Lil Wayne
Photo: Sarah A. Friedman/Contour by Getty Images

On Thursday morning (October 22), Lil Wayne pleaded guilty on a felony gun-possession charge and is expected to be sentenced to a year in prison (although a shorter term of eight-to-10 months on good behavior appears likely). Several hip-hop artists MTV News spoke with in the hours after the news broke were extremely saddened by the development.

"Lil Wayne is a great friend of mine," said DJ Khaled, who had just heard the news. "He's a brother and he's helped so many people. He's helped so many people, the public, [his] city. Musically, he's helped other artists. He's just a great person on the whole.

"He's gonna be good no matter [what], 'cause Lil Wayne's so blessed, but the news has got me disturbed. When you do so much good for the world, make music to inspire young kids and give back to the community, to put a man away like that for eight months to a year ..." Khaled trailed off before continuing. "Lil Wayne is great person. It's just wack that people have to go through these trials and tribulations."

"It hurt us," Rick Ross said. The Bawse had just gotten off a plane to Los Angeles on Thursday morning when he heard about Wayne's plea. "We strategize and work towards this for so long, [and] when something like that, a major inconvenience such as that, nine people out of 10, that stint could hurt them. But I think Wayne has a unique situation with his Cash Money family and now his Young Money roster, I know they got a lot of things poppin'. Wayne's got enough music. He's one of the few artists I feel could eat those 10 months up, or that year, and then come home to rap royalty. If anybody is gonna be able to do it, it's gonna be Wayne."

While Ross was optimistic, Juelz Santana was irate.

"I'm pissed off," Santana said on Thursday morning. Coincidentally, he was in Wayne's hometown of New Orleans filming his first movie, "Video Girl," with Meagan Good. "They totally violated my man. I been trying to call my man all morning. I'm offended! I'm offended, for one, that it happened in New York City. That was some bullsh--. I don't know the situation as far as what happened on the bus, but at the end of the day, Weezy shouldn't be going to jail for nothing right now."

Santana said he feels that Wayne was unfairly targeted by police, like many of his peers.

"Even as rappers, we out here on defense," he added. "We ain't out here hurting nobody. We go to shows picking up 50, 60, probably hundreds of thousands of dollars. Cash money! At the end of the day, you on the bus with however many people was there, how do the officers assume that it's Lil Wayne's gun?

DJ Drama, who made the classic Dedication series of mixtapes with Wayne, also feels that rappers like Weezy are targeted unfairly.

"I was shocked," Drama said of the news about his collaborator. "It was ironic because when I got the e-mail, I was taking a break from shooting a CNN special [about] black men in America since President Obama's [election]. Then here we are halfway through [shooting] that, and I get a e-mail about Lil Wayne possibly facing jail time. One of the world's most popular music stars? It's crazy. Not to take anything from the actual charge or the conflicts of guns, [but] we all can bear witness to the racist tactics of the hip-hop police, specifically in New York. I remember numerous occasions, doing my promo [during] my album's run. They were outside the venues just clearly looking for situations. I can imagine on that night or any given night with the most heralded stars — the 50 Cents, the Lil Waynes — the aggressive nature, they came down on those guys. The system is not even fair to that extent.

"People can say 'Don't do the crime, do the time' or 'Don't carry weapons,' yadda, yadda, yadda," he continued. "These cops are coming so strategically at these artists to make these headlines, to make these statements ... it's plain and simple wrong. So much time and effort is put into putting our music stars behind bars, they still ain't find out who killed Tupac and Biggie."

Even with Wayne having to go away, these artists — like many fans — feel that the time outside of music will have little ill effect on his career.

"Wayne is gonna be all right because God is with him," Khaled insisted. "Us as hip-hop fans, we gotta support him when times are hard, too. I tell everybody you can't turn your back on somebody. I'm gonna ride with Wayne forever. I'm gonna play his music whether it's in the club, the radio or in my car. [It's] gonna be like he's got an album coming out every week."

"It most definitely could have been a lot worse," Ross added. "But Lil Wayne and his camp, his music is gonna remain visible and relevant. He's gonna handle his business and come home like a boss. Believe that.

"This is finnin' to take him to a whole 'nother creative point," Ross continued. "To have time to sit down ... I can imagine how many records and choruses he's gonna write. Knowing Wayne, he's gonna release a mixtape from behind bars. He'll be right back with a new energy and he'll have the streets excited. People are going to want to hear what he has to say and speak his experience and speak to the youth."

