DJ Kay Slay poses with a friend at the 2004 Mixtape Awards
Photo: MTV News

NEW YORK — Ghostface and Mobb Deep performed, and Fat Joe, Loon, Bad Boy's Da Band and members of D-Block showed up to show love, but on Wednesday night at Club Speed the DJs were the main stars.

Record spinners like Kay Slay, DJ Vlad, Ron G., Kid Capri, Sickamore, Mister Cee and Green Lantern rubbed shoulders with their peers during the eighth annual Mixtape Awards.

"All the labels want to be a part of it," Mixtape Awards founder and producer Justo Faison said Wednesday night. "All the artists want to be a part. The DJs wanna be here, they know what it's about. This is a big event for them. We got like 2,000 people inside and 2,000 outside. We're doing all right."

DJ Big Mike did great. He took home Best Hip-Hop Mixtape DJ and Best Mixtape Duo along with Kay Slay. Slay won Best Commercial Mixtape DJ. The Harlem Drama King was retired from the night's plum category, Best Mixtape DJ. Slay won that honor three years in a row, so this time around he made way for the 2004 champ, the G-Unit's own Whoo Kid. Lloyd Banks also held it down for 50 Cent's musical family — "The Boy Wonder" won Best Artist on a Mixtape.

"This is good, man," said Grafh, who emerged on the mixtapes last year. "I think the DJs deserve their recognition. A street artist like myself would have never got heard nationally. [Mixtapes] are the only way to eat right now if you ain't got big-time radio on lock. I just rocked every mixtape I could get on. Then I started a big buzz and ended up in a bidding war between all the majors. Sony was talking the talk so they got a hold of the kid. Making the transition was easy. I still do it for the streets." Grafh's success story includes appearances on remixes by labelmates like Michael Jackson, Beyoncé and Ginuwine.

Faison is already planning his next turntablists shindig: He has the Justo Global DJ Awards coming in August.

"It's going to be for all DJs over the planet," Faison said. "I thought about it because when Jam Master Jay passed away, we didn't have no real way to represent Jay besides saying, 'Yo, we're sorry Jay is gone.' I been repping mixtape DJs, now it's time to rep all DJs. I'm always for the underdog, mixtape DJs were the underdogs, now they're the strong horse."

Besides the Mobb and Ghost, Pitch Black and new singer Teedra Moses took to the stage for performances.

Winners of the eighth annual Mixtape Awards:

• Best Mixtape of the Year: DJ Vlad, Dirty Harry, & DJ Green Latern
• Best Mixtape Producer: Green Lantern
• Best Commercial Mixtape DJ: Kay Slay
• Best Dirty South Mixtape DJ: Michael 5000 Watts & DJ Ron C
• Best Artist on a Mixtape: Lloyd Banks
• Best Mixtape Personality: Sickamore
• Best West Coast Mixtape DJ: DJ Warrior
• Best Midwest Mixtape DJ: G-Spot
• Best Skillz on a Mixtape: DJ Juice
• Best Club Mixtape DJ: Mister Cee
• Best Mixtape Duo: Kay Slay & Big Mike
• Best Promotional Mixtape: Don Diva
• Best Female Mixtape DJ: Lazy K
• Best Underground Mixtape DJ: J-Love
• Best Hip-Hop Mixtape DJ: Big Mike
• Best Reggae Mixtape DJ: Soul Controllers
• Best Blends Mixtape DJ: J-Faire
• Best R&B Mixtape DJ: Absolut
• Rookie of the Year: DJ L
• Best New Mixtape DJ: P-Cutta
• Best Mixtape DJ: Whoo Kid
• Best Radio Mixtape DJ: Cosmic Kev
• Best Graphics on a Mixtape: Four Five
• Best Mixtape Team: Get Money Nation

For more on mixtapes, check out the feature "Mixtapes: The Other Music Industry" and our Mixtape Mondays Headlines.

• G-Unit
• Big Mike
• DJ Kayslay
• Mister Cee

Name: Big Mike

Mixtape: Cruel Summer 2K3

Hometown: Danbury, Connecticut

Joints to check for: "Pop Sh--" by O.D.B.; "We Make Hits" by Kanye West, featuring O.D.B.; Ja Rule freestyle; "The One Remix" by Jennifer Lopez, featuring Joe Budden.

Previous mixtapes: Cruel Summer and Dead to Rights, among others.

