50 Cent
Photo: Bryan Bedder/ Getty Images

Artist: Rich Boy

Representing: Mobile, Alabama

Mixtape: Bigger Than the Mayor

411: Buried Alive, the follow-up to Rich Boy's gold debut, comes out this summer, but he's dedicated to warming it up like Kane this spring with Bigger Than the Mayor.

"I decided to call it Bigger Than the Mayor because where I'm from — I don't know about everywhere else — the kids don't even know who the mayor is," the Mobile, Alabama, native said. "It's a lot of local celebrities that's bigger than the mayor where I'm from. You can take me in the room, you can take the mayor from whatever city in the room. Them young kids gonna know who I am before they know the mayor. It ain't no ego. Don't get it twisted, I'm bigger than the mayor. Holla at your boy.

"It's just the beginning," he added. "My mixtape is what's going on in the world today, you know what I'm saying? The average generation person — like me, myself and I, the boys from out my neighborhood in Mobile, Alabama — that's what we represent, what's all on this mixtape. My album is what I rather prefer for the world to be. On my mixtape, I get in the booth and do what I feel. The album is more of a thought process. The album is way harder than the mixtape."

Joints To Check For

» "Haters Wish." "It's a sample my boy Super Villain did," Rich said. "I co-produced the track with him, threw a couple of sounds on there. It's called 'Haters Wish.' It's what the haters wish to do. 'They wish they could feel the wood in my 83.' Laid-back summertime, let's ride. It's a real feel-good song. It's what I am, what I represent. Haters wish they could do this; haters wish they could do that."

» "Wrist Out the Window." "My homie Shawty Lo showed me some love on this," Rich said. "Gucci Mane is on this thing. It's a hit, straight classic. Super Villain did the track too. He sent it to me, it was just automatic. He had the Gucci Mane sample on there: 'My wrist out the window.' He made me feel like it's something on there. Artists be playing themselves, saving all their hard songs for the album. I got so many hard songs, I decided, 'I'mma put some of the hard songs on the mixtape, some of the hard songs on the album.' You got to feed the people, man. People want music out there. I took it back to the basics, man. A lot of cats be talking about their wrists — 'wrist this, wrist that' — I might as well make an anthem for them."

Don't Sleep: Other Notable Selections This Week
» Big Mike and DJ Thoro - Grind House
» DJ 31 Degreez and the Game - Diary of a Gangsta
» DJ Mello - Street King 2
» The Empire, the Cartel and Young Jeezy - The Mixtape Monster
» Termanology - Da Cameo King

'Hood's Heavy Rotation: Bubbling Below The Radar

» Bizzy Bone (featuring Joe Madden) - "I'm The One"
» Cassidy - "I'm Illie"
» Nelly (featuring Akon) - "Body on Me"
» Shawty Redd (featuring Snoop Dogg) - "Drifter" remix
» Skillz - "Sick"
» Young Buck (featuring the Outlawz and Snoop Dogg) - "Driving Down the Freeway" remix

Fire Starter

When your record company is called We the Best, there's a lot of weight on your shoulders. But Ace Hood has DJ Khaled, hip-hop's most vocal cheerleader, in his corner, and the Miami tastemaker has bet the house on his young protégé. Ace is the leadoff artist from Khaled's Def Jam imprint. The MC's lead single, "Cash Flow," features Rick Ross and T-Pain. Ace also just dropped a mixtape called Ace Won't Fold.

Celebrity Faves

Fat Joe has a chorus line of MCs going for his neck on the new underground track "Bang Bang Boogie," but the Terror Squad Don is holding his head up and continuing to travel the world to promote his Elephant in the Room LP. He was headed to Africa when he last checked in with us. Before he left U.S. soil, Coca told us why Public Enemy touched his soul back in the "Yo! MTV Raps" era and still influence him to this day.

"I didn't know what Chuck D was sayin' [when I was young], man," he said. "Try that one! It wasn't until I was older that I understood the conscious message. That was when it was goin' down, you know? It was goin' down. Your man KRS-One, Rakim — that was hip-hop.

