50 Cent
Photo: Jordan Strauss/ WireImage.com

50 Cent has a great sense of humor — just listen to the ad libs on his dis records. But when it comes to other people trying to profit from his name, he's not laughing. The rapper sued Taco Bell on Wednesday (July 23) for making him an unauthorized spokesman for the chain in a recent ad campaign, Reuters reports.

The news organization obtained the legal papers, filed in Manhattan federal court, in which 50 and his lawyers allege that the restaurant chain engaged in some unjust promotion. Taco Bell released a letter addressed to 50 in which the company suggested he change his name for a day to "79 Cent," "89 Cent" or "99 Cent," which are the prices of certain items on Taco Bell's menu.

"We know that you adopted the name 50 Cent years ago as a metaphor for change. We at Taco Bell are also huge advocates for change. We encourage you to 'Think Outside the Bun' and hope you accept our offer."

Fif wasn't feeling that at all.

"They crazy, man," 50 told radio personality Angie Martinez in June. "They sent a memo out. I don't wanna talk about it. We gonna take legal action. ... I guess they did that for promotional purposes. It's not good that they did that. They didn't have to do that.

"It gets uncomfortable at some point," he added about people trying to capitalize off his fame. "Especially when corporations do it to you. ... Like you gonna go to the store and beef with the kid at the counter."

According to Reuters, the lawsuit alleges that "many customers believed that 50 Cent had agreed to endorse Taco Bell's products. Indeed, postings on numerous Internet 'blogs' castigated 50 Cent for 'selling out' by his apparent endorsement of Taco Bell.

"Without seeking or obtaining Jackson's authorization, defendant Taco Bell made him the star and focus of its nationwide advertising campaign by using his name, persona and trademark to promote Taco Bell's business and products," the documents also accuse.

According to The Associated Press, 50 Cent lawyer Peter D. Raymond said the rapper didn't find out about the letter or the ad campaign until he saw a news report about it. Raymond also said 50 is seeking $4 million in damages.

Taco Bell Corporation spokesman Rob Poetsch has issued a statement that reads: "We made a good faith, charitable offer to 50 Cent to change his name to either 79, 89 or 99 Cent for one day by rapping his order at a Taco Bell, and we would have been very pleased to make [a] $10,000 donation to the charity of his choice."

[This story was originally published at 9:23 pm E.T. on 07.23.2008]

• 50 Cent

Wu-Tang Clan's GZA
Photo: MTV News

The GZA is one less person on 50 Cent's Christmas card list this year. Who are we fooling? Wu-Tang Clan's GZA and 50 were never friends. They don't even know each other, but they haven't seen eye to eye since the Genius started dissing the G-Unit last year during a concert run. 50 responded by calling the Wu-Tang Clan co-founder "irrelevant."

It took awhile, but GZA is trying to start another round of back-and-forth. He released the G-Unit dis record "Paper Plate" on Friday. It's the first release from GZA's fifth solo LP, Pro Tools.

"Whipped with Cuban Linx," GZA threatens in his 100-plus-bar tirade, produced by RZA. "Cut by Liquid Swords/ Crushed by Ironman till we choke your vocal chords."

"You ever seen someone who roll with Mayweather/ Rhyme like Ricky Hatton?" asks GZA, who mocks Fif's crew with the name "Flea Unit." "Smash whatever you throw, a thousand is what I'm batting/ Got a few hooks but no jabs .../ Enough to make you vogue on that cover of GQ/ Only thing missing is the sheer blouse, homie/ You see-through."

The title "Paper Plate," according to GZA's camp, implies that 50's art is "disposable."

Other producers on Pro Tools, slated for release on August 19, include Bronze Nazareth, Allah Mathematics, True Master, Arabian Knight, Jay Waxx and Black Milk. GZA's son, Justice, and Wu-Tangers RZA and Masta Killa are featured on the album.

• GZA
• 50 Cent
• Wu-Tang Clan

50 Cent
Photo: Bryan Bedder/ Getty Images

50 Cent was in Long Island Family Court on Thursday (July 17) for a custody hearing, during which a judge granted his request for more time with his 11-year-old son, Marquise.

