Chamillionaire

Drake, Chamillionaire, The Game Say Album Leaks Can Be A Good Thing

03 Jun 2010 16:07:39 EDT

Paul Wall also agrees that artists can't blame poor sales on early bootlegs.
By Shaheem Reid

Drake has been anointed by many fans and journalists alike as hip-hop's new golden master of ceremonies, but he is not exempt from the same problem plaguing most musicians these days. Bootleggers leaked his much-anticipated Thank Me Later LP earlier this week, but the Toronto MC took it stride, tweeting, "I gave away free music for years so we're good over here."

Drake told TheLifeFiles.com that the word of mouth won't hurt him. "It's a honor to make this dream come true for Wayne, and I'm excited to start my journey," he said of the new album, which he previewed for the press on Wednesday. "I always say, if I would have put out an album that was poor quality, I think the leaks would have hurt me. Because a lot of the feedback has been great, it can only help."

The Game spoke about the inevitability of leaking when he stopped by the MTV Newsroom on Wednesday. "Every album is getting leaked from now until the duration of hip-hop," he said. "It's just once it hits the plant, or once a radio station gets their promo, somebody is gonna leak the album. You can look forward to it being leaked a week early or whatever. It's gonna get leaked."

Chamillionaire and Paul Wall weighed in as well. And though they agreed that an MC's ire is definitely raised when his album leaks early, for the most part, it doesn't hurt too much.

"You can't not be bothered by that," Cham told MTV News. "Because you wonder, is that a sale that I could have made? You hate to see all your hard work that you went to the studio doing. We done seen bootleggers riding 28s. We like, 'Man, they eating good off of us.' But we understand; you just gotta give them that music. If it's dope, they gonna come buy it. I don't think Drake or anybody else should worry if it's dope. If people want it, it's gonna create enough hype. 50 Cent, even Lil Wayne, everybody suffered from leaks and some people benefited from it."

Wall agreed that leaks can do as much good as they do harm. "If the album don't sell good — that's just not Drake, this is every artist — then [they say], 'Oh, it got bootlegged.' If it does great, then they'll be like, 'Oh, it does great 'cause the bootleg got out, and it let everybody know this was legit.' It goes both ways."

Game suggested that any artists who complain that leaks hurt their sales should stop making excuses and make better music.

"Lil Wayne showed me that," Game said. "His album leaked four weeks before Tha Carter III was supposed to come out, and he sold a million the first week. That's just an excuse. ... It's no longer acceptable because people are still selling."

Do you think leaks can help as much as they hurt? Talk about it in the comments.

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Drake's Thank Me Later Leak: Why Bloggers Aren't Posting New Songs

02 Jun 2010 18:44:56 EDT

'Enough is enough,' one blogger tells MTV News about the proliferation of leaked hip-hop albums.
By Shaheem Reid

Drake might be a budding superstar, but he's gotta eat. That seems to be the consensus on the major hip-hop blogs, many of which have decided not to post more songs — many of them unfinished — from the Toronto MC's forthcoming Thank Me Later LP, which leaked early Wednesday (June 2).

Many times in the past — with Jay-Z's Blueprint 3, Lil Wayne's Tha Carter III and Kanye West's 808s and Heartbreak — we've seen blogs post a myriad of songs immediately after the album leaks. While they might not post the entire album, you'd get at least three new joints from it. With Drake, however, most blogs have decided to ignore Thank Me Later's early, unplanned release.

"Enough is enough," Andrew Barber of FakeShoreDrive.com told MTV News on Wednesday. "I know, for my credibility, we kinda already take enough from the artists. I know it's a give-and-take relationship, but we already take enough from the artists. At a certain point, you have to take a stand. Most ethical blogs won't post the album or keep posting [individual songs]. At a certain point, you're cutting into their sales. Its one thing to post a few songs, but to post every single song, that's basically pirating. That's where I draw the line."

"To be fair," RapRadar.com founder Elliot Wilson said, "I think a lot of the sites, when the album fully leaks, they don't put up the full album leaks. They kinda slowed down on the leaks and they'll make the bold statement, they'll decide, 'This is the last leak we're gonna put up from the project.' "

Sure enough, on Wednesday morning, NahRight.com posted a CD-quality version of the Drake/Jay-Z lyrical throwdown "Light Up." At the end of the post a message read: "Last Thank Me Later leak we're posting here. June 15th."