"That hip-hop was better than now," he added. "When I'm in my car, I'm bumpin' that XM old-school [station]. Let me tell you somethin': Public Enemy was so ill, 'cause here you had the most militant, black, conscious rapper in the world, and then you had the little dude in the Gucci suit with the clock. It was like oil and vinegar. Salt and pepper. They didn't mix, but that was what was so dope about 'em. '911 Is a Joke!' "

The Streets Is Talking: News & Notes From The Underground

June 24 is already bursting at the seams with hip-hop releases: Nelly's Brass Knuckles, the Game's L.A.X. and G-Unit's Terminate on Sight are all scheduled to drop that day. 50 Cent says he expects at least one of his opponents to fall out of contention — forcibly.

"I'mma wait a little, then I'm just gonna push his album back," 50 told us last week of Game's project. "I don't think there's anyone that would legitimately look at him like it's a competition, him versus G-Unit. It just doesn't make sense. I make money every time he releases an album. He signed a five-album deal. He's only on album three."

50 also said he was concerned that some knuckleheads might turn the Game-vs.-G-Unit battle into a West Coast/ East Coast situation.

Terminate on Sight's first singles will be "I Like the Way She Do It" and "Rider Pt. 2." The latter was born on the Unit's mixtape Elephant in the Sand.

" 'Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!' " 50 started singing from "Rider Pt. 2." He smiled as he explained how he used the Roger Troutman auto-tune effect for the opening on the song. " 'Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!' That don't come out unless you're having a good time while you're making the music. [The fans] appreciate it, and I'm happy that I delivered something they are excited about. Both [Return of the] Body Snatchers and Elephant in the Sand impacted hard. Elephant impacted really hard: over a million downloaded."

One of the mixtape's most slept-on gems is "Lifetime Achievement," on which Fif talks about some of the issues surrounding him lately, like the steroid scandal and his declaration that some people in white America are not ready for a black president.

"Bill O'Reilly called me 'pinhead' for saying that sh--," Fif raps. "Well, him and Oprah Winfrey both can suck on some di--/ ... Them steroids must've made my money longer, Mary's vocals stronger, Timbaland's beats harder/ Tyler write them scripts/ Wyclef make them hits/ If I didn't know it wasn't true, I'd go and get some sh--."

"I know that I don't get the recognition I'm supposed to get from the establishment," 50 explained of the song title. "I think my peers acknowledged it, that's why I have to constantly compete with artists on the hip-hop level, because the competitive nature of the art form makes me the guy they want to target. They want a title shot every time.

"You hold onto your sanity as soon as you can accept that: that they can say anything they want about us," he added about some of the outlandish things that are reported about him. "It's a fair exchange. In exchange for not having to worry about paying bills, my son is well taken care of, they get a chance to say what they think about me."

Just like they did for the Body Snatchers mixtape, the Unit plan to shoot videos for a bunch of Elephant in the Sand's tracks. Meanwhile, they are also moving on to a special G-Unit version of DJ Drama's Gangsta Grillz mixtape series.

"Looking at it from a marketing standpoint, strategically it's something different," 50 said of the decision to join forces with Atlanta's Mr. Thanksgiving. "Drama has a strong following in the southern markets. Whoo Kid is the biggest mixtape DJ period. But Drama has a pocket of people that want that Drama Gangsta Grillz that might not pick up the Whoo Kid tapes. So we need to get to them before we actually release [Terminate on Sight]. He definitely has his own following. That makes it make sense for them to get together so we can get to all of [the fans]."

There had been talk between 50 and Drama about trying to corral some of the DJ's close musical associates, like T.I. and Young Jeezy, on the G-Unit Gangsta Grillz, but that isn't going to happen.

"I looked at it as the third volume of the G-Unit tape would come from Drama," 50 said, downplaying the project. "I don't have the time or energy to get artists [from the] outside to feature on freestyles. You get to that point. Remember, I said to you everybody appears cool. They're in competition."

war of words with Young Buck

(Over the weekend, G-Unit's war of words with Young Buck heated up when Buck responded to 50's shocking allegations with a new track, and G-Unit also filmed a video for "I Like the Way She Do It" — check out our report from the set in the Newsroom Blog) ...

"I rub your face off the Earth and curse your family's children/ Like Amityville, drill the nerves in your cavity." Big Pun was one of the illest to ever do it. He set standards in lyricism and style, though his career lasted just a few years. The Bronx native's impact and life is the centerpiece of the documentary "Big Pun: The Legacy," which Czar Production is in the midst of putting together.