The 411: The machine-gun-toting Gary Coleman look-alike on the cover alone makes the CD worth copping. But if you're not exactly the type who's into graphics, Mike is back on his grizzly with exclusives and remixes.

Kanye West gets Dirt McGirt to assist in his heckling of inferior rappers on "We Make Hits." An exasperated Dirty asks, "Do anybody else make hits anymore?" over Kanye's slow drums and guitar wails before answering his own question: "Guess not, muthafu--a!"

There is no guessing about who Ja Rule and Fatal Hussein are talking about in their latest freestyle, which comes on the heels of "The Wrap." Rule, who acknowledges that he's "hated like Jesus Christ," continues to levy threats and ill will toward 50 Cent, rapping that 50 can burn in hell.

Hussein is less harsh, but not much. Tupac's former protégé takes exception with 50's decision to make a record with the thug immortal. "You ain't a gangsta Em/ This is gangsta sh--, and 50, you ain't sh-- but a gangsta bitch/ Pac would have never done a song with no wanksta snitch."

Eminem does get his chance to speak. Big Mike includes a freestyle Slim Shady did with European DJ Tim Westwood. Em raps over 50 Cent's "Wanksta" beat in the same flow of his signee. "Damn, 50/ Your sh--'s about to hit the fan, 50/ What the fu-- happened to Ja?/ ... You 'bout to play with his paper/ You finnin' to fu-- up his chedda'."

DJ Envy is definitely hustling and making cheddar. Envy, who's working on his second LP while holding down a gig at New York radio station Hot 97, has another banger on the streets, Cut the Check Pt. 2. That CD features the O.D.B. and Pharrell Williams collaboration "Pop Sh--" as well as audio of the ridiculously dope Jay-Z and 50 Cent Reebok commercial.

Name: Kay Slay

Mixtape: Checkmate: It's Your Move Queen

Hometown: Harlem, New York

Joints to check for: Cam'ron freestyle; "I'm Getting Money N---a" by Cam'ron; "Where the Hood At?" by DMX; "House of Pain" by Notorious B.I.G., Tupac and Busta Rhymes; "Summertime" remix by Beyoncé featuring Ghostface Killa; "The Bullsh--" by Mary J. Blige, featuring Eve and Dr. Dre.

Previous mixtapes: Too many to name.

The 411: DJs go at it, too, just like MCs. Kay Slay's first mixtape since releasing his official album in May shows that the brief time off hasn't lessened his battle spirit. Slay doesn't name any names, but there's no confusing who he's addressing with his mixtape's title (especially when you look at all the question marks on the cover).

Slay has enough ammunition on Checkmate to back his cockiness. The CD starts with a skit in which Cam'ron is told by a show promoter that he cannot perform at a concert because Nas is on the bill and doesn't want to be at the same show as the Diplomats. Cam goes on to complain that this same thing has been happening all over the country and that he's had enough.

Later, Kay highlights DMX's "Where the Hood At?," on which the dog threatens to sick the wolves on rappers who he thinks are feminine.

Slay doesn't just slay them with the thugs, though; he gives the ladies a little burn too. Mary J. Blige and Eve unite to vent about their men's shenanigans on "The Bullsh--' ("I'm tired of all this child's play," Mary says), but Beyoncé is lucky in love on "Summertime."

Over a beat as smooth as freshly waxed rims, B sings about a love she met a year ago during the warm weather season. "You are my prize, wanna grow old wit'cha," she sings. "Build a house with your picture/ Have a son for you, little girl for me/ Together we're a family." Guest star Ghostface Killa comes with more of his vivid relationship love stories, seconding her emotions. "It's like I wanna be your daddy, your lover, your everything," says the Ironman.

You don't have to stray away from Slay's borough for more flava. Up-and-comer Statik Selektah of the Smashsquad brings Manhattan Mix Volume 1, and DJ J Period takes us on a trip down memory lane with The Best of Big Daddy Kane.

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

• Big Mike
• DJ Kayslay

Staind's Aaron Lewis
Photo: John Shearer

With two consecutive #1 albums, it's safe to say Staind are no longer on the outside looking in.

The band's fourth album, 14 Shades of Grey, will take the pole position on next week's Billboard albums chart, having sold more than 220,000 copies its first week in stores, according to SoundScan. Its predecessor, Break the Cycle, also placed above all others when it was released two years ago, though it sold considerably more copies — about a half million.