"You've gotta credit Drake, especially with NahRight and other sites," Wilson added. "He was well-connected to those guys. You do form relationships, and again, as a rap fan, you sort of think a lot of these bloggers are fans at the end of the day. They don't want to hurt his sales. You start looking in the mirror — we got excited by [Jay Electronica's] 'Exhibit C.' When it went to iTunes, we was rallying people to go buy it legally just to support the movement of this new energy in hip-hop. I think those people are taking stock and they want Drake to do well also. He comes from them. He has a line in the new album about the backpack guy who's getting to this level. He did his due diligence. He went through the blogs. So much of So Far Gone's initial ascent was from the blogs. In terms of good will, they don't wanna come back now and do anything they feel could possibly hurt him." NahRight is part of a conglomerate of blogs known as the New Music Cartel: YouHeardThatNew.com, 2DopeBoyz.com, DaJaz1.com, OnSmash.com, and XclusiveZones.net are also affiliated. The NMC has become known as the leading source of new hip-hop music to hit the Internet, even getting tracks before some top DJs.

"I think many of the top blogs posted the memorable or anticipated tracks from the album for their readers but refused to post more," XclusiveZone's Mr. X said. "It's not only because of Drake — I can speak for myself and possibly the NMC, we don't post full albums. We give the readers a sample of what they want to hear but tell them to support [artists], and always plug in the release date. But with Drake, because the anticipation was so high, everyone expected us to post the full album. We want to see him go gold or platinum the first week. We aren't trying to take from someone's plate — we're all trying to eat together. We never condone unauthorized leaks but if something does leak, it's best to take it and move on. Look at Drake's response to his album leaking: 'I gave away free music for years so we're good over here.' That made me respect him even more. It's better than crying about it. The track is already out. Enjoy the free promotion, I guess."

So the question is, will Drake's leak hurt his album sales? Perhaps not — there hasn't been a single hip-hop LP in recent memory that didn't doesn't get leaked. In Drake's case, he may be one of the lucky ones: Some artists' albums get leaked as far as a month out (in the case of Lil Wayne's Rebirth, four months). Thank Me Later hit the black market less than two weeks from its June 15 release date.

"I don't think it's gonna hurt him," Wilson said. "I think it's close enough to the release date. There's a lot of people that want to support him. This is a moment that we've been waiting for. I've been trying to figure out what this feels like and what makes this different. Even though this is a debut album, it's not like 50 Cent's Get Rich or Die Tryin' or Kanye's College Dropout, in the sense of 'this person really heated up the game.' We all kind of like wanted to be a part of this guy celebrating and reaching that level. I feel like with this Drake situation, it's kinda similar to Wayne where he's already killed it on a lot of levels. He's on so many hits, this is kind of like his ascension. If this record does get embraced the way people think it will be, it will [definitely make him] the next star — which reminds me of the way Tha Carter III went down, where Wayne set the table of him being the next dude but you needed the album to really prove it. Even though Drake is unproven as far as putting out a debut album, he's been part of so much success already."

What do you think about Drake's album leaking? Has this gone on long enough? Let us know in the comments below!

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Chamillionaire

Pimp C Remembered By Bun B, Chamillionaire, More On First Anniversary Of His Death

04 Dec 2008 16:22:00 EST

Rapper's wife and friends note how his influence lives on in the Houston scene.
By Steven Roberts, with additional reporting by Shaheem Reid

Thursday (December 4) marks the first anniversary of the death of UGK rap legend Pimp C (real name: Chad Butler), who was found dead last year in his room at the Mondrian hotel in Los Angeles. According to the Los Angeles County coroner's office, he died of an accidental overdose of cough medication and a pre-existing sleeping condition.

Pimp C's contribution to Southern rap has not been forgotten, however. Along with UGK partner Bun B, he was influential in establishing Houston in the game and inspired the careers of many of the city's MCs. All day, thoughts have been pouring in to MTV News from his friends and colleagues about how the late rapper touched their lives. (Click here for photos of Pimp C and UGK.)

"I'm normally good with words, but it took me a while just to put a three-sentence quote together about him, because there are no words to describe how much he meant to me and so many others," fellow Houston MC Chamillionaire wrote in an e-mail. "It really seems like it was just yesterday that he was here, and I still can't believe he's not. He is deeply missed, and I know his legacy will live on forever."

Slim Thug said that Pimp C's voice still lives on in many artists' music. "I hear him sampled on hooks and hear all the good music he made while alive, and I know we will never forget what he did for Texas."