• Lil Wayne Pleads Guilty To Felony Gun Possession

• Lil Wayne's Battle With His Gun Possession Case

• Lil Wayne
• Rick Ross (Hip-Hop)
• Juelz Santana
• DJ Drama

Gucci Mane
Photo: Ben Rose/ Getty Images

DJ Drama made a very mysterious call to the Mixtape Daily family on Thursday. He said that something huge is going down this Saturday night.

"People need to be near a computer on 10/17 at 10:17 p.m. — DJ Drama, DJ Scream and DJ Holiday, The Cold War, a three-part series, three tapes," Drama said, calling the new mixtape series "very worldly. It'll definitely make sense. Look for some big records on there. All original [songs]."

On Friday (October 16), DJ Holiday brought more clarity to the situation, telling MTV News that The Cold War series stars none other than one Gucci Mane.

"Gucci wants to flood the streets, takeover," DJ Holiday said. "The mixtape is called The Cold War, and it'll be a three-part series, [subtitled] Guccimerica, Great Brrritain and BurrRussia. They're droppin' Saturday at 10:17 p.m."

So why all the 10-17 references? According to Holiday, it's the name of the apartment building where Gucci grew up and the name of his new label. Holiday is the first DJ signed to the company. Holiday has the DJ duties for BurrRussia, while Scream is commandeering Great Brrritain and Drama is handling Guccimerica.

"All the covers will coincide with each other and go together like a puzzle," Holiday added. "Eventually, we'll put out one big CD with 30 songs."

"Me and Gucci ain't really ran into each other since he got out," Scream said of his involvement in the project. "I got a phone call out of the blue. Actually [it was from Warner Music's] Coach K, like, 'You ready to work?' I said, 'Of course.' We got up, and I did my part."

Gucci has 10 new songs on each mixtape of the series, Holiday explained. And it seems like Gucci's time in the studio does not stop. He just dropped a mixtape with DJ Drama called The Burrprint (The Movie 3-D) with all-new material last weekend. Shawty Lo also revealed that around Halloween, he and Gucci are putting out a mixtape called Fright Night.

• Gucci Mane
• DJ Drama

Finding that Cash Money Records failed to provide a "valid legal claim against [the] defendants," a New York federal judge threw out a case against DJ Drama in a dispute involving the alleged illegal sales of Lil Wayne's music.

According to AllHipHop.com, the judge cleared Drama and several other defendants in the case, in which the distribution company they signed with was charged with illegally peddling Wayne's music, accusations Drama told MTV News in April were "misplaced."

The beef was not between mixtape king Drama and Wayne, who collaborated earlier this year on Dedication 3, the third installment of the popular mixtape series that helped catapult Wayne to superstar status. But when Drama began selling his mixtapes to retail outlets, Cash Money filed suit against the Texas-based company BCD Music Group, an independent distribution company that had a contract with Drama to sell his projects, including the Wayne collaboration Dedication 2.

Cash Money was given until September 9 to amend their initial complaint and continue the lawsuit, according to court documents. The attorney representing BCD Music Group told AllHipHop that Cash Money Records "had requested that the case be dismissed 'without prejudice' ... which would have meant that Cash Money could try again. ... However, the judge agreed with our request that it be dismissed 'with prejudice,' which basically drives a stake through the heart of the action and puts the final nail in the coffin of this lawsuit. It's over and done!"

At the time the suit was announced, Drama was adamant that the dispute was not about a beef between himself and Wayne. "This is not a case of Lil Wayne vs. DJ Drama. Me and Wayne are good," he said. "I am confident that this matter will be resolved quickly without harming the relationships between myself, Wayne and Cash Money Records.

Drama had no comment about the decision, while spokespeople for Cash Money could not be reached at press time.

• Lil Wayne
• DJ Drama

DJ Drama, Cam'ron and Vado
Photo: MTV News

This Week's Main Pick

Street Kings: Cam'ron and DJ Drama

Holding It Down For: NYC and ATL

Mixtape: Gangsta Grillz: Boss of All Bosses

Real Spit: We've been bringing you info on the Boss of All Bosses mixtape for the past several days and now you get the full-card monte, performances and all. Cam and Drama, after years of talking, finally made their street collaboration happen.

"I'm excited," Drama said. "For me, where I'm at with my brand and my career, I've gotten the opportunity to work with so many people, but there are people who I wanted to work with. Cam is somebody I can check off my list. Plus, to help introduce Vado — it's exciting. In some ways that's what Gangsta Grillz was built on. It wasn't built on the superstar MC — it was built on people coming up, like Jeezy. Even with Weezy, even though he was a platinum artist, he earned a lot of stripes for the Gangsta Grillz. When this Cam tape pops, people are really going to recognize how great of a street A&R [rep] he really is. He did it before and now he's introducing a new guy."

