesperson for the Denver Police Department. Three people in the limousine were hit and were taken to area hospitals, where one man was pronounced dead, Jackson said. The other man and woman who were shot were not identified. Jackson said police were searching for the suspects and interviewing witnesses.

James Brown, the "Godfather of Soul," whose revolutionary rhythms, rough voice and flashing footwork influenced generations of musicians from rock to rap, died early Christmas morning. He was 73. Brown was hospitalized with pneumonia at Emory Crawford Long Hospital on Sunday and died of conjunctive heart failure around 1:45 a.m. Monday, said his agent, Frank Copsidas of Intrigue Music. Brown initially seemed fine at the hospital and even told people that he planned to be on stage in New York on New Year’s Eve, Copsidas said. Brown’s connection with hip-hop has been there since the start. His music is perhaps the most sampled in hip-hop history. In 1984 he collaborated with Hip-Hop pioneer Afrika Bambaataa to release the hit single "Unity"

By: Rizoh Mobb Deep’s Belgium concert last Friday (December 15) was cut short by violence. A fight broke out between security personnel and a fan that had been kicked out of the VIP section. According to Mobb Deep’s camp, the fan upon being booted from the VIP returned with friends and began throwing bottles at the VIP area. One of the bottles accidentally found G-Unit signee 40 Glocc, cutting his hand in the process. The violence was later controlled and 40 Glocc and Mobb Deep fans were then able to exit the club safely. Mobb Deep will continue to play Europe by visiting Munich today (December 22). 40 Glocc is expected to return to the US after the European tour. His forthcoming mixtape with DJ Whoo Kid will hit the streets in January.

By Quibian Salazar-Moreno P. Diddy’s Sean John clothing line has always got a pass from animal rights groups because the line has always claimed that it uses fake (faux) fur in its clothing. But the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) released the results of a mass spectrometry test that found what Sean John claimed was an imitation rabbit fur collar on one of its Sean John Hooded Snorkel Jackets was actually fur from the canine species raccoon dog. "First these jackets were falsely advertised as faux fur, and then it turned out that the fur came from a type of dog," said Wayne Pacelle, president and CEO of The HSUS. "This is an industry-wide problem, and our investigation demonstrates that retailers and designers aren’t paying close enough attention to composition of the fur trim they are selling. It’s especially problematic when the fur is sourced from China where domestic dogs and cats and raccoon dogs are killed in gruesome ways, even skinned alive. The safest course of action is for Sean Combs and other designers and retailers to stop using fur trim. That single act would solve the problems we have uncovered." Macy’s has already pulled the jacket from all of its stores and the HSUS is urging all other retailers to do the same. The Fur Products Labeling Act prohibits the advertising or sale of any fur product that is falsely or misleadingly labeled, and authorizes the Federal Trade Commission to seek criminal penalties, impose fines of up to $5,000 per violation and to seize mislabeled products.

By Quibian Salazar-Moreno Looks like 50 Cent is taking this acting thing seriously. On January 7, his flick with Samuel L. Jackson, Home of the Brave, will hit theatres. Fifty stars as a soldier returning home from Iraq and learning to adjust to life outside of the military. Fifty is currently shooting The Dance, with Nicolas Cage. The film is about one-time champion prize fighter Billy "The Kid" Roth, who has volunteered as a boxing coach for over 40 years in the prisons of Louisiana. Fifty is slated to play one of the inmates Roth coaches. Finally in February, Fifty will join Robert De Niro in New Orleans. That’s right, Fifty will co-star, and hopefully hold his own, with De Niro as the two play cops who head to New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. Fifty plays De Niro’s new partner while investigating his old partner’s mysterious death uncovers a labyrinth of police corruption.

