By Quibian Salazar-Moreno Timbaland blew up 2006 with his production behind Justin Timberlake and Nelly Furtado and he’s trying to move more into the rock arena. He’s already worked on the upcoming album from Duran Duran and he recently told Entertainment Weekly that he’s hoping to work with super star rock band, Coldplay as well. ”It would give me a new energy; it would take me to a whole other place,” Timbaland told EW on Tuesday. ”[Coldplay] are so talented, it would help me as a person. Working with them would be great. It’s about the music — not clothes or jewelry, just pure passion for music.” Tim’s publicist also told EW that the producer plans to meet with Coldplay sometime in April as they plan to record a follow-up to 2005’s triple platinum, X&Y. Apparently, Coldplay might consider Timbaland working on the entire project with the band, but the band has not confirmed or denied the reports. Timbaland’s new album, Timbaland Present Shock Value, is set to drop on March 27 with appearances from Furtado, Timberlake, Fall Out Boy, The Hives, She Wants Revenge, Jay-Z, Elton John, Snoop Dogg, M.I.A. and a host of others.

By Quibian Salazar-Moreno C-Murder’s new album is called Screamin’ 4 Vengeance, but we’re wondering who he has a vendetta against? He’s been sentenced to life in prison after being convicted for the murder (get it? murder, C-Murder?) of a teenager at a Louisiana club. He served a couple of years before his conviction was overturned and now awaits a new trial. Is he mad at the system? While waiting for the new trial, C-Murder recorded the album with the first single, “Posted on the Block” explaining what he’s been through the past few years. “A lot of people want to know what’s going on with me and what my personal feelings are as far as what I’ve been through the last five years,” C-Murder said. “The public’s getting a basic picture of what I’ve been through, how I feel and what’s going on in my mind from that song.” A video for “Posted on the Block” has been shot, but C-Murder is unable to appear in it because he’s under a gag order from the court. Screamin’ 4 Vengeance will hit stores on March 20 on the newly refurbished Priority Records and feature appearances from Chamillionaire, LeToya, Slim Thug, and Pimp C.

By: Rizoh Insound.com, one of the largest indie music online retailers, recently linked up with Griffin Technology to combat cancer via a special hip-hop showcase. Actually…it’s “A Very Special Hip-Hop Showcase” featuring Def Jux Recording Artists: Cage, Hangar 18 and Rob Sonic. The event is slated for Friday, March 23rd at Landmark on Main Street, Port Washington, Long Island (NY). Here’s the best part: All proceeds from the show will go to the Sass Foundation for Medical Research (SASS FOUNDATION). Sass, a non-profit organization, is devoted to fighting cancer and other related life-threatening diseases, educating physicians and the public on the newest therapies and treatments, and funding research projects aimed at combatting these diseases. Event tickets can be purchased via Ticketweb.com and Insound.com.

By:Rizoh Nas has only been in partnership with Jay-Z for about a year and he’s already picking up Jay’s business acumen? The New York lyricist announced on BET’s 106 & Park yesterday (February 7th) that he’s designing an exclusive new line of shoes named Disciples. According to Nas, the Disciples line will be available in stores this June. Looks can be deceiving, but if the kicks Nas was rocking during his BET appearance is anything to go by, then I’m definitely copping a pair or two.