Joints to Check For

» "Hustle." " 'Hustle' is one of the original songs we had for the tape," Drama explained. "Cam sent it to me and I decided by Ross being on it, I was gonna let the 'La Bomba' out then do the 'Hustle.' "

» "Get It," (featuring Mase). "I love that song," Drama boasted. "That was exciting, man. It's always exciting to watch the game come around like that — seeing Cam and Mase coming up in Harlem together, to the fallout to making music again. It's a feel-good song to me. Not that it sounds old, but it sounds like classic New York hip-hop. I play that in the club — the beat is crazy; Mase and Cam ride the beat. Vado does his thing. People are excited about that one."

» "Drama." "The necessary record," Dram said. "I can't tell you how many times we've been there. Cam named the song after me. It's a Gangsta Grillz tape. Shout-out to Cam for the shout-out."

The Streets Is Talking: News & Notes From the Underground

Gucci Mane's new EP Wasted: The Prequel is slated for a September 8 release. As we told you before, the set contains the best songs from his last few mixtapes. Now we get word that Gucci has finally named his official album.

The LP is called The State vs. Radric Davis and is due in December, and Gucc assures us he has an all-star lineup of producers on tap.

For other artists featured in Mixtape Daily, check out Mixtape Daily Headlines.

• Mixtape Daily: 50 Cent, Soulja Boy, Jay-Z, Eminem, More

• Cam'ron
• DJ Drama

DJ AM
Photo: Chris Weeks/ WireImage

DJ AM was one of the biggest marquee names when it came to the turntables for a reason: talent. He could hold down the duties for Jay-Z at a concert or play records to keep clubgoers dancing all night.

"I saw DJ AM play in a mansion in Miami, and he amazed me with his skills and the music he picked to make the crowd move," DJ Khaled told MTV News following DJ AM's sudden death Friday. "He made sure everyone — I mean everyone — had a good time!"

"AM was really dope," DJ Green Lantern told MTV News. "He was dope on another level. He innovated the live DJ experience a bunch of ways. His transitions from song to song were clever to the point you might be like, 'Damn, why didn't I think of that?' He did that while rocking the crowd."

Lantern said one of AM's strong points was that he didn't get lost in his mix while rocking those crowds. "It only got crazier when he linked with Travis Barker and had that extra element to add to the mix: a world-class drummer! You can watch clips of them online to see the routines they created. DJs definitely started pairing up with musicians for live shows after that. He was an innovator and inspiration to a whole generation of DJs that saw the success you could achieve if you stepped your game up and thought outside the box. With AM, It wasn't a party; it was an experience."

"AM just brought a crazy energy to his parties," Just Blaze agreed. "The way he'd put together the perfect blends of hip-hop, rock, dance and so many other genres is what gave him such a mass appeal. He was one of the few DJs that knew how to cross genres and boundaries without losing the crowd. That's one of the hardest things to do as a DJ. You please one part of the crowd, and then end up losing another. He knew how to keep the energy at 10 for the entire night. And while his team-ups with Travis weren't the first time a DJ teamed up with a musician for live sets, it was their common understanding of knowing how to blend genres that made their combination so great and easy to appeal to the masses. You've got to play for the people but separate yourself from the thousand other DJs out there. And he'd mastered that."

DJ Rich Medina, who is from Philly like AM, said the late DJ was a huge inspiration, not just because of his skill, but because of his business acumen. "His popularity in celebrity circles often overshadowed the fact that he was an absolute animal on the turntables and at the negotiations table," Medina said. "The charmed life of getting paid well to do what you love to do is something that we all strive for as entertainers, regardless of discipline. He nailed that consistently and always with truly individual style and grace. No one who has ever seen him DJ can deny his place among the very best to ever put the needle to the groove. He wasn't a coddled Hollywood tabloid dude. He was a beast of a DJ who really made it because of his skills, rather than nepotism or luck. People need to understand that fact."

	DJ AM: A Life In Photos

Even DJ Drama, who's one of the top three biggest names when it comes to spinners in the hip-hop genre, was amped to see AM do his thing when they spun together a few years back. "I was so excited to meet him, him being who he is," Dram said. "I heard so much about him. I was a fan. I remember when I got to the party, he was so hype. He told me he was excited to meet me. He called me 'the man,' and I'm looking at him like, 'Nah, you're the man.' He was down to earth and very humble. I was opening for him, he had top billing. He didn't come in on no Hollywood sh-- or nothing like that. He told me he'll get on when I finish. I appreciated that, coming from somebody that accomplished what he accomplished and was doing what he was doing."