According to 50's lawyer, Brett Kimmel, the judge said 50 — who recently told MTV News that the lack of quality time with his son was impacting their relationship — can have unrestricted time with Marquise from August 3-12. Kimmel said he knew Marquise would be staying with 50 during that time but that he had no other information about what their plans were.

Both 50 and his estranged girlfriend, Shaniqua Tompkins, had to submit to drug tests at the courthouse before the judge would discuss custody issues with them at the request of the child's attorney, and both agreed to the rapid tests. Kimmel said 50's came back negative but that Tompkins' sample tested positive for opiates, which she explained by saying she was taking a medicine with codeine. Tompkins' lawyer had not returned calls for comment at press time.

The estranged couple will be back in family court September 8 for a trial on whether Tompkins is entitled to an order of protection against 50. There is a temporary restraining order in place now that requires the rapper to stay curbside when picking up or dropping off Marquise and bans 50 from being on any property at the same time as Tompkins.

But first, they will be in court August 19 to fight about the insurance proceeds from the 50-owned home where Tompkins lived with the couple's son before it burned down in a suspicious fire in May.

• 50 Cent

50 Cent
Photo: MTV News

50 Cent just celebrated his 33rd birthday on Sunday, he has a new G-Unit album out in stores, millions upon millions in the bank — heck, a park in the neighborhood he grew up in is about to be named after him. But the Queens, New York, icon told MTV News last week that it's difficult for him to be the happy person we might assume he is.

Fif is going through what he called the "toughest" thing he's encountered in his life: not being able to see his 11-year-old son, Marquis, when he wants to. "I'm not going through a custody battle; just a transition," 50 clarified. "I'd like to be able to just see my baby."

With Marquis on break from school for the next couple of months, 50 would love to bring him out on the road, like he has in the past. This year, it will be different.

"In the summertime, for the first two years I was successful, my son has traveled with us on those tours. He was on the Rock the Mic Tour, he was on the Anger Management Tour. This summer, when he's free, it's, like, no communication. It's tough."

Just a couple of weeks ago, Shaniqua Tompkins took out a temporary restraining order against 50 in the wake of her $4 million Long Island home burning down in a fire the authorities classified as "suspicious." Tompkins quickly charged foul play, accusing 50 — who was on a movie set at the time in Louisiana — of possibly having something to do with the inferno. "He said that he was going to have someone come kill me, and see what he does? This is what he did," she told TMZ cameras.

50 responded through lawyers and online, calling the accusations ridiculous. "It's a surprise," 50 told us about the fire. "Nobody anticipates a house burning down." Tompkins' next step was filing a defamation lawsuit in late June.

While talking to MTV News, 50 didn't want to say too much about his drama with Tompkins. "I really don't wanna talk about it, because my son at some point will have the opportunity to see the tapes," he said. "She's still his mother, and I'm still his father, regardless. He's gonna love both of us.

"My relationship with my son is changing because he and his mom aren't friends anymore," he added, giving a more in-depth explanation. "There's different channels I have to go through. He has lawyers appointed to him through the court. So I have to talk to his lawyer to get things situated for me to for me to actually get him. The relationship between my wallet and his mom has changed. When people have expensive habits, it's a hell of a transition for them when that money is not there anymore. She said all kind of things about me I never would expect."

50 surmised that the discord between him and Tompkins has put their child in a difficult situation.

"I think he doesn't want his mom to feel like he's a traitor," the rapper said. " ... The time I spent away is the time he developed this thing he's afraid to break with her. There's nothing you can do about that. This is the toughest [thing I've had to face], because he's my motivation."

• MTV News Raw: 50 Cent Talks Phone Calls, Dis Tracks And T.O.S.

• 50 Cent

50 Cent
Photo: Bryan Bedder/Getty Images

Artist: B.O.B.

Representing: ATL

Mixtape: Hi! My Name is B.O.B.

411: This dude's name has more meanings than we can list: "Business Over Bullsh--," "Bring One Blunt," "Bring One Broad," "Never Been One Better" ... you get the picture. He really used brain power when coming up with a hip-hop moniker. Nevertheless, the word on this cat has been so positive over the past couple of years that T.I. signed him up to Grand Hustle Records. B.O.B. is actually featured on a major cut on Tip's Paper Trail LP called "On Top of the World." The song also features Kanye West.