DMX, Prodigy, Raekwon, Snoop Dogg, Swizz Beatz, Killer Mike, Xzibit, Keith Murray and so many more sit down with the filmmakers to talk about one of rap's most skilled and charismatic characters.

Jim Jones tells a story of chilling with Pun in the Bronx one winter, when Punisher jumped out of his car and started shooting crackheads with a water gun. Some also recalled Pun getting kicked off airplanes because of his humorous antics. One time, he put syrup and vinegar in Fat Joe's soda at a restaurant, causing his friend to flip a table over.

"He was such a genuine person," DMX says in the film. Later, Snoop speaks on how much Pun influenced him.

In addition to his career and his friendships, Pun's obvious eating problems are broached, as well his family life.

"I was crushed," Redman said about Pun's death. "We should have been on our job as a family to get that n---a back in shape."

"I was extremely pleased," Pun's wife, Liza Rios, said in a statement to Mixtape Monday regarding the film. "It was well-thought-out. It definitely represented Big Pun in full form. Over the years, Pun had become a distant memory in the industry. It is important for the younger hip-hop generation to know Pun and what he contributed to our hip-hop nation. The streets always keep Pun alive, and by creating this documentary, we are able to give back to Pun's loyal fans."

The documentary does not have release date yet.

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

• Mixtape Monday Video: 50 Cent, G-Unit, Rich Boy and Big Pun

• 50 Cent
• Game
• G-Unit
• Snoop Dogg
• DMX

P. Diddy and Voletta Wallace at the fifth annual B.I.G. Night Out
Photo: Soul Brother

NEW YORK — In a perfect world, the Notorious B.I.G., Tupac Shakur, Big L, Big Pun, Aaliyah, Left Eye, Freaky Tah and Jam Master Jay would have all been with their mothers Tuesday night at the fifth annual B.I.G. Night Out. However, the harsh reality is that all the stars have passed on — most of them by violent means — leaving their families and friends to mourn.

But as the rappers' loved ones and associates who came out to participate in the yearly event put on by the Christopher Wallace Memorial Foundation filed in to the Metropolitan Pavilion, hardly any somber feelings were expressed. Attendees including Jay-Z, Iron Mike Tyson and the Rev. Al Sharpton came to rejoice. (Click here for photos from the event.)

"When I think about these events, I always say we're celebrating the lives of these artists," the Rev. Run, standing next to DMC, said. "They're not really dead. A little while ago I heard 'Sucker M.C.'s' playing [in the background]."

Every year the Christopher Wallace Memorial Foundation holds a black-tie dinner to raise funds for children's school equipment and supplies and to honor the memory of the Notorious B.I.G. (For the event, B.I.G., in addition to referencing Biggie's name, stands for Books Instead of Guns.) This year, not only was homage paid to Biggie and his mother, Voletta Wallace, but also to deceased superstars Tupac Shakur, Aaliyah Haughton, Jason "Jam Master Jay" Mizell, Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes, Lamont "Big L" Coleman, Christopher "Big Pun" Rios, Raymond "Freaky Tah" Rogers and their mothers.

"We don't need to focus on why these people are gone, we need to focus on why we're here and what we can do," Run continued. "To come and honor Jay's mother is a tremendous thing. We rehearsed in Jay's living room. The turntables were at Jay's house. We spent nights at Jay's house. We left from Jay's house to go on tour. We sent buses to Jay's house to pick up all of the Hollis Crew to take them to Madison Square Garden."

"Their strength has helped us as a hip-hop nation to carry on," P. Diddy said in praise of the mothers.

"It's sad to say they've lost a lot of their sons, their daughters, through terrible tragedies," Ms. Wallace said of her fellow mothers in attendance. "Their children have contributed a lot to society but for some reason, those mothers are not being acknowledged and recognized. [Tonight] is just the foundation's way of saying we love them, we're thinking about them, their courage, their strength and [to say], 'Keep up the good work.' "

For some of the parents of the departed icons, keeping up the good work means turning toward the good book.

"I believe we have to leave it in the hands of God to correct us and help us so we can go on and live day by day," Connie Mizell, mother of Jam Master Jay, said about how the mothers should deal with the loss of their children. "If we suffer too long we won't be any good for the rest of the family. We can't fall by the wayside just because [our children] are gone. Jay's always there. There's not a day I don't smile and think about something he said or did. I want the other mothers to know that I'm coping. ... I'm doing more than coping, I'm OK." 