DJ Stretch Armstrong said AM's success won't soon be duplicated. "There won't be anyone that can step into his shoes for the foreseeable future," he told MTV News. "I mean, maybe never, in terms of his skill level, his cleverness, his dexterity, the way his mind works, his depth of music knowledge and his ability to take ... his extremely high level of turntablism, battling ability and put that together into a package that's entertaining for not just DJs that really understand what he's doing, but anyone that's going out. Across the board, he could entertain and transfix anybody."

While an initial autopsy proved inconclusive, police say AM was found in his apartment with drug paraphernalia.

"Some people say he was given a second chance at life with surviving that plane crash [last year]," Medina said of his friend's passing. "Who knows what he was going through after that really, aside from him. I just wonder if his demons decided to disrespect his second chance, or if he was suffering so badly that he needed to escape."

Regardless of the way he died, AM will be remembered primarily for his skill and humility.

"I will always remember AM for his prodigious talents, his positive and respectful demeanor and for his template for success as a fellow DJ," Medina said. "We lost one of the best in the game. I am proud to say that I knew him and that I learned a great deal from him, despite his never giving me a formal lesson. Rest in Peace, Adam. We will miss you."

• Remembering DJ AM
• DJ AM's Last Interview With MTV News

• DJ AM: A Life In Photos

• DJ AM
• DJ Green Lantern
• Travis Barker
• Just Blaze
• DJ Drama

DJ Drama and Tony Yayo
Photo: MTV News

This Week's Main Pick

Street Kings: Tony Yayo and DJ Drama

Holding It Down For: The Whole Mixtape Game

Mixtape: Gangsta Grillz: Gangsta Paradise

Real Spit: DJ Drama and the G-Unit have been talking about collaborating since before 50 Cent, Lloyd Banks and Tony Yayo were working on their T.O.S. album. A full group Gangsta Grillz hasn't solidified yet, but Dram did get a chance to lock in with one-third of the Queens music murderers.

"You hear my mixtapes on ThisIs50.com and you hear them with DJ Whoo Kid," Yayo explained. "I wanted to go out of my element this time. It was like, 'Who should I go to? DJ Drama.' Atlanta is poppin', New York City's poppin', everywhere is poppin' — but I had to go to Gangsta Grillz. [Mastermind DJ Drama] paved the way for a lot of artists. He's the hottest DJ to go to. Shout out to Whoo Kid, but I did this one with Drama this time."

"My relationship with G-Unit has always been quite a good one," Drama said. "It's always been love, always been respect. I've always been a fan of their music and their mixtapes. The mixtape game wouldn't be what it is without Yayo, Fif, Banks, Whoo Kid, G-Unit. For me to come up and do my thing with Gangsta Grillz and us to unify — it's perfect. The streets been wanting this for a while. Yayo hit me, I said it's perfect."

The Talk of New York says he titled the tape after a slang term in his neighborhood.

"That's the name of Queens — shout to Southside Jamaica," Yayo explained. "Shout to Willie the Kid and La the Darkman. The video is crazy. Real recognize real. I've been dropping a lot of mixtapes on my own, learning from 50. I think I'm starting to get the game mastered. It takes some time. Swine Flu, Swine Flu 2: Tha Pandemic, Public Enemies. Now I got Gangsta Paradise. Reason I call it Gangsta Paradise is because the gangstas in Queens call it 'gangsta's paradise.' Brooklyn is the jungle."

Yayo and Dram are hopeful that they can knock out a full G-Unit Gangsta Grillz once 50 finishes filming his latest movie.

Joints to Check For

» "Cut Throat Sh--." "I got a lot of down South beats. I got a lot Master P joints on there," Yayo explained. "Mystikal, UGK — I got 'Swamp N---a' on there. I wanted to try something different. I know a lot of n---as are not thinking to rhyme off of 'Swamp N---a' by Master P."

» "Drama." "I thought it was perfect [for Yayo to use Southern beats]," Drama said. "Somebody like Yayo — I know he knows how to put a good tape together. Sometimes you gotta walk artists through it, help them with beat selection. When he sent it to me, I was like, 'This is genius.' It's a lot of quality Southern beats on there. It's not just hit records, it's the dope records — through the years, the timeless records."

For other artists featured in Mixtape Daily, check out Mixtape Daily Headlines.

• Mixtape Daily: Jay-Z, Raekwon, Lil Wayne, Drake And More

• Mixtape Monday: DJ Drama And Tony Yayo, 09.18.2009

• Tony Yayo
• DJ Drama

Cory Gunz
Photo: MTV News

Cory Gunz was born to be nice on the mic. Just like current WWE Champion Randy Orton (son of grappling legend Cowboy Bob Orton), Cory's lineage has nourished his love for hip-hop his entire life. Years ago, Peter Gunz brought a 15-year-old Cory up to the MTV offices. Cory was shy when it came to talking, but when asked to rap, he unleashed the beast.