"We did that hook, man, a year ago," said B.O.B., who has been called a mixture of Q-Tip, T.I. and Andre 3000. "During the process, we were getting the [deal] with Grand Hustle. T.I heard the hook, and he sat and thought about it for while. He got in the booth and was like, 'What y'all waiting for? Let's do it.' It turned out dope."

Clothing company LRG was so enthralled by his swag, they started using B.O.B. on billboards across the country.

"My sound is really alternative," said the teenager, who was formally introduced with his debut single, "Haterz Everywhere," earlier this year. "You can't really place it in a category. It covers genres from rock to hip-hop, techno, swing music. It's everything. It's gonna change music. I know it's gonna change music. 'Haterz' is just a tiny spec. But it's a broad range of music. It's good because when people get to know B.O.B., they'll love him."

His debut is called The Adventures of B.O.B. (he insists he wasn't familiar with The Adventures of Slick Rick — he is only 19). On to the mixtape.

Joints to Check For:

"Haterz Everywhere." "All the credit for this song goes to all the haters," B.O.B. admitted. "I've been promoting that record for two years. It's had a long stretch. I lapped that song, did a victory lap, then another one. It's crazy how it went that long, because it started a whole hater epidemic. My homie Maino has song called 'Hi Hater,' and this dude in the Bahamas [Collie Budz] got the song [that goes,] 'I'm blind to you, haters.' "

"Grip Your Body." "This record is featuring Amy Winehouse," he said. "We finin' to put that on the iTunes EP called 12th Dimension. We got a lot of dope songs that ain't on the mixtape. It's been getting good feedback. Amy Winehouse is saying, 'I just wanna grip your body.' I say, 'Well, go head and grip it.' I'm about to get things wet like the dishes."

B.O.B. also insists that the Amy vocals aren't sampled, she sang them for him. "They sent me the track," he said. "We couldn't get her directly in the studio. But she sent it. I recorded it last year, and we decided to release it this year."

"Lonely People." "I recorded it with Jim Johnson," B.O.B. explained. "He's doing his thing. I owe [him] a lot of my inspiration for taking my production game to a whole 'nother level. We went to New York for a session, and I played him the [original] Beatles record ["Eleanor Rigby"]. He was, like, 'Yeah, that's crazy. We need to flip that.' That's another song I think is a real underground banger."

Don't Sleep: Other Notable Selections This Week

» DJ Blazita - New York, NY Vol. 10
» DJ D-Nice - The Wackness
» Snoop Dogg and DJ Drama - The City Is in Good Hands
» DJ Green Lantern Presents Charles Hamilton - Outside Looking
» Big Mike, D-Block and Poobs - Jedi Knight School

'Hood's Heavy Rotation: Bubbling Below The Radar

» Bishop Lamont - "Grow Up"
» Tank (featuring Shawty Lo) - "Poppin' "
» Lloyd (featuring Nelly) - "Lose Control"
» Busta Rhymes - "Missile"
» Nas - "You Can't Stop Us Now," "Testify" and "Breathe"

Celebrity Faves

Yeah, people are still talking about the Ice-T vs. Soulja Boy Tell'em flap. The issue is much larger than the two artists; it's about the generation gap. What does the man the MTV News Hip-Hop Brain Trust voted the Greatest MC of All Time have to say? Jay-Z noted that it's essential to have the ying and the yang.

"Well, I think there's a balance, right?" Jay said while he was in the U.K. to headline the Glastonbury music fest. "I think the newer guys have got to respect the foundation and what's been laid down for them. The older guys have got to respect what's coming up next. So, I know that sounds like a non-answer but that's just the truth. In hip-hop, it's all about balance. You've always had [Jazzy Jeff] and Fresh Prince when you had Rakim. There's always been a balance in hip-hop, and I think it's always needed. So, as long as we respect each other, 'Old school, new school, no school rules.' Doug E. Fresh, I guess."