By Quibian Salazar-Moreno For several years now the DJ battle scene has been a bit on the tedious side so earlier this year, DJ Roc Raida of the X-Ecutioners (and 1995 DMC World Champ) threw his own competition, The Gong DJ Battle. Taped in New York on April 5, 2006, the competition featured DJs from all over competing for DJ supremacy. And if a DJ wasn’t representing, he was getting gonged by the judges DJ Scratch (1988 NMS World Champ/EPMD), Rob Swift (formerly of the X-Ecutioners), DJ Cash Money (1988 DMC World Champ), DJ Spinbad (Power 105.1 & Z100) and GrandWizzard Theodore (inventor of the scratch). To make matters worse, those DJs got clowned by hosts Lord Finesse, Lord Sear and DJ Fat Fingaz as they left the stage. At the same time however, fans are introduced to a new crop of DJs like As One, Kinetic, Steel, Illogix, Slip Wax and DJ I-Dee who are keeping the art of turntablism alive. Look for the DVD to hit stores on March 6, 2007.

By: Rizoh Bad Boy Entertainment CEO Sean "Puffy" Combs and girlfriend Kim Porter welcomed a pair of twins to their family yesterday (December 21) at New York’s Mt. Sinai Hospital. Diddy flew in from Toronto where he had been filming the TV version of "A Raisin in The Sun" to witness the arrival of his daughers. "Diddy received an early Christmas gift,"said Diddy’s representative Robert Zimmerman in a statement. It gives us great joy to announce the arrival of Diddy’s twin girls. The beautiful, healthy baby girls were born this morning with Diddy by mother, Kim Porter’s side. The first arrived at 7:56 AM weighing 5 pounds, followed 2 minutes later by the second at 5 pounds, 4 oz. Diddy had a plane on stand by in Toronto where he is filming "Raisin in the Sun" and made it just in the nick of time for the delivery. Both Kim and the girls are doing great." A delighted Combs revealed the names of his newborn twins via email:"We’re proud to announce that we are naming the twins after our beloved grandmothers," said Diddy. D’Lila Star Combs (named after Porter’s grandmother) weighed in at 5lbs, 19 ¼ inches, while Jessie James Combs clocked in at 5 lbs, 19 ½ inches. Porter already has a son, 8-year-old Christian, with Combs. Diddy als has another son, Justin, with stylist Misa Hylton-Brim and Porter has a son, Quincy, from her previous relationship with singer Al B. Sure.

By: Rizoh Atlanta, GA rapper Yung Joc, who recently bagged a Grammy nomination, is set to cap off his year with a tour. Block Enteprises CEO Russell "Block" Spencer said Joc’s proven success in "no surprise" to him. "My industry instincts recognized his talent. His passion and drive are what keeps him hungry. Numbers don’t lie, so with his undeniable talent and incredible work ethic, I’m sure the best is yet to come." "We expect great things from Yung Joc in 2007," said Bad Boy Executive VP and General Manager Harve Pierre. "For his first album, ‘New Joc City,’ he traveled through every crack and crevice of the United States meeting fans and shaking hands. He is a hard worker and the type of artist we love. He lived on top of the charts with his first LP and is already on his third single, ’1st Time.’" Below is the tour schedule for Joc’s Scream Tour co-starring Omarion, Ne-Yo, Pretty Ricky, Mario, Jibbs, and Sammie. DECEMBER 21 Hampton, VA Hampton Coliseum 22 Philadelphia, PA Wachovia Center 23 New York, NY Madison Square Garden 26 Detroit, MI Joe Louis Arena 28 Chicago, IL Allstate Arena 29 Cleveland, OH Wolstein Center 30 Baltimore, MD 1st Mariner 31 Washington DC Verizon Center

By: Rizoh A chain of US music companies has initiated legal action against Russian-based Mediaservices Inc., which runs download sites Allofmp3.com and AllTunes.com. The lawsuit filed by Arista Records, Warner Bros, UMG, and Capitol Records claims that the sites are selling songs without permission. But Allofmp3.com contends it is paying royalties to a Russian licensing body called Roms. Roms says the Russian constitution gives it the right to license music to allofmp3.com, even if it has not secured permission from the copyright holders. It also claims to collect royalty payments from the download site on behalf of record companies and artists. The music industry says that the Russian licensing group does not have the authority to collect and distribute royalties. Allofmp3.com sells albums for about $1 and charges only a few cents for songs. By contrast, one of the world’s most popular music download service, iTunes, charges $10 for an album. Visa and MasterCard have reportedly stopped accepting credit card transactions for purchases made at Mediaservices sites.