Since then, Cory has been proving himself on every street DVD, mixtape and even in the boardroom, with execs like Jay-Z — and in the studio with MCs like Lil' Wayne and Tony Yayo. The only thing that's missing is that debut LP — Cory says it's coming soon, but in the meantime he has more checks to cash and more blocks to feed with his mixtapes.

This Week's Main Pick

Street King: Cory Gunz

Mix Masters: DJ Drama and Head Debiase

Holding It Down For: The Bronx

Mixtape: Heir to the Throne

Real Spit: Cory Gunz is obviously doing something extremely right. So many heavyweights have wanted to put their muscle behind him at one time or another. Jay-Z, L.A. Reid, Tommy Mottola — and we don't even need to mention Gunz's god-pop, Shaquille O'Neal.

The new cat in Cory's corner is Hollywood renaissance man Nick Cannon. Cannon is overseeing Cory's debut LP, as well as producing a reality-TV show for the Bronx rhyme animal.

"It's about bringing hip-hop back and taking it all the way to the top," Cannon told us about the show.

"Me and Nick got a couple things under wraps," Gunz explained, standing in front of the new Yankee Stadium last week. "We're trying to make a couple big things happen. We're trying to do things real elegant for '09, '10 and beyond. We caught a couple projects in the works. Nick has been real instrumental behind the scenes on the project. And he's opened a couple of doors for me. Nick is my big brother now, for real. He's opening doors for me, giving me opportunities in and out of the studio. It's about to be ugly."

Cory, Cannon and even Gunz's dad Peter were all in the studio last week working, and while the official album cooks up, the 22-year-old legacy MC continues to thrive off his street and Internet popularity. Every Tuesday, he lets a new freestyle out on RapRadar.com, and he just released a new mixtape called Heir to the Throne.

Every year we see each other, every event, when he was DJing the BET Hip-Hop Awards, he said, 'That's it. From this point on, we gonna keep in contact. We gonna get this tape done.' It was a given. We exchanged numbers."

Still, Cory was surprised a few months later when Drama hit him up out of the blue and said, "Let's make it happen."

"I went to Atlanta, shot a couple of videos out there with their artist Lonnie B," Cory said. "[Originally] I found myself falling into the trap of sounding like everybody else [with a Southern flow]. I had to fall back and bring it back to the essence of where I'm from a little bit. People will appreciate that when they hear it. The beats is gonna be crazy, and the lyrics is more what I want y'all to listen to."

Gunz retooled and recorded some new tracks. Now he's ready. Look for more music from Gunz's clique members on his own Militia Music as well.

Joints To Check For

» "Let's Move It" freestyles. "My pops!" Cory says about how he got put up on Special Ed's 1990 hit "Come On, Let's Move It." Gunz rapped over the beat for his track. "I grew up on this. Hip-hop, I love it. I got roots in the game. So I grew up listening to all of the greats. Special Ed, Big Daddy Kane, Eric B. and Rakim. Anybody that had fire out. KRS-One. When I heard that [Special Ed] joint, my pop played it in the truck for me recently. It stuck out to me so crazy. I was like, 'Why didn't nobody touch this?' I know Missy [Elliott] did something to it at one point in one of her videos. She spliced it up. But that record is ridiculous. It sounds real militant to me. It's real hip-hop. Back to the essence. When that beat comes on, it's universal. Anywhere that joint comes on, it's pandemonium.

" 'Let's move it,' I was just having fun," he added. "Going where he went with it, I paid respect. It wouldn't be right if you didn't pay respects to the person whose record it was. I flipped a couple of his phrases, his quotes, his punch lines and incorporated it in a rhyme somewhat. I was having fun, showing people what I do."

» "Big Noise." "[We used] 'We Will Rock You.' I'm not even gonna lie. It wasn't supposed to be going to the tape, but we're gonna shoot a crazy street video for it," Cory said. "You remember the Queen record. ... It's a stadium anthem. When it comes on anywhere, [they go crazy]. I actually flipped a version for the [Cleveland Cavaliers]."

» "Cannon." "It was produced by S. Dot and A-Pro," Gunz said. "A lot of people gonna think [DJ Don] Cannon did it because it has that drop on there. When I heard that record, it reminded so much of, like, that insanity, when-it-comes-you-can't-deny-it kind of feel. It has that bounce to it. It's crazy.