The Streets Is Talking: News & Notes From the Underground

Not that we're bringing back bad memories, but we know you all remember several months ago when R. Kelly dropped that freestyle, "I'm a Beast." Nobody knew exactly who Kelly was aiming his pied piping-hot fury at, but some were inferring that maybe he threw a subliminal message at none other than the neighborhood Snowman, Young Jeezy. "Say you'se a 'go getta'/ Go get your own sh--, boy," Kelly rapped.

Far be it from us not to get clarity. A while back, we asked Jee about the line. He said that the innuendo is preposterous.

"Hell, nah," Jeezy smiled, sitting in his Dirty South studio. "Come on bruh. I ain't even thinking about that. But at the same time, I don't know what going on with that. I'm not in that world. But me and dude always seen eye to eye, so I wouldn't even understand that. But that's what music is. ... But he did a song called 'Go Getta' too, so why couldn't he say it? He wasn't saying, 'Jeezy, you ain't no go getta.' That's a damn lie. I know he wouldn't do nothing like that.

"That's when you know it's getting crazy, when you listening to what that man said," he added. "It's R&B. I seen dude since then. C'mon man, that ain't the case."

Mr. 17.5 has more important issues at his mind. He's thinking about the country. Young wants nothing more than to see >Barack Obama take office. He released a single called "My President Is Black" on his Web site.

"I just think, if you got voice to speak, you should touch on those subjects," he said.

"If we the ones speaking," he continued, addressing his fellow musicians, "we gotta make some sense sometimes. You can't just take your power, your God-given gift, and talk about bullsh-- all the time." ...

50 Cent thinks we could see another MC sell a million copies in the first week before 2008 is over: him! He plans on dropping his next solo LP, Before I Self-Destruct, within the next few months.

"Fourth quarter," he said of the release date. "I got some music. But I'mma make music until I reach a closing date. I'mma stay creative and continue to try and progress.

"I want to focus on the positive, and I feel I'm one of the more vocal people in hip-hop," he added. "Even when it's not about music, people pay attention to me, because I have something to offer. I'll continue to create quality music at a pace they haven't seen."

This past Fourth of July, 50 supplied the perfect music for the holiday weekend barbecues, his latest mixtape, Sincerely Southside. Fif inserts his vocals on classic R&B songs such as Yarbrough and Peoples' "Don't Stop the Music" and Alicia Myers' "I Want to Thank You."

"I did that when I was on the movie set [of 'Microwave Park],' " he said. "That's why Banks and Yayo wasn't on it. ... That music is timeless. Undeniable music. To put it in a row where it's some of my favorite songs there and add a piece of me to it, I think it's exciting. I can bear listening to it, regardless of the setting I'm in. Everything I'm listening to isn't hip-hop music."

The Queens warlord also promised that a G-Unit Gangsta Grillz with DJ Drama is still on the horizon.

"The DJ Drama tape is probably gonna come, obviously after the G-Unit album," he explained.

For other artists featured in Mixtape Monday, check out Mixtape Mondays Headlines.

• Mixtape Monday Video: 50 Cent, Young Jeezy & More

• 50 Cent
• Jay-Z
• Ice-T
• Soulja Boy Tell'em
• Young Jeezy

50 Cent
Photo: MTV News

NEW YORK — On Tuesday night in New York, 50 Cent mocked former G-Unit mocked former G-Unit member Young Buck onstage during the group's concert, crooning "Shorty wanna cry with me" instead of the lyric from Buck's 2004 single "Shorty Wanna Ride."

Also on Tuesday, Buck himself dropped another dis record directed at the Unit called "Terminate on Sight" (also the name of the new G-Unit album). "Ah sh--, they done kicked me out the crew, I'm cool now," he raps. "Nose running, but I ain't snorted nothing/ Took a sniff of myself and I smell like money." Buck also antagonizes G-Unit's Lloyd Banks and Tony Yayo, saying, "50's money ain't yours."

Oddly enough, 50 Cent still seems to have a soft spot in his heart for Buck. The Queens MC said he's not going to war with his onetime group member.

"Buck is a disappointment for me," 50 told MTV News on Monday. "I treated him like a younger brother. ... He's not a enemy now. He's like a relative that decides to do something to you that you're uncomfortable with, so you don't bring him around you. I don't view Buck as my enemy. If he feels that way about me, those are his personal feelings. I wouldn't be surprised if he felt that [I was his enemy]. He's like my younger brother — even if he sees me in this interview saying it to him — he won't understand. He'll just go on how it feels."