By: Rizoh Beyoncé Knowles may finally get a chance to win an award this year, thanks to her multiple Soul Train Music Awards nominations. Jay-Z’s squeeze reeled in three Soul Train nods this year, including one for “Best Female Album.” "Irreplaceable," picked up a nomination for “Best Female Single” and for the “Michael Jackson Award for Best Music Video.” Winners for the 21st Anniversary Soul Train Music Awards will be announced March 10 at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium, and the show will air in syndication March 17-24. Omarion and LeToya will co-host the event. Here’s a complete list of this year’s Soul Train nominees: Best R&B/Soul Single,Female “Irreplaceable” Beyoncé “Take Me As I Am” Mary J. Blige “Love” Keyshia Cole “Torn” LeToya Best R&B/Soul Single, Male “4 Minutes” Avant “Yo (Excuse Me Miss)” Chris Brown “Save Room” John Legend “Sexy Love” Ne-Yo Best R&B/Soul Single, Group, Band or Duo “Crazy” Gnarls Barkley “Just Came Here to Chill” The Isley Brothers Featuring Ronald Isley “Good Luck Charm” Jagged Edge “Stickwitu” The Pussycat Dolls Featuring Avant Best R&B/Soul Album, Female “B’Day” Beyoncé “The Breakthrough”Mary J. Blige “Testimony: Vol. I Life & Relationship” India Arie “The Makings of Me” Monica Best R&B/Soul Album, Male “Chris Brown” Chris Brown “Unpredictable” Jamie Foxx “Once Again” John Legend “The Evolution of Robin Thicke” Robin Thicke Best R&B/Soul Album, Group, Band or Duo “Danity Kane” Danity Kane “St. Elsewhere” Gnarls Barkley “Baby Makin’ Music” The Isley Brothers FeaturingRonald Isley “Jagged Edge” Jagged Edge Best R&B/Soul or Rap New Artist Lupe Fiasco “Gotcha” Ne-Yo “Sexy Love” Rick Ross “Hustlin’” Yung Joc “It’s Goin’ Down” The Michael Jackson Award For Best R&B/Soul or Rap Music Video “Irreplaceable” Beyoncé “I Love My Chick” Busta Rhymes Featuring will.i.am & Kelis “Show Me What You Got” Jay-Z “We Fly High” Jim Jones Best R&B/Soul or Rap Dance Cut “Lean Wit It, Rock Wit It” Dem Franchize Boyz Featuring Lil Peanut & Charlay “Give It Up to Me” Sean Paul feat. Keyshia Cole “Chicken Noodle Soup” Webstar &Young B Featuring The Voice of Harlem “It’s Goin’ Down” Yung Joc Best Gospel Album “Paved the Way” The Caravans “Songs from the Storm, Volume I” KirkFranklin “Singing the Old Time Way, Volume II” Bishop G.E. Patterson & Congregation “The Struggle is Over” Youth for Christ

By: Rizoh In the latest issue of Playboy magazine, Mariah Carey again denies ever being romantically involved with rapper Eminem. Mimi goes as far as claiming that Em is oddly obsessed with her. “Something’s clearly askew with him and I’m not quite sure what it is,” Carey told Playboy. “I just heard something else he recently said about me. I’m curious as to why he’s so obsessed with me. I never got an apology letter, by the way. Then again, I wasn’t exactly searching my mailbox for it.” Mariah has always denied the rumors of a romance between them, but Eminem begs to differ. He has played personal phone messages from Mariah Carey at his concerts. The messages reportedly feature Mariah begging for Eminem to return her calls. In related news, Eminem’s ex-wife Kim Mathers recently dished some dirt to ABC’s 20/20 about the blonde rapper. Kim revealed that the major cause of their divorce was infidelity, stating that she couldn’t count how many times Eminem had cheated on her.

By Quibian Salazar-Moreno The Roots had a pretty rough 2006. Although it started out nice with a new label and new album, but the album went on to sell just over 170,000 since it dropped last year. They’re still nominated for a couple of Grammys this year though (including Best Rap Album), and plan on celebrating it the night before the big show. On February 10, The Roots will hold their annual pre-Grammy show at the Gibson Theatre with special guests Lupe Fiasco, Jill Scott and Akon. ?uestlove recently gave some details on their new album which they hope to drop in October of this year or February of next year. In an interview with Billboard, ?uest said that they’ve got some songs done. "We are using a lot of synthesizer, but I don’t know if I could call this the electronic album or not," ?uest told Billboard. "Pretty much five or six songs are done, and four of them are synth-heavy." For now, the crew will be hitting the road, as they always do, in hopes of keeping their fans base happy and try not to worry about numbers. "We knew [“Game Theory”} was going to have as much to do with the marketplace as Barbra Streisand on the soul charts,” ?uest said. “But the way I look at it, this is definitely a return to form for us. Critics say we got our mojo back and our fan base agreed. That’s really all we were concerned about."