Emotionally disturbed frontmen seem all the rage at retail, as the Deftones' eponymous fourth album will come in at #2, with more than 167,000 copies sold. Thanks to nail-biting anticipation that culminated in a distinct and refreshingly fierce single, "Minerva," the Sacramento quintet retained much of its fanbase in the three years since the release of White Pony. Although Deftones placed one spot higher on the chart, White Pony sold about 10,000 more copies in its first week.

Kelly Clarkson, we hardly knew ye. A need to bask in the past might explain why the first-season "American Idol" winner's debut album, Thankful, has been making steady progress on the chart just as the TV program's second idol, Ruben Studdard, was being anointed. Next week, Clarkson's LP will move up four spots to #3 (105,000), after having increased its weekly total by nearly 27,000 copies.

Evanescence's Fallen hasn't yet begun to act like its title. Since its release three months ago, the tumultuous emotional rocker has been a fixture in the top 10 as the first single, "Bring Me to Life," continues its rock radio reign. With more than 1.1 million in total sales, Fallen will retain its hold on the #4 spot by selling more than 103,000 copies, a weekly increase of more than 6,000 copies.

Pimpin' came easy to Southern thug David Banner, whose major-label debut, Mississippi: The Album, will place at #9, with more than 75,000 copies sold. One half of late-'90s duo Crooked Lettaz owes a debt of gratitude to "undaground legend" Lil' Flip, who helped make "Like a Pimp" a hit at rap radio.

The rest of next week's top 10 finds 50 Cent's Get Rich or Die Tryin' finally easing up on the throttle and moving from #2 to #5 (101,000); the soundtrack to "The Matrix Reloaded" dropping a spot to #6 (94,000); Norah Jones' Come Away With Me cracking the 6 million mark at #7 (83,000); the soundtrack to "Lizzie McGuire" holding at #8 (77,000); and The Very Best of Cher slipping a spot to #10 (73,000).

Ricky Martin's Almas Del Silencio, his first Spanish-language studio album since 1998's Vuelve, will land at #12, with more than 65,000 in first-week sales. Country singer Jo Dee Messina's Greatest Hits will place at #14, and the clown prince of parody "Weird Al" Yankovic will proudly wear his Poodle Hat at #17.

With more guests than the Hilton during a Shriners convention, DJ Kay Slay's The Streetsweeper, Vol. 1 will find itself at #22. If the beef farmer and self-professed drama king has a problem with his placement, bet on hearing all about it on his next mixtape.

Two current chart champions will take massive nosedives following their big first-week debuts. Marilyn Manson, whose The Golden Age of Grotesque took the #1 slot, will plummet 20 spots, thanks to a 73,000 dip in weekly sales. Cold's Year of the Spider, meanwhile, will take a chilling 26-spot descent to #29 as weekly sales withered from 101,000 to just 37,000.

Other notable debuts on next week's chart include Powerman 5000's long-awaited and completely redone third album, Transform, at #27; Birds of Pray, Live's follow-up to 2001's V, at #28; horny punks Less Than Jake's Anthem at #45; singer/songwriter semi-supergroup (Shawn Mullins, Matthew Sweet, Pete Droge) the Thorns' self-titled debut at #62; the various-artist collection Punk-O-Rama Vol. 8 at #79; and California pop band Rooney's self-titled LP at #141.

• Staind
• Deftones
• Kelly Clarkson
• Ricky Martin
• David Banner

DJ Kay Slay
Photo: Columbia

NEW YORK — Mixtape master DJ Kay Slay released his first official album this week, The Streetsweeper Vol. 1, and as the robust record spinner will quickly tell you, making an LP for a label is a lot different than putting out a project for the streets.

Kay Slay said the hardest part is just getting official permission to work with people. "It could be a situation where it could be your brother, your real blood brother, twin born the same day, and if he's on another record label and them CEOs got a situation, your brother could possibly not be on your album or single. It's crazy."

Slay has a solution for cutting through the red tape.

"You gotta slightly threaten them," he said. "Not physical harm, but [just saying,] 'Look, if you don't do this for me, when you got this new wack cat coming out, I'm not playing nothing. I'mma shut him down.' It's bad, but you gotta play them games with the labels to get what you need. You could be tight with the artist, and the artist could be on the other end of the phone telling his lawyer, 'I'm clearing this, do this.' And the lawyer is like, 'I need to know the mechanical royalty he's going to receive' and 'Is it equivalent to Eminem's?' I got a compilation album that has 66 artists on it, so you can imagine the headaches."