Pimp C is expected to make a posthumous appearance on Chamillionaire's third album, Venom, and is featured with Chamillionaire on "Underground Thang," a song off of Bun B's II Trill.

Bun B remembered his partner fondly when we spoke to him recently in Houston during the weekend of the "Best of Texas" concert. "It took us awhile to figure out that UGK was not just a group," Bun said. "UGK means so much to so many people."

Bun said he would never forget how they supported and encouraged each other to continue in the game. "There would be different times where his frustration would get overbearing, and he would want to just kind of stop doing it, and I would lift him," he recalled. "And then vice-versa. When I would start feeling indifferent about the game, he would be there to lift me up and keep me inspired."

Pimp C's wife, Chinara Butler, also shared her thoughts on what her husband meant to her family and music.

"To my husband and best friend, words can never express how much you are missed, and how much of a gap you left in the lives of family, friends, the industry and your fans!" she said in an e-mail. "I don't think I'm alone when I say I definitely miss you, speaking the real. You are loved and missed, but your spirit and music will live on forever!"

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Chamillionaire, Mike Jones, Bun B Help Unite Houston At 'Best Of Texas' Concert

24 Nov 2008 15:11:00 EST

Paul Wall, Slim Thug, Scarface, Lil' Flip also take the stage.
By Shaheem Reid, with additional reporting by Sway Calloway

Houston hip-hop artists have a history of being very talented but, unfortunately, very divided at times. In the '90s, there were rivalries based on what part of the city you lived in. Several years ago, that philosophy was put aside, and the guys from H-Town started collaborating regardless of geography. When the city reemerged and exploded less than a handful of years ago, the scene caught fire with a bevy of pairings: Slim ThugSlim Thug and ChamillionaireChamillionaire. Lil' FlipLil' Flip and Chamillionaire. Slim Thug, Mike JonesMike Jones and Paul WallPaul Wall. Bun BBun B and everybody.

Then everybody started doing their own thing again.

"In every argument, both sides are going to feel they are right," said Chamillionaire, who has had issues with Paul Wall and Mike Jones over the past few years. "In hip-hop, it's very competitive — the competitive nature of the music. ... Any little thing can make somebody mad."

At the recent Ozone Awards — supposedly a shining moment for the city — the division screamed when Trae tha Truth laid hands on Mike Jones, punching the MC. To make matters worse, the night ended early without a planned cipher of the city's MCs closing the show. Tsk-tsk.

On Sunday, Houston radio station the Box pulled off what some called the impossible, assembling just about every hip-hop artist in the city — old and new — for what they called the "Best of Texas" concert. It all took place during the Los Magnificos Car Show at the Reliant Center, and it lasted more than seven hours.

"This is home," Lil' Flip said after he got offstage early in the afternoon. "The biggest car show we ever had. Twenty-thousand [people]! Usually we have, like, 12,000."

Flip underestimated the turnout; by show's end, there was talk of the spectator tally being somewhere between 28,000 and 30,000.

"This is our biggest event of the year," Slim Thug explained. "Usually we have artists from all over the country come down and perform. This year, it's all Houston and a few Dallas artists, and it's sold out. This is the biggest turnout they ever had."

Houston legends the Botany Boys, Lil' KekeLil' Keke, ScarfaceScarface and Bun B joined current hometown superstars Paul Wall, Chamillionaire, Slim Thug and Mike Jones. The night's most anticipated and loudly received sets, however, came from two guys who the mainstream don't really know, Trae tha Truth and Z-Ro, who closed the show.

"It's intoxicating, it's like one of them things rolled up burning," said Z-Ro, who was the undeniable crowd favorite of the night. "Z-Ro, Zeeee-rooooo," the crowd started chanting an hour before he came on.

"The kids and the older people, all walks of life — they out there screaming, word for word," the MC said. "I looked out and didn't see any wall, I didn't see any wall. All I saw was people. I felt I had to be all I can. It's like the army now."

It was very surreal hearing 20,000-plus sing Ro's song "I Hate You B----" like it was a Linda Perry power ballad.

Mike Jones got a very different reaction during his set. Maybe they didn't immediately recognize him because of his significant weight loss (he's been dieting and working out), but when he came out, the crowd was just cold. No booing, no cheering, no reaction. That indifference carried through his show for the most part. He did get them to sing along occasionally, though.