By Quibian Salazar-Moreno Growing up in Houston, we’re sure Beyonce knows what the Spanish-speaking folks like. She recorded a Spanish version of her hit “Irreplaceable” called “Irreemplazable” which is blowing up radio in cities like Phoenix, Los Angeles, and Albuquerque. In an effort to capitalize on that novelty, Beyonce recently recorded a duet with Latin superstar Alejandro Fernandez called “Amor Gitano”. The song will debut on the Telemundo novella (or soap opera), El Zorro on February 12. The song will then appear on the special edition of Beyonce’s album B’ Day, which will feature six additional tracks in Spanish and drop in April. There will also be a DVD version of B’Day that will feature 12 videos, two of them in Spanish that will be exclusively available at Wal-Mart in April.

By: Rizoh How about some positive news about DMX for a change? When he’s not too busy getting arrested for traffic violations, X stays preoccupied by designing an edgy and gritty line of clothing known as “DMX Authentic.” "Real clothing for real people is the inspiration in what many refer to as the ‘X Factor’ in the DMX apparel collections," explains a member of DMX’s design team. DMX apparel captures the nitch of the young, aggressive, and hip market looking for clothing to match their lifestyle. High-quality fabrics with state of the art graphic treatments and designs reflect what people want in contemporary clothing today, and the images represented on the initial product offerings represent DMX’s essence as a man and as an artist. “DMX Authentic” and the “Earl Simmons Signature Collection” will be available to the public on February 9, 2007.

By Quibian Salazar-Moreno A couple of years ago, Essence got fed up with the way hip-hop music in general was talking about and treating women. To combat the misogyny in the music, the magazine launched the Take Back the Music Campaign where they started calling out artists by name for the way talked about women. They also held a contest to find up and coming rappers who are more encouraging and uplifting towards women in their lyrics. This year, the contest returns looking for students between the ages of 15-18, who are unsigned, to write their best song and get a chance to be admitted into the 2007 Berklee 5-Week Summer Performance Program, with tuition and room paid for. “ESSENCE is pleased to partner with the Berklee College of Music once again to expose new voices in hip-hop that otherwise might not be heard, and give new talent the opportunity to develop through music education,” said Angela Burt-Murray, Essence editor-in-chief. The entries will be judged by Chuck D (legendary rapper, co-founder of Public Enemy), Spinderella (former Salt-N-Pepa DJ, co-host of the syndicated classic hip-hop radio show The Backspin), Jean Grae (rapper, songwriter, producer), Berklee professors Susan Kean Cattaneo (songwriting), Prince Charles Alexander (music production and engineering), Danielle Scott (ensemble), and student Ryan Williamson (contemporary writing and production major, founder of Rykeyz Productions). For more information check out ESSENCE orBERKLEE.

By: Rizoh Devin the Dude a.k.a the Richard Pryor of Hip-Hop is back with his fourth solo album, Waitin’ to Inhale. Devin’s lung-splitting humor has blessed songs by Dr. Dre, Jay-Z, and many others. Waitin’ to Inhale is low on guest features, with the likes of Bun B, Lil’ Wayne, Tony Mac, and the Odd Squad. The album is due in stores on March 13th, 2007. Here’s the tracklist for Devin the Dude’s Waitin’ To Inhale 1) Intro 2) Waiting to Inhale 3) I Hope I Don’t Get Sick of This 4) Use Ta Be 5) Almighty $ ft. Tony Mac 6) That Boom pt. 1 7) Broccoli & Cheese Treatin’ Me Cold 9) Cut Ya Up 10) That Boom pt 2 11) Sell Me Some ft Odd Squad 12) What a Job 13) No Longer Needed Here ft GT 14) Anything (Acoustic) 15) Somebody Else 16) That Boom pt 3 17) Alone 18) Just Because 19) Little Girl Gone ft. Lil Wayne, Bun B, Tami Latrell, and Tony Mac