"People don't be listening to me," Cory added. "A lot dudes don't sit and listen. They listen to the flow; they don't listen to what I say. They say, 'He be rapping too fast.' That's another thing I did on this mixtape: slowing my flow down. I wanna see what dudes' excuses are when they can hear me crystal-clear, word for word. I wanna see what they gonna say."

For other artists featured in Mixtape Daily, check out Mixtape Daily Headlines.

• Mixtape Daily: Swizz Beatz, Slim Da Mobster, Raekwon

• Cory Gunz Mixtape Daily Shoot, 07.15.2009

• Cory Gunz
• Nick Cannon
• DJ Drama

Soulja Boy Tell'em
Photo: Moses Robinson/ WireImage

Voice Of The People: Soulja Boy Tell'em Responds To You

"Behind the Beats" will return next week, homies. We got some producers who have worked with all the big boys. Just wait. Today, we are going to respond directly to you with a new section, "Voice of the People." We appreciate you sending us comments on all our stories. And while we don't always see eye-to-eye with the readers (Lord knows they don't always see eye-to-eye with us ... LOL), we definitely love you taking time to check us out.

We brought Soulja Boy Tell'em in recently to holla back about a comment from reader Whozdat02, who on May 12 gave an opinion about the teen moneymaker's dreams of getting Jay-Z, Kanye West and Lil Wayne for his next album, The DeAndre Way.

"Wayne and Kanye can probably do the album, but Jay wouldn't work," the commenter wrote in. "The people that listen to Soulja Boy, for some reason, think Jay is wack or, as DonDelVita, puts it 'he's lame.' And for that reason, doing a record with Soulja Boy would be pointless, because the younger generation don't respect him."

Wow, harsh comments about the man the MTV News Hip-Hop Brain Trust voted the Greatest MC of All Time a few years ago. Soulja Boy — like us — disagreed with his fan's assessment.

"Jay-Z, I always respected him," Soulja told us. "Always. But I didn't always like his music. I guess because I was too young, and I couldn't understand what he was saying. ... I got signed when I was 16 years old. Before I got signed, I heard the song, and I was like, 'That's Jay-Z.' My favorite song from him was 'Dirt Off Your Shoulder.' I guess I liked the beat or the way he was flowing on there. Any other song I used to hear, I ain't really vibe with it like that. I used to listen to a lot of Down South artists like Three 6 Mafia or Gucci Mane. But recently, since I'm older now and I grew up, I like Jay-Z now. I'm a fan of his music. At first, I used to just respect him because he was Jay-Z; now I'm a fan of his music and I wanna work with him.

"In the car ride over here, we was listening to 'Brooklyn Go Hard,' " he added. "He said, 'I'm Jackie Robinson — I jack, I rob, I sin.' I didn't know he was snapping like that. Back then, I couldn't understand none of what he was saying."

The Streets Is Talking: News & Notes From The Underground

Soulja Boy has a few things in the works with DJ Drama. "Me and Soulja Boy working," Dram told us. "It's coming along. The tape is called Follow Me: The Gangsta Grillz Twitter Edition."

The potent Southern duo will release the mixtape on Twitter first in the coming weeks.

"Me and Soulja Boy are two guys people look to for inspiration to move things forward," Dram added. "So for all of the people who counted Soulja Boy out, that counted me out, why not? We all know how powerful Twitter is right now. Besides Soulja, look for that Drama and Gucci Mane, Drama and R. Kelly, Drama and Willie Da Kid, and possibly a DJ Drama and Fabolous mixtape."

For other artists featured in Mixtape Daily, check out Mixtape Daily Headlines.

• Mixtape Daily Video: Jay-Z, Cam'ron, Drake, Jadakiss & More

• Mixtape Daily: Other Notables, Eminem, Jadakiss, Kanye West And More

• Jay-Z
• Soulja Boy Tell'em
• DJ Drama

Eminem
Photo: MTV News

Mixtape Daily Special Report

Eminem has been a beast since his demo tape. We all know that. He's told us the good, the bad and the disgusting in his life and never held back any punches. He throws haymakers on the mic, from guest collaborations like "Off the Wall" with Redman and "Renegade" with Jay-Z to the album cut "Marshall Mathers." He's one of the best to ever to do it, and he's made a return to spotlight with his new LP Relapse.

In honor of King Mathers coming back, we're coming double-fisted. First, we have an exclusive, vintage freestyle that Em recorded right here in the MTV offices about a decade ago. As you'll see, Em was still rocking the blond 'do and was a monster, coming off the dome back then. He laid his raps while visiting DJ Stretch Armstrong.