Bun B went over heavily with the crowd. They welcomed him like the legend he is. "Draped Up" and "Get Throwed" drove 'em crazy, while "Int'l Players Anthem" and "Big Pimpin' " kept hands in the air.

Paul Wall rolled out hits like "Sittin' Sidewayz" and "Grillz," but his big moment was bringing out Chamillionaire for 'N Luv Wit My Money.' The two buried the hatchet a while back, but they made it official Sunday night. Cham himself brought out Krayzie Bone on "Ridin' " and Lil' Flip for "Turn It Up."

Although songs such as "Mr. Scarface" and "Money and the Power" were probably older than some of the kids in the crowd, Scarface got them to chant his classics. "Smile" and "I Seen a Man Die" were also in his chamber, but the biggest record for him was "My Mind's Playing Tricks on Me." While it had been billed that the Geto Boys would take the stage together to receive a lifetime-achievement award, Bushwick Bill and Willie D were unexplained absentees.

Trae tha Truth clearly went over his allotted time: The house and stage lights were on during most of his performance. But who's gonna tell the imposing street don to stop rapping? Especially when Trae brought out his son and the kids of deceased Houston icons Fat Pat and Big Hawk.

But Slim Thug gets the show's MVP award. Besides his own set, he jumped onstage no less than five other times for various guest appearances. No "Still Tippin' " with Jones and Wall, though.

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Kanye West, Fall Out Boy, Other Celebrity Obama Supporters Praise Historic Speech

29 Aug 2008 17:47:00 EDT

'It's really refreshing to actually be able to witness history unfolding like this,' Chamillionaire says of candidate's DNC address in Denver.
By Jocelyn Vena

On Thursday night in Denver, Democratic presidential nominee Senator Barack Obama accepted his party's nomination with a historic speech. The address, which took place 45 years after Martin Luther King Jr. gave his "I Have a Dream" speech, left the Illinois senator's high-profile supporters in awe.

"The imagery and the message behind Obama's speech was more powerful than any that I have ever seen in my lifetime," ChamillionaireChamillionaire told MTV News. "It's really refreshing to actually be able to witness history unfolding like this."

It was a sentiment shared by many of the other celebrities and regular folks who heard what Obama had to say. "[It was] a complete inspiration. I have high hopes for our next president," All-American RejectsAll-American Rejects frontman Tyson Ritter said.

Meanwhile, longtime Obama supporter Oprah Winfrey told the press after Obama finished his speech that "I cried my eyelashes off. I think it's the most powerful thing I have ever experienced." She added: "He's not an African-American candidate. He's a candidate for Americans."

Pete Wentz summed it up in his MTV Newsroom live-blog entry: "It's strange to get the feeling that you will remember the exact moment and place you were sitting when someone gives a speech."

Also backstage after the speech was Kanye WestKanye West, who said, according to several media accounts, "It changed my life." Earlier in the week, Kanye admitted that he wished his late mother, Donda West, could have been around to see Obama's historic presidential run. "It's an incredible time to be around. I wish my momma could have seen this day."

"I've never gotten so many chills in my life," Fall Out BoyFall Out Boy guitarist Joe Trohman told MTV News. "There's the chills you get from hearing an incredible melody in a song, from seeing the best movie you've ever seen in your life, but this was something different. I don't want to this to sound like a joke, but Obama has coin face. His face will look amazing on a silver dollar. And I want to be spending that silver dollar."

His bandmate Patrick Stump appreciated Obama's honesty and integrity in the speech. "He talks about hope, but he actually delivers. He has supports, facts, figures and the ba--s to say it all at the risk of his political standing," he said. "His speeches convince me that he is an honest politician, possibly the first in a desperately long time."

During MTV News' live blog of Obama's speech, Kenna declared Obama the winner after hearing his moving speech about bringing change to Washington: "There is going to be a paradigm shift in the world as we know it. He just won."

Don't miss out on the action: MTV News and our Street Team '08 will be on the ground at the Republican National Convention to sort through all the speeches, streamers and ceremony and find the information you need to choose our next president. Head to Choose or Lose for nonstop coverage of the 2008 presidential election. And after history is made in Denver, MTV News will help you make sense of it all in "Obama Decoded," premiering Friday, August 29 at 7:30 p.m. ET.