While Mrs. Mizell took her time in the spotlight to advise prayer, Big L's mother called to end the brutality. "I've lost two sons to street violence," Gilda Terry said. "It's a little harder for me tonight. There's so much going on in this world, we don't need the street violence, especially from our young people. They don't care about life anymore, it needs to change."

Seemingly, what will never change is the relevance of the artists' music. Even today, their classic material is standing the test of time.

"They spoke for the people, they spoke from the heart, they were revolutionaries of their time," Diddy said of why their music continues to be so popular. "These cats were the last of a dying breed with their words, actions and energy." 

"I was just saying it's a trip that music has changed so much in the last six years," Biggie's widow, Faith Evans, said. "And for these people to not be here ... it doesn't seem like they're not here. When you hear their songs it's certainly timeless. It's a proud feeling for myself and certainly all the mothers." 

With the exception of Afeni Shakur, all the invited mothers were in attendance and received the B.I.G. Heart Award and proclamations from New York City and New York State.

Hip-hop violinist Miri Ben-Ari and Faith performed, however the highlight onstage was Patti LaBelle, who sang the Lord's Prayer. Before she began singing, the legendary crooner asked audience members, such as Mike Tyson, her "dog" P. Diddy and Foxy Brown, if her wig looked all right.

"Bless your wig," the Rev. Run yelled back to the stage.

"Ameeen," she sang minutes later, garnering a standing ovation.

— Shaheem Reid with additional reporting by Sway Calloway

• Notorious B.I.G.
• Diddy
• Faith Evans
• Run-D.M.C.
• Big L

P. Diddy, Snoop Dogg, DMX, Ice Cube and the Cash Money Millionaires are among the rappers who appear in "Hip-Hop Story: Tha Movie," the first production from NBA star Nick Van Exel's RapRock Films, due February 11. Smoot, the film's star and Van Exel's partner in the company, will release his debut on July 8 and will also appear on the movie's soundtrack, due April 22. ...

Avril Lavigne, Pink, Usher and the Clipse will be the first artists to participate in Arista Records' new DVD singles series. The DVDs, due March 11 and packaged in CD jewel cases, will feature two videos apiece, along with bonus material. ... On February 7, the third anniversary of Big Pun's death, his widow, Liza Rios, announced the establishment of the Big Pun Foundation at a press conference in the Bronx, New York. The non-profit organization will establish social programs for inner-city youth. ...

The debut album by the Mars Volta, the electronic-inspired offshoot of defunct At the Drive-In, is set for a June release. While the album remains untitled, its packaging will be designed by Storm Thorgerson, who's worked on classic covers such as Pink Floyd's The Division Bell and Wish You Were Here and the Cranberries' Bury the Hatchet. ... Professional wrestler Curt "Mr. Perfect" Hennig, who came to prominence in the late '80s and early '90s with the American Wrestling Association and the World Wrestling Federation, was found dead in his hotel room in Brandon, Florida, on Monday at the age of 44, according to the Minneapolis Star Tribune. The cause of death has yet to be determined. In 1999, the Minnesota native embarked on a "West Texas Rednecks" gimmick with World Championship Wrestling that saw him team up with country artist Chad Brock against the No Limit Soldiers (including Master P and Silkk the Shocker) and record two songs, "Rap Is Crap" and "Good Old Boys." ...

According to his lawyer Robert Simels, former drug kingpin and Murder Inc. associate Kenneth "Supreme" McGriff remains in custody awaiting a February 28 court hearing in Baltimore for a gun-possession charge. He is also awaiting a hearing on another New York-based gun charge. In related news, Jon Ragin, McGriff's partner for his independent film "Crime Partners," who was arrested and indicted during last month's FBI Murder Inc.-related raids, will be arraigned in Brooklyn, New York, on February 14 for one count of money laundering. ...