Speaking of DJs, we've assembled some of the best in the game right now to give us their tracks for a fantasy Slim Shady mixtape. Before you have a heart attack, we couldn't include all of Em's greatest songs in one article, but feel free to tell us which ones we should include in part two. Big-up to Alchemist for getting the gig as Em's DJ while he's doing this promo run.

"Just Don't Give a F---"
"It was the first record that really introduced me to Eminem. It was unlike anything I ever heard. When I first heard that, I was an instant fan. When I heard that song, I was a complete nobody at that time. I fooled the world by pretending that I had an online Internet radio show. I got in touch with Eminem and [his manager] Paul Rosenberg and their camp when they was doing promo shows. Back then, I got them to come to my mom's basement, because I was such a fan and I couldn't wait to hear more stuff from this guy. I got them to my mom's basement, and we hung out. He was definitely drunk. ... Definitely, you could tell he was kinda a live wire. He actually came with Royce Da 5'9"." - Clinton Sparks

"The Way I Am"
"To me, Eminem is the ultimate personable artist. He always brings you in his life. 'The Way I Am,' he was already dealing with so much, really coming into his iconic status. For him to deliver that record and deal with what was going on ... it's amazing that a record like that could be a single. Lyrically, he's one of the greatest of all time. That's one of my favorite Eminem records. The flow was ill, as it always is. He delivered quality and gave his Eminem angry approach to it. You could feel the hostility in the record." - DJ Drama

	MIXTAPE DAILY Who's next and who dominates — right here, all week long!.
	»Mixtape Daily Main Pick: Eminem
	»Other Notables: Tony YaYo
	»Celeb Faves: Green Day, Alchemist
	»Firestarter: New Boyz, DJ Whoo Kid

"Love Me" (featuring 50 Cent and Obie Trice)
"That was a hard record right there. I guess it was so much sh-- going on, they didn't concentrate on that record. It was one of those records we should have done the video and pushed it more, but at that time, Eminem didn't need no pushing. He was already moving millions of units. It's hard when you're moving millions of units — 8 million, 10 million units — what's the purpose of concentrating on promoting separate records? Everybody heard it, it was poppin', but I felt they should have put a little light on the record. I think that was the first time we heard Em and 50 together." - DJ Whoo Kid

"Hello"
" 'Hello,' it's Em saying he's back. You could tell Dre mixed that record because of the sound. I like some of the cuts and scratches on the hook. That's the classic Em we love. He's been away for a second. It's Em. His flows on the new album, me personally, I like how he rapped on 'Hello,' the 'Beautiful' record is ill. 'Bagpipes Over Baghdad,' I like the style he raps on that. For my personal taste, I like the introspective Em." - DJ Skee

"Underground"
"When I first heard [Relapse], that was the song I said, 'This is gonna shut mutha----ers up.' Straight up. It would not be an issue. Nobody would be like, 'I didn't like this, I didn't like the flow.' ... When we perform that song, Em takes a spot on the stage, and that's it. He picks a spot and dumbs out. There's not a lot of moving. When we're rehearing the song, you know, 'This is gonna be something crazy.' He says, 'Turn the lights down,' they put the spotlight on Em, and it's just snap rap. In the current day and age, you don't hear songs like that. It doesn't seem like any of that other sh-- going on in the world or in the music industry was going on in his mind when he [made the song]. He was strictly into the craft. I don't think anybody is f---ing with that." - the Alchemist

"Insane"
"The first thing I thought when I heard it was, 'Oh, word? Another thing that happened to him that we're just finding out about?' I was like, 'This guy's life is worse than people think it is.' It's great that he's not afraid to say it or tell the people. There's a lot of people out there that sh-- happens to them that they feel embarrassed or they don't know how to do it. Nobody can tell a tale of tragedy better than Eminem and make it f---ing interesting and cool to listen to and make fun out of it. He's not saying it like 'woe is me.' He's saying, 'This sh-- is f---ed up. F--- it! This is who I became because of it. F--- you.' " - Clinton Sparks

"The Real Slim Shady"
"Em doesn't get much club play [in the U.S.], but when I go overseas and play 'The Real Slim Shady,' that's a classic over there. When people hear it overseas, they be buggin' the f--- out. The beat is hot. It's a long verse, but when the hook comes on, everybody is screaming. It's kinda like 'Jump Around.' I did it recently in Beirut, Lebanon, and parts of France. Those songs connect to the rich people and young kids." - DJ Whoo Kid

"We as Americans"
"That was an old record. That's when he said, 'I don't rap for dead presidents/ I'd rather see the president dead/ It's never been said, but I set precedents.' Sh--, man! He always figures a way to step beyond what other mutha----ers are doing with the bars. I always like that beat too." - the Alchemist