One of the headaches surrounded the shooting of a video for the first single, "Too Much for Me." The original version of the song that hit radio featured Nas, Baby, Amerie and Foxy Brown. With the single buzzing on the air, Slay was hoping its clip would push him over the top. Unfortunately, at one point or another, almost everyone involved with the record was not going to be in the video. Foxy and Amerie made the clip, and Slay wound up shooting a remix video with a Loon verse replacing Nas and Baby's parts.

"We already knew Nas wasn't going to do the video for some situation he had with Columbia Records," Slay lamented about his labelmate, whom he has supported on radio and on mixtapes since last summer. "I don't care what the situation was, he should have been there to support me the way I was there to support him in his videos."

He added that Loon had laid down vocals long before the video fiasco. "Loon was on the first cut of the song, but for whatever reason Nas didn't want to be on the song with him. Being that Loon is the remix king, I said, 'Let's go and use my man for the remix,' so it's not like the vocals was going to waste."

Despite his trials and tribulations, Slay is pleased with his latest lesson in the music business.

"It didn't sour me to the whole game; what it did was school me," Slay said. "This is a whole other side of the game I didn't know about. I know how to play my cards. I would never do a single with four different artists unless them four different artists was a part of one entity. If I used that many, I would probably use two at the most. Then you have to deal with four different personalities, four different schedules. You gotta chase this one. This one is arguing with his girl. ... This guy is on the other end of the world."

No wonder Slay hasn't given up his day job as mixtape maker. He's just released Month of the Bad Guy Part 2 with tracks from ODB, Joe Budden and 50 Cent. His night job — hosting the weekly "Drama Hour" on New York's Hot 97 — is working out nicely as well.

Besides Nas, Foxy, Amerie, Loon and the Birdman, The Streetsweeper Vol. 1 also features guest spots from Eminem, Cam'ron, Mobb Deep, the LOX, Aaron Hall, members of the Wu-Tang Clan and the Flipmode Squad.

Want to know more about mixtapes? Check out our feature "Mixtapes: The Other Music Industry."

• DJ Kayslay
• Nas
• Foxy Brown
• Eminem
• Cam'ron

Who knows the streets better than DJ Kay Slay? In addition to his proficiency on the 1s and 2s, this week Kay Slay can officially add Streetsweeper to his resume. The album features "50 Shot Ya," by 50 Cent, "Purple Haze" by the Diplomats and Cam'ron, and "Freestyle" by Eminem.

Staind expose 14 Shades of Grey on their latest album, which includes a DVD documenting the band's history, concert footage and behind-the-scenes action, while the Deftones show their action in the song titles. See songs like "Moana," "When Girls Telephone Boys" and "Anniversary of an Uninteresting Event."

Former Poison frontman Bret Michaels gives us Songs of Life, and on another solo effort, former Onyx member Fredro Starr offers the sage advice Don't Get Mad, Get Money.

Other notable releases: Cherrywine, the band fronted by former Digable Planets principal Ishmael "Butterfly" Butler, and their Bright Black, with its funked-up, spaced-out sounds; and Starlight Mints' second album, Built on Squares, whose quirky pop reveals subtle nods to the Pixies, the Kinks, Pavement and the Flaming Lips.

Finally, Weird Al Yankovic kicks out the jams on Poodle Hat, featuring his "Lose Yourself" parody, "Couch Potato."

Out Tuesday, May 20:

• Acceptance - Black Lines to Battlefields (Militia)
• Aeternus - Darker Monument (Candlelight)
• Affair - No Substitute (MTM)
• Akrobatik - Balance (Coup d'Etat)
• Matti Alfonzetti - Machine (MTM)
• Amber Asylum - Learn to Love Your Cancer (United States Dist)
• American Dog - Red, White, Black and Blue (Glue Factory)
• Anti-Anti - Horray for Everything (Fast Music)
• Angie Aparo - One With the Sun (Oarfin)
• Articles of Faith - Fortunate Son (EP, Alternative Tentacles)
• Mark Bacino - Million Dollar Milkshake (Parasol)
• David