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Fabolous Wants Swizz Beatz, Ryan Leslie To Go Loso's Way; Chamillionaire Gets Raw, In Mixtape Monday

25 Aug 2008 08:00:00 EDT

Plus: Swizz gets Coldplay's permission to release 'That Oprah.'
By Shaheem Reid, with additional reporting by Rahman Dukes

Artist: ChamillionaireChamillionaire

Representing: Houston

Mixtape: Mixtape Messiah 4

411: King Koopa isn't going to stop with just three. Chamillionaire's Mixtape Messiah 4 will arrive on August 27.

"I think the other ones are so critically acclaimed by fans, I wanna keep that competiveness up with myself," he told us in Houston, where he was waiting to record a freestyle with Killer Mike. "They'll compare this one to the other Mixtape Messiahs. Mixtape Messiah 1 is probably my biggest one thus far. It came out of nowhere. At that time, I had the beef with Mike Jones, and it was a triple-disc CD. Nobody did that. It was real shock value. I'm gonna keep on competing with myself. I might not drop a triple disc; it's a double disc this time. But it's two CDs full of nothing but new material."

Koopa describes this CD as a return to full-throttle rawness with hard punch lines.

"Sometimes I say punch lines to myself and be like, 'This punch line is trying a little too hard,' " he said. "But I know my fans like that. So I'mma give it to them. A lot of fans that like me, like me because I used to take whoever's beat was hot and even beats that weren't hot, that were classic. Let's get it."

You'll be able to get a hard copy of this mixtape in the streets, unlike the last MM.

"I released a part three not too long ago," the Houston native said. "We did the digital [release]. A lot of people were hesitant to put out music a little while ago in the mixtape game. I seen a lot of DJs stop dropping mixtapes. I put mine out online for free. I think it says a lot, though, when you're taking the time to press it up and doing the actual CD. It needs to be physically in the street and hit them nooks and crannies. There's spots where the big artists don't go, but that's where I'm gonna go. We gonna start off slow and go with it."

But fans won't get too long to let this CD marinate, because Mixtape Messiah 5 is coming soon. Chamillionaire has been talking to a slew of DJs — from Drama to Cannon to Whoo Kid — about possibly collaborating with them on the next tape.

Then he'll drop his third album.

"I been working on it for a minute, since The Ultimate Victory," the Grammy winner revealed. "That's crazy, because a lot of my fans think I been on vacation."

Chamillionaire has over 30 records in the can for the still-untitled official project.

Joints To Check For

"Roll Call Reloaded." "On a couple of the other Mixtape Messiah records, I did a roll call, and it's a fire drill of all the other rappers," he said. "I call it a fire drill because we run down a list of everybody that's hot, and I'm gonna exactly rap their styles just to be creative. I start off with Jeezy, then I do Jim Jones, I do Rich Boy, Game, Jay-Z. I do E-40, Lil Weezy, Rick Ross. I had to cut the record because I did a whole bunch of people. I took a B.G. beat and just repped that. This is just one thing to show creativity."

"Internet Nerd's Revenge." "The online thing is real big right now," Cham said. "Even though I'm dropping this in the streets ... I see rappers online, and it matters what's said online. You go to MTVNews.com and see what they saying on Mixtape Monday. Fans complain about everything. They complain about Weezy when he does right, when he do wrong. Same thing with Kanye and everybody. Me and my boys went to all these Web sites, and we took a whole list of everything everybody said bad about Chamillionaire. I did a rap like I'm the person sitting at the computer typing and saying bad stuff about Chamilllionaire. It's some little kid that's on the Internet. He's young; he's getting all this stuff he's saying about me. His mother comes in and asks him, 'Did you take your medication? Are you on those porno sites again?' I'm rapping like I'm him in his voice."

"Go Hard." "I heard this beat that the Clipse did," Chamillionaire told us. "I don't know what album it's on. I really mess with the Clipse too. I remember saying, 'Who did this beat?' It was just knocking. I told my DJ to send the instrumental and said, 'I'm about to rip this.' No purpose, just a whole bunch of punch lines, bringing a little aggressiveness to the mixtape. People might have seen me in my last video dressed like a white man, they might have got it twisted. We're bringing it back to the streets."