50 Cent's "Patiently Waiting" (featuring Eminem)
"Classic! 50 and Em over an Eminem beat. 50 in rare form, Eminem in rare form. Both on top of the world at the time. A monster who created another monster. That was just classic. Eminem beats at that time was such gold and had such rich sound. 50 fit the beat perfectly on that. Just the hook alone — 'I been patiently waiting for a track to explode on' — summed everything up." - DJ Drama

"8 Mile Road" and "Lose Yourself"
"That whole '8 Mile' soundtrack, even though it wasn't Em on the whole thing, it was ill. 'Lose Yourself,' that was Em's best. That's my favorite commercial Eminem single. That was Em in his prime. It was a great new direction for him. What the people in the mainstream knew him was for some of the funny stuff and all the crazy stuff with Kim. But the inspirational side was great motivation music. I've used it to motivate me. To show a white boy from the 'hood in Detroit can come out and do it, it's inspirational." - DJ Skee

Notorious B.I.G.'s "Dead Wrong Remix" (featuring Eminem)
"That was hot too. Em held it down very well. Nobody complained about that. You would never hear Tupac or Biggie doing songs with 60 percent of the artists that are booked on those remix albums. But Eminem, it felt like B.I.G. would have done a song with Em. With the remixes with dead rappers, I don't pay attention to them, but I wanted to see how Em would alter his lyrics to f--- with Biggie. He hung with him." - DJ Whoo Kid

For other artists featured in Mixtape Daily, check out Mixtape Daily Headlines.

• Mixtape Daily Video: Eminem, Cool & Dre, Tony Yayo, Red Cafe & More
• The Eminem Collection
• Eminem: The Return

• Eminem
• DJ Drama
• The Alchemist
• DJ Whoo Kid

Lil Wayne
Photo: Alexander Tamargo/ Getty Images

An e-mail blast sent to members of the media and music-industry insiders on Thursday (April 2) by Makin Moves Entertainment revealed court documents were filed in New York District Court summoning the company, as well as DJ Drama, to answer to charges of selling Lil Wayne's music illegally. According to the documents, the lawsuit was filed February 18 of this year.

The information was surprising to many, considering Wayne and Drama collaborated recently on Dedication 3, the third installment of their popular mixtape series that helped catapult the rapper to superstar status.

Candace Carponter, an attorney representing Cash Money Records, confirmed to MTV News the authenticity of the documents. Carponter clarified that the lawsuit — stemming from an ongoing case against BCD Music Group, an independent distribution company based in Texas — has not been pushed by Lil Wayne directly, but by his recording home. Lil Wayne created a rift with many mixtape DJs last year when he lashed out at them during the release of his most recent album, Tha Carter III. The rapper levied claims against a number of DJs who he felt were profiting illegally off of his work. He later cleared up his remarks on DJ Drama's radio show, of all places, singling out the Empire, the DJ who had released a number of Da Drought Is Over mixtapes featuring Wayne.

During the initial legal proceedings, Carponter explained BCD provided the court with documents that allege the company signed contracts with Drama and Makin Moves Entertaintment for rights to sell projects that included DJ Drama's Wayne collaboration Dedication 2.

Carponter acknowledged the initial collaboration of putting together the mixtapes was done with consent, however, selling the projects in retail outlets with Lil Wayne's image and likeness was an illegal act. The parties, she also noted, did not have rights to strike deals with Wayne's music.

In an e-mail message to MTV News, Drama stated, "The accusations against me are misplaced."

"This is not a case of Lil Wayne vs. DJ Drama. Me and Wayne are good," the DJ wrote. "I am confident that this matter will be resolved quickly without harming the relationships between myself, Wayne and Cash Money Records. However, due to the ongoing nature of this litigation I do not wish to make any further comments."

According to Carponter, the summons were sent within the past two weeks to the parties, which court documents list as BDC Music Group, Inc; Deep Distribution World Wide, Inc; Tyree C. Simmons; Cinque Productions, Inc; Apphilliates Music Group; Makin Moves Entertainment; and Frank Nino.

"BCD claimed the right to sell the music," Carponter said, noting the contracts the company said it signed with the parties, including Drama. "So we named them in complaints and they have 30 days to answer the charges, based on when they receive the papers."

A request for comment from Lil Wayne has not been answered as of press time.

• Lil Wayne
• DJ Drama

On The Set Of DJ Drama's "Daydreamin' " Video Shoot

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Plies, Rick Ross, Lloyd, More At 2nd Annual Ozone Awards

• Papoose
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