Everyone knows that 50 recently released a recording of a phone conversation with Buck where the Cashville MC broke down about financial difficulties and begged to rejoin G-Unit.

"I couldn't tell you the things he told me in that conversation," 50 said, justifying why he taped the talk. "You'd think I'm just being angry. [But] I play you the tape and you get it for yourself so much more vividly."

Fif did get some flack from the blogosphere for recording the conversation — some were harsh enough to call it a "b---h a-- move."

"I didn't know we could say 'b---h a--' on MTV," Fif replied. "For them to say that, they don't understand the dynamics of what's going on. Ask me, do I care about a blogger? A person who has time to say that was a b---h a-- move is a b---h a-- n---a. I thought that was an official move. Right now I don't wanna be disrespectful to Young Buck. But how do you respond to the disrespect he's displaying?"

50 said that Buck is still signed to G-Unit Records for three more albums, and he won't let the insults interfere with doing business.

"He'll still get his fair shot at releasing his album," 50 insisted.

"Listen, he just did a show and only 20 people showed up," he added, referring to a reportedly sparsely attended concert in Washington, D.C. "If that's not an indication that what you're doing is a mistake, I don't know what is."

MTV News will have much more from our sitdown with G-Unit in the coming days.

• MTV News Raw: 50 Cent Talks Phone Calls, Dis Tracks And T.O.S.

• Young Buck
• 50 Cent

Photo: MTV News

• 50 Cent

50 Cent, Lloyd Banks and Tony Yayo perform in New York City on Tuesday
Photo: Jeffrey Ufberg/ Wireimage

NEW YORK — Somebody left New York's Nokia Theatre Tuesday night without her underwear. 50 Cent, Lloyd Banks and Tony Yayo were rocking the crowd toward the end of the concert, when 50 told DJ Whoo Kid to stop "In da Club." A bra had landed onstage.

"This means I'm the hottest one in the group, right?" 50 said with a smile as he held a black bra in his hands. (Check out photos from the show here.)

"What does this mean?" Fif asked. "I see you, girl."

Seconds later, a Louis Vuitton-patterned thong was thrown at the Unit.

"That ain't right, baby," 50 told the woman. "You nasty."

"I don't want those," Banks said. But 50 walked over to the crew's "Punchline King" and shoved the drawers in Banks' pocket.

"He can be the hottest one in the group," 50 laughed. "I'll be number two."

Banks just reiterated he didn't want any part of the undergarments. "Them sh--s ain't even Victoria's Secret."

"Back to the music," 50 insisted, signaling Whoo Kid to drop the next record, "Disco Inferno."

Years after 50 first released the song on 2005's The Massacre, the risqué anthem still has the same impact.

"Li'l mama, show me how you move it," the crowd recited with Fif.

The show started off with a strong call and response as well. The Unit came out with their military officer uniforms, as seen in the "Rider, Part 2" video. As the Auto-tune ad-libs of the records go, 50 had the audience yelling, "Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!"

Soon afterwards, LL Cool J came out for "Straight Outta Southside." Cool J added his verse from the mixtapes, giving the record a remix feel that the Unit obviously appreciated.

"Straight out the north side! Farmers Boulevard, n---a, stand up," LL rapped with ferocity. "I got the whole 'hood with me, n---a, man up/ I'm from the rock where the muthaf---in' thugs be/ Megan Ave., my blood n---as love me."

The mood shifted to please the ladies with "I Like the Way She Do It," then transferred to the thug side of things with "You So Tough." The song cut off before 50's controversial verse that some say disparages T.I.

They moved into Tony Yayo's "Pimpin" and then "I F---ed Your Bi---," from the Elephant in the Sand mixtape. The latter track, which has been released only on the underground market, got one of the strongest reactions of the night. In fact, the Unit's live versions of hard-core album cuts and street CD offerings kept the energy going seamlessly as they transitioned from performances of singles.

When they got to Lloyd Banks' "Cake," 50 had his accomplice stop just a couple of lines into the song.