Don't Sleep: Other Notable Selections This Week

» DJ Fade and Grafh - Burn 'Em Down
» Hevehitta, Scarface and UGK - Southern Royalty
» Crooked I - The Block Obama
» DJ Smallz and Smoke - One Day at a Time
» DJ Woogie and DJ Outlaw - SSK Sh*t Vol. 1
» DJ Drama, Gucci Mane and Yo Gotti - Definition of a G

'Hood's Heavy Rotation: Bubbling Below The Radar

» Young JeezyYoung Jeezy (featuring NasNas) - "My President"
» Mariah CareyMariah Carey (featuring LL Cool JLL Cool J and GhostfaceGhostface) - "I'll Be Lovin U Long Time" remix
» Wale and State Property - "Cyphr"
» D-Block - "Cocaine Music"

The Streets Is Talking: News & Notes From The Underground LosoLoso, in case you didn't know so. You know the tear that Manny Ramirez has been on since he was traded from the Boston Red Sox to the L.A. Dodgers? Well, Fabolous has been that times three. All of his guest appearances lately have been pristine. "I'm so NY, like the folks who make PlayStation," he raps on the "Hi Hater" remix. "Yeah, I'm back fresh off the hate-cation/ I let the hatas take a break/ Now I'mma let it out the bag like Jake the Snake."

What's the best verse out of his recent run of cameos that include work with Red CafeRed Cafe, Mariah CareyMariah Carey and Ryan LeslieRyan Leslie? "All of 'em," he said. "Anybody who knows me know I love to step out to the collabo world. Best verse? That's a hard one. I go in different lanes. I give it my all wherever I step up."

Last weekend Fab was in New York with Swizz BeatzSwizz Beatz. The two came down to Ryan Leslie's video shoot for "Addiction." Yeah, we know Ryan shot a video for the song a few weeks back, but hey, when you have a record that big, you're allowed to make two.

"We're cookin' now," Fab said, standing between Swizzy and Ryan. "You might be looking at two of the producers on that Loso's Way coming this Thanksgiving. We're letting the world know we're coming now."

Swizz Beatz had his own news to let out the bag on the video set: Look for him to run officially with "That Oprah," his ode to making cake.

"The record started off a freestyle, then the traction went real major," Mr. Beatz said, describing the cut that takes the soundscape from ColdplayColdplay's #1 song "Viva la Vida." "Being that I've go

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25 Aug 2008 08:00:00 EDT

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Ice Cube, Chamillionaire, Al Sharpton Are Disgusted By The 'Injustice' Of Sean Bell Verdict

25 Apr 2008 19:50:00 EDT

'As much as things change, the more they stay the same,' DJ Drama says of acquitted police detectives.
By Shaheem Reid, with additional reporting by Rahman Dukes

Unadulterated anger, confusion but certainly not shock are some of the feelings that members of the hip-hop community have expressed about the verdict in the Sean Bell case. Three New York police detectives were acquitted Friday morning (April 25) of any wrongdoing in the Bell case. Bell was shot 50 times by the cops, who claim they thought he had gun after leaving his bachelor party in Queens. Investigations proved he was unarmed.

"This is just another example that the justice system in America views a black life as worthless," Ice Cube bluntly fumed in a statement.

"It doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that shooting an innocent, unarmed man 50-plus times is an excessive use of force," Chamillionaire said. "... I'm sure a lot of people are as disappointed with this verdict as I am. It scares me to know what type of power is given to people who are supposed to be protecting us from harm. It seems like they are all just protecting themselves. The verdict sends a terrible message to people across the nation who already don't have faith in the law or our justice system. It will be hard for people to see this as anything other than a case of police protection. Our prayers go out to the family and friends of Sean Bell."

"I don't know what implications a guilty or not guilty verdict in the Sean Bell case has on our society," Russell Simmons said in a statement released to MTV News on Friday. "I only know for certain that we need more sensitivity training as part of the police curriculum. I also believe a more intimate dialogue must be promoted between police and communities. This process could change the perception by some in the 'hood who view the police presence as an occupying force when they could or should see them as a security force working for the people."

"The verdict is almost as tragic as the incident," UGK's Bun B said. "We've already lost [a] life, and now we've got a loss of justice and loss of reciprocation for what's happened. And it cuts you on so many levels."

Bun insisted that the law has to change. "Some kind of legislation that holds police more accountable [is needed]," he said. " ... I would love to see the Sean Bell bill passed, you know what I'm saying? Something in his name. Let's not mar his memory with violence. ... I feel like people should be upset. They should be mad, but that's what they expect for us to do with our anger. That's what they expect us to do with our energy, is to put it back out and to take their negative energy and turn it into something even more negative. We gotta take that sh-- and do it into something positive for this dude, because ... Sean Bell could've been anybody, literally. Sean Bell wasn't a celebrity. He wasn't an athlete. ... He was just a man trying to take care of his family, trying to do his thing, just do him. This could be anybody. Any man."