By Quibian Salazar-Moreno All-Star Weekend is pretty much an excuse to party and this year it’s going down in the party capital of world, Las Vegas. To hop in on the fun, Nelly and Jermaine Durpi have joined forces to host the SoSo Derrty Experience over All-Star Weekend, February 15 to February 18. The headquarters will be at The Aladdin/Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino. "If you thought Club Derrty was big last year in Houston, you haven’t seen anything yet," Nelly said. "With So So Def and Derrty Ent hosting, the Aladdin/Planet Hollywood is guaranteed to be the hottest party spot during All-Star weekend," added Dupri. The weekend-long party kicks off on Thursday, February 15th with a Tip Off Concert featuring performances by Bow Wow, Akon, Chingy, Lil Wayne, Ali+Gipp, St. Lunatics, Rich Boy, and The Clipse. On Friday, February 16th at 1 PM, Nelly and JD will host the Poker with the Stars Tournament and later that night Nelly, Jermaine Dupri and Pharrell will host the Rat Pack Party. Saturday, February 17th will feature the Big Ticket Party hosted by Nelly, Jermaine Dupri, TI, Lil Wayne, Carmelo Anthony and Floyd Mayweather. Sunday, February 18th will begin at 10:30 AM with Cedric The Entertainer headlining the SoSo Derrty Celebrity Comedy Brunch — giving a special performance and later that night will be the Applebottoms & King Magazine Lingerie & Pajama Party, hosted by Nelly, Jermaine Dupri and Melyssa Ford. Guests will have the chance to get the first peek at Applebottoms’ sexy new lingerie line. For prices and more information check out www.sosoderrty.com.

By: Rizoh This shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone: DMX was arrested in Yonkers, NY on Friday for a moving violation. X ran the red light on Yonkers Ave, and was later found to have been driving with a suspended license. He was held overnight in the Westchester County Jail, and was released on $25,000 bail. The rapper is now slated to appear in court on Valentine’s Day, February 14th. DMX is no stranger to run-ins with the law. In fact, it would take all day to list all of X’s previous infractions. In June 2004, DMX was arrested on charges he and another man tried to steal a car in a parking lot at Kennedy Airport, while impersonating a federal agent. In April 2005, X was arrested for driving with a suspended license, shortly after he crashed into a cop vehicle. The rapper was pulled over in White Plains on June 2 for speeding and making unsafe lane changes. Police later found that he was not wearing a seat belt and did not have a driver’s license. A few days later, he was cited for carrying a concealed handgun outside of a nightclub in Scottsdale, Arizona.

By Quibian Salazar-Moreno The last time we heard from Macy Gray, she was cursing up a storm in Barbados and close to getting arrested because of it (it’s illegal to curse in public there). Now Gray has announced her new album, Big, is set to drop on March 27. The album will be released through will.i.am music group, a new label started by the Black Eyed Pea under Geffen Records. The album will also be produced by Will and feature appearances from Nas, Justin Timberlake, Fergie, Natalie Cole, and more production from Ron Fair and Jared & Whitey. Her last album, The Trouble with Being Myself, dropped in 2003 on Epic Records. Here’s the track listing for the album: "Finally Made Me Happy" "Shoo Be Doo" "What I Gotta Do" "One" "Glad You’re Here" "Slowly" "Ghetto Love" "Okay" "Get Out" "Treat Me Like Your Money" "Everybody" "Strange Behavior"

By: Rizoh The family of Israel Ramirez, the slain bodyguard of rapper Busta Rhymes, has expressed their displeasure over Busta’s failure to cooperate with the law in ongoing investigations. According to the NY Daily News, Rhymes told Ramirez’s family that he would tell authorities what he knew but never did. "We really don’t want anything to do with that man," Ramirez’s sister, Sonia Rodriguez, told the Daily News. "He could stop breathing tomorrow, and I wouldn’t care. Whatever happens to Busta Rhymes is not going to bring back my brother." A police source also said that Busta “doesn’t want to lose money by getting the reputation for talking to cops, so a killer remains free." Not only has Busta Rhymes failed to cooperate with the law to find Ramirez’s killer, he has also broken financial promises made to his family. Stephanie Hires, the mother of the victim’s 6-year old son, is enraged that Busta has provided no financial support for her child, Stiles. 29-year old Ramirez (fondly referred to as “Iz”) was gunned down at the Green St. studio known as Kiss the Cactus last February. Cops found the blood-soaked father of three on his back, on the sidewalk and he rushed him to Woodhull Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 1:10 a.m. Despite the fact that there were about 500 people, including 50 Cent, DMX, Lloyd Banks and Tony Yayo, at the video shoot where Iz was killed, no leads have been developed in the investigations. And you wonder why hip-hop gets such a bad rap.