"You know why I don't wanna do that?" 50 asked out loud. "[The song] says, 'Buck got the shotgun.' F--- that sh--!"

After "Ain't No Click" and "Hate It or Love It," 50 seemed to soften his stance on Young Buck. For about two seconds.

"I wanna do Buck," he said, before mocking Buck's "Shawty Wanna Ride With Me." " 'Shawty Wanna Cry With Me.' Y'all wanna hear that? 'Shawty Wanna Cry With Me.' "

"I Get Money" got the biggest reaction of the night, although "What Up Gangsta" gave goose bumps and shook the building like it was 2003 all over again. The Unit's last few songs were "Just a Lil' Bit,' "Candy Shop," "P.I.M.P." and "Outta Control." After about 90 minutes on the stage, 50 told Whoo Kid they had two minutes left.

"What you got?" 50 asked. Tired of waiting, the Unit's General had a good time joking on his DJ, asking the crowd, "Is anybody a DJ in here? This n---a Whoo Kid is wack!" Finally, Whoo Kidd threw on "Window Shopper."

• MTV News Raw: 50 Cent Talks Phone Calls, Dis Tracks And T.O.S.

• G-Unit Perform At The Nokia Theatre In New York

• G-Unit
• 50 Cent
• Lloyd Banks
• Tony Yayo
• Young Buck

50 Cent in New York on Monday
Photo: MTV News

He didn't say T.I.'s name — but the general consensus by hip-hop fans, journalists and bloggers is that 50 Cent took a jab at the King of the South on the G-Unit's album cut "You So Tough." Fif's alleged implication about Tip? The unbelievable: that T.I. is a snitch who's working with the authorities to get a lighter prison sentence.

On the record, which appears on the Unit's new Terminate on Sight LP, 50 raps "Nowadays this rap sh-- ain't adding up/ How n----s get caught with 10 machine guns, only get 12 months/ Oowee, don't talk to me/ You talk to him, you talking to them."

"I got the best lawyers that money can buy," 50 rapped on Monday, finishing his verse for MTV News, alongside Tony Yayo and Lloyd Banks. "They say at best they would've got me 10 or maybe nine/ I said, 'How do you explain how homie breezed?' They said, 'You keep your mouth shut or you eat the cheese.' "

Of course, everyone is inferring that 50 was talking about Tip's recent legal woes. Charged with a slew of gun-possession charges, the Atlanta rapper would have faced a severe sentence if he had gone to trial and been found guilty. However, with a plea bargain, T.I. is only expected to do a year in prison, starting his sentence sometime in 2009.

So why the swipe at Tip, who 50 has been known to be cool with? Fif noted that he didn't mention anyone's name and even clarified that he had no beef with T.I.

"It's like 'CSI': You use real-life situations to create something that's entertaining without being specific," 50 said. "When have you known me to be indirect with an issue? If I had a problem with any artist, trust me, they would know. I take [that situation], and I write that because a lot of people think that. They're not saying it because they're cowardly people. When you write it and put it there and leave and say, 'Let me watch and see what happens.' There's so much controversy around it, and you didn't say anything. Then you go, 'See, they think that.' They just won't say it to him because they're a bunch of punks."

Back to the question at hand: Is the "him" Fif was referring to T.I.? "[It's] absolutely for the public to decide," 50 said. "My intentions — you know me, you know my MO — I would just say something. It's not really directed at him. It's me taking real-life situations. These things are relevant to hip-hop, period. I make something that's interesting enough for people to sink their teeth into, and I move forward."

The next single from the album might very well be the one Yayo likes the most, "Straight Outta Southside," a tip of the fitted cap to N.W.A. as well as the slain Southside Queens, New York, native Sean Bell.

"My favorite, hands down, is 'Straight Outta Southside,' " Yayo said of the track, which was leaked a couple of weeks ago. "Rest in peace to Sean Bell. It's a tribute to him. It starts off the album. It's real aggressive."

"My favorite song? It changes, [but] right now it's 'Closer,' " 50 weighed in. "It's a song Banks kinda created the chorus for. It was one of the last songs we recorded. That could have something to do with why it's one of my favorites, 'cause we just made it."