DJ Drama said the Bell case is just one more instance of injustice, and he wasn't surprised by the outcome at all. He was almost expecting it.

"I almost had a feeling of how the outcome is gonna be," Drama said Friday in Atlanta. "To wake up and see that — as much as things change, the more they stay the same. You look at this country on one hand, you have a black man and a woman running for president. Then you look at the justice system, and every cop in the Sean Bell case getting acquitted. We got a lot of work to do. The struggle never ends. It affects all of us. Anybody with a voice, you gotta use your voice and speak on it when you see injustice. That's what I think it is: injustice."

"I just got sick, man," Bun B agreed. "You can't even be surprised, 'cause it's not like this hasn't happened before. It just knocks the wind out of you. For one, I'm like, 'Jesus Christ, so the wife and family get nothing.' Of course, they get the appeal of the verdict or whatever, but it's disgusting, to be honest."

The Rev. Al Sharpton, who called the verdict an "abortion of justice," is planning a protest rally in Harlem on Saturday morning alongside Bell's fiancee, Nicole Paultre-Bell, and victims Joseph Guzman and Trent Benefield. On Friday, MTV News caught up with Sharpton and the victims' lawyers.

"I think that we need a cross-section of groups to come together," Sharpton said from his National Action Network headquarters in Harlem. "We need to sit down immediately and plan a strategy and make it international, with the goals being a structural change in policing. I believe we can get to the federal government. Then we're going to wait again for another trial. There's something wrong with the law, and we must change that."

Lawyers for the victims' families echoed Sharpton's statements. "We feel as though justice was snatched out of our hands," said attorney Michael Hardy. " ... It's just hard to believe that we can live in a city where several years ago, Amadou Diallo could be shot at 41 times and no one is responsible, and now you can be shot at 50 times with no justification and no one's held accountable for that."

Meanwhile, the hip-hop community will continue to speak out against the case as well. Some are even venting their frustrations in the studio.

"The song is called 'Get Your Issue,' " Bun B said of one of his recent recordings. "It's talking about police brutality in the 'hood and how many brothers over the past years have gone down. It's just really been ugly ... but New York police have been out of line for a long time.

"I don't really know if they're gonna wanna listen to music right now," he added about the Bell family. "But [I made the song] just so they know that people do care. I don't know Sean. I've never met him or seen him before, but he's a black man. He was a human being. He was a husband and a father. I relate to that on all levels, you know what I'm saying?"

Mobb Deep's Prodigy raps about the infamous case on his album H.N.I.C., Pt. 2, which was released Tuesday: "I only lie to the police/ On the real/ New York pricks and di--s/ Know the deal/ They wanna do the kid/ Like my n---a Sean Bell/ F--- that, it be a racist cop/ Burial with the bagpipe music."

Before ending his press conference, Sharpton told a packed room of protesters they had "lost a round, but the fight was still on."

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Jay-Z Toasts American Gangster With Diddy, Nas, Beanie Sigel At NYC Show

14 Nov 2007 14:39:00 EST

Rapper runs through all his hits for star-filled Apollo Theater crowd, including Beyoncé, LeBron James, Chamillionaire.
By Shaheem Reid

NEW YORK — A few weeks ago, the film "American Gangster" had its premiere at Harlem's Apollo Theater. On Tuesday night, Jay-Z closed out his American Gangster there.

His mini-tour made its last stop in front of a sold-out audience that included Chamillionaire, Beyoncé and LeBron James. While waiting for Jay, a house DJ spun tunes, and later DJ Clue came on to play some records.

You could see James in the balcony sitting by Jay-Z's family, dancing in his chair to "Crank That." "Soulja Boy up in this, ohhhh!/ Watch me crank it, watch me roll." Number 23 bounced to the beat and even tried the famous "Superman" dance.

Just before the real music came on, various music-biz pals, such as Diddy, Ed Lover, L.A. Reid and Warner Music Group President Kevin Liles, filed into their seats.

The Apollo's crimson curtain opened, and out strolled Jay, background singers and band behind him, showering the theater with the rock-hard opening of his latest LP, "Pray."