... And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead have recorded five new tracks for an EP due March 25 on Interscope Records. Titled The Secret of Elena's Tomb, the album will feature a track called "All Saints Day" and another dubbed "Mach Schau." ... The Smoking Popes will finally release The Party's Over, the covers album recorded before their split in 1998 featuring songs by Elvis Presley, Willie Nelson, the Byrds and others, on March 25 on Double Zero Records. The same label is releasing a Smoking Popes tribute album the same day with songs from the Ataris, Bad Astronaut, Death on Wednesday and more. ...

Jill Sobule, who "Kissed a Girl" in 1995, is on the verge of a comeback, recording her first album in three years and performing two songs on Wednesday's episode of "The West Wing." Creator Aaron Sorkin is apparently a fan of the singer/songwriter. ... Canadian indie-rock supergroup the New Pornographers will release their second album, Electric Version, May 6 through Matador Records in the U.S. The group, whose members include Neko Case, Carl Newman (Zumpano), Kurt Dahle (Limblifter), John Collins (Thee Evaporators) and cartoonist/filmmaker Blaine Thurier, have added guitarist/keyboardist Todd Fancey (Limblifter) in place of founding member Dan Bejar (Destroyer), whose singing and song contributions on Electric Version were limited. ... Aforementioned alt-twang chanteuse Neko Case has launched the second leg of her U.S. tour in support of her 2002 release, Blacklisted. The 15-date trek, which began on February 6 in Chicago, will end March 30 in Seattle at the Experience Music Project. ...

02.09.03

The Donnas were booted from their own after-show party at New York's Belmont Lounge on Friday when the gals got a little too drunk and rowdy. The Strokes were there to witness and partake in the revelry, but the Used's Bert McCracken, who attended the show, couldn't make the late night soiree. ...

In an effort to increase the set time for bands, the fifth annual March Metal Meltdown will be extended to three days instead of the usual two. The heavy metal festival, set for March 7-9 in Irvington, New Jersey, will feature '80s British metalheads Status Quo; Fozzy, featuring pro wrestler Chris Jericho; and hometown heroes Overkill, among many others. ...

Though she's known to take years between albums, Icelandic songstress Björk will follow-up her 2001 album Vespertine with a potential new album this summer, tentatively called LakeExperience, according to an oblique message on her official Web site. In the stream-of-consciousness post, Björk said that she has recorded "song a day. song a day. for how many days. I do not know. but some days." Work-in-progress video snippets of new material featuring shots of coffee cups and laptops are available at www.bjork.com. ... Faith Hill will perform a free concert for about 8,000 soldiers at Fort Bragg in North Carolina on Thursday. Fort Bragg is home to the 82nd Airborne Division and the Army Special Operations Command, and anyone with military I.D. may be admitted. ...

Blur have announced that former Verve guitarist Simon Tong will accompany them on the road when they tour this summer. He will not, however, be joining as a full-time member. Blur have been without a guitarist since original axeman Graham Coxon left last year before the band started recording in Morocco. Singer Damon Albarn played guitar on most of the record, which comes out later this year. ... If you think this year's Lollapalooza lineup is too radio-friendly, you might want to check out Ipecac Records' traveling road show, which will feature the Melvins, Tomahawk and Skeleton Key. The U.S. tour is tentatively scheduled to begin in late April or early May and additional bands may be announced in the coming weeks. ...

Are the Flaming Lips the new go-to band for cred? First it was touring with Beck, then it was a Top of the Pops performance with Justin Timberlake. Now the Chemical Brothers are testing this theory — the British dance duo recently revealed plans to collaborate with the Oklahoma pop oddities on at least one new track on their upcoming, as-of-yet untitled album, according to their fan Web site Planet Dust. ... On Friday, the recording industry filed an opposition to Verizon Internet Services, Inc.'s motion to postpone a judge's ruling that the ISP must surrender the name of a person suspected of being the source for thousands of unlicensed song files. A federal judge had agreed to a subpoena filed by the RIAA in July that would force Verizon to give up the offender's identity. Verizon opposed that order last month. ...

Hold onto your mullets: Def Leppard are getting ready to play the U.S. The first of 17 scheduled shows is March 21 in Pittsburgh, and the dates run through May 4 in Atlanta. ... Pigface, the Chicago industrial outfit revolving around ex-Ministry member Martin Atkins, are auctioning off an onstage wedding during their upcoming U.S. spring tour to promote their new album, Easy Listening. Fans can bid to win the chance nuptials on eBay until Valentine's Day. ...