Banks himself said he's partial to the title track. "It's so bouncy," the former Boy Wonder said. "Each one of our flows is completely different. It's hard, man."

"This is the first album we actually made together," 50 added about working with Yayo and Banks. "Yayo was incarcerated while we did Beg for Mercy. He was only featured on a couple of pieces. He missed out on that one. He was there in spirit, but he wasn't there."

Obviously, Young Buck was featured prominently on the last Unit project. But following his dismissal from the group, Buck only appears on a few records.

"I treated him like a younger brother," 50 said. "For him to say and do the things he did — made a whole 'nother space for him. I pardoned him a lot for the things he said and was doing. Finally, he exhausted it."

MTV News will have much more from our sitdown with G-Unit in the coming days — and head here to find out what happened during this interview to make 50 say, "I get to kiss all the lovely white girls!"

• MTV News Raw: 50 Cent Talks Phone Calls, Dis Tracks And T.O.S.

• 50 Cent
• T.I.
• Lloyd Banks
• Tony Yayo

Jacob "The Jeweler" Arabov
Photo: Mark Von Holden/WireImage.com

Rappers had better stock up on their yellow-diamond tennis bracelets and sapphire-sprayed platinum chains, because the king of bling is going up the river for a while.

Jacob "The Jeweler" Arabov — the infamous New York diamond merchant who has outfitted countless rappers, NBA players and even onetime Republican presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani — was sentenced Tuesday (June 24) to two and a half years in federal prison for lying to investigators about his part in a multistate drug ring.

According to The Associated Press, Arabov, who pleaded guilty in October to falsifying records and giving false statements, as part of a deal with federal prosecutors, was given seven months off his potential three-year-plus sentence for his extensive charity work. He was also ordered to pay a $50,000 fine (barely enough to buy one of his low-end chains) and forfeit $2 million to the government.

"I feel ashamed that I broke the laws of this country, a country that has been so good for me," read a statement from Arabov, a 43-year-old Russian immigrant sometimes known as Jacob Arabo. "I will carry this shame for the rest of my life."

Arabov has gotten shout-outs in multiple Kanye West songs ("Touch the Sky," "All Falls Down," "Diamonds from Sierra Leone"), not to mention tracks by 50 Cent, R. Kelly, Jay-Z, Beyoncé, Fabolous and Young Jeezy. He was arrested at his Manhattan shop in 2006 and accused of being part of a conspiracy to launder about $270 million in drug profits. Officials dropped the money-laundering charges against the jeweler as part of his plea agreement.

He was among 40 people indicted in the scheme orchestrated by the Black Mafia Family, which ran drugs out of Detroit beginning in the 1990s. Arabov will report to prison on January 15, and the judge in the case said he might have to receive drug treatment while in prison because he tested positive for cocaine following his arrest.

• 50 Cent
• R. Kelly
• Jay-Z
• Beyoncé
• Fabolous

On The Set Of G-Unit's 'Like The Way She Do It' Video

• G-Unit
• 50 Cent
• Lloyd Banks
• Tony Yayo

"50 Cent: Blood On The Sand" Screen Shots

• 50 Cent

G-Unit, DJ Obscene, Flo-Rida and more

• 50 Cent
• Prodigy of Mobb Deep

Ludacris, Carmen Electra, 50 Cent, More Celebrate Super Bowl Weekend In Arizona

• 50 Cent
• Paris Hilton
• Mary J. Blige
• Ne-Yo
• Fall Out Boy

The Top 10 Hot Messes Of 2007

• Foxy Brown
• Radiohead
• Akon
• 50 Cent
• Amy Winehouse

Jam Master Jay: Then And Now

• Jam Master Jay
• Run-D.M.C.
• 50 Cent

50 Cent, Akon On The Set Of "I Still Will"

• 50 Cent
• Akon

50 Cent's 5 Borough Tour Hits Manhattan

• 50 Cent
• Tony Yayo
• Jim Jones
• Lloyd Banks

2007 VMA: Winners Gallery

• Justin Timberlake
• Timbaland
• Rihanna
• Robin Thicke
• Jennifer Hudson

Adrian Grenier, Nelly, Shia LaBeouf, Britney And More Stars Spotted In Vegas

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