"This is the genesis of a nemesis/ Mother America's not witnessed since/ The Harlem renaissance birthed black businesses/ This is the tale of lost innocence/ As the incense burns and the turntables turn, and that Al Green plays."

Jay delivered his rhymes with his usual swagger-drenched poise, while his fans rhymed in their seats with vigorous approval.

Hov moved his play list to "No Hook," and when he asked where everybody was from, chants of "Broooook-lynnnnn, Broooook-lynnnnn" started filling the Apollo. He also warned those who weren't giving off enough energy to "cut that cool sh-- out. ... If you ain't here to see Hov, you might wanna leave."

Jigga then hand-delivered the crowd some never-before-heard lyrics: "N---a, this sh-- right herrre/ Make you wanna go throw on your fly gearrr," he rapped a cappella. "Put fly girls in the mirror/ Double-checking their rear/ N---a, this sh-- right herrre/ Make you wear your sunnies at night, no glare/ Nowhere in site, you act like I don't care/ I'm so fly, y'all have no idearrr."

"Blue Magic" and "99 Problems" preceded one of his time-tested concert show-stoppers, "You Don't Know." As always, the song ended with the audience putting up their Roc signs.

"Don't f--- around, that's what I'm talking about," Hov said to the theater when the enthusiasm went up a couple of levels.

Jay fluctuated between his various albums, performing American Gangster's "I Know," Vol. 2: Hard Knock Life's "N---a What, N---a Who (Originator 99)," Kingdom Come's title track, The Black Album's "Public Service Announcement" and The Blueprint's "Heart of the City (Ain't No Love)."

Hov then circled back to his current LP. "Can I play something off there real quick?" he asked before the intro for the song "Success" started.

"I got watches I ain't seen in months/ Apartment at the Trump I only slept in once," he rapped. "N---as said Hova was over, such dummies/ Even if I fell, I'll land on a bunch of money/ Y'all ain't got nothing for me."

Jay then signaled for Nas and started looking to his right for him to come out. But Nas came up behind him, holding a huge cigar and a bottle of champagne. It was a huge moment, but the giddiness of seeing the two New York giants together lasted only momentarily, because Nas could not remember the lines to his verse.

Hov did his best to cover him with ad-libs, but it wasn't quite the same impact as it would have been if Nas had remembered his chilling rhymes. God's Son did quickly recover on "Black Republican," another show-stopper.

The old regime of Roc-A-Fella records — Memphis Bleek, Beanie Sigel (who wore a State Property T-shirt), Freeway and the Young Gunz — came out minutes later for a flurry of the teams' classics, including "Change the Game," "You, Me, Him, Her," "What We Do" and "Can't Stop, Won't Stop."

Some guys in the front started chanting "Ignorant Sh--," pleading for Jay and Sig to do their collaboration from American Gangster.

The lights went out, and you could see shadows of Jay and Beans conferring in front of the drummer. They were obviously throwing a hip-hop audible. The two then walked to the front of the stage, and the song started. The duo even did a unified two-step before the verses started.

"I got you," Sigel said, letting Jay know he knew the lyrics, even though they may not have practiced. Hov knew his rhymes as well.

"Party Life," "Give It to Me" and "Show Me What You Got" followed the collabo.

"I got a lot of records," Jay smiled. "I got a lot of f---in' records."

Later, Diddy came out and acted as Jay's hypeman for "Encore."

"Now can I get an encore, do you want more?/ Cookin' raw with the Brooklyn boy/ So for one last time I need y'all to roar," Jay and the crowd chanted while Diddy spun in circles.

"They love you Jigga," Puff said when the song ended.

Jay confirmed the crowd's cheers by telling everyone that American Gangster opened at #1, tying him with Elvis for most career #1 albums of any artist except the Beatles.

"Without a #1 record, I'm the number-one man," he began rapping. " ... I'm so cool, I'm my number-one fan/ ... Now I'm standing on Elvis' blue suede shoes, 'cause I'm #1 again."

The celebration ended with a song Jay described as being the height of revelry: "Roc Boys (And The Winner Is ...)."

Jay's whole team, including LeBron, who was wearing a Roc-A-Fella chain, came onstage as the record played. Diddy even gave James the mic, and he began rapping some of the words along with Jay.

"Rich n---as, black bar mitzvahs/ Mazel tov, it's a celebration, bitches/ La chaim/ I wish for you a hundred years of success, but it's my time."

For more sights and stories from concerts around the country, check out MTV News Tour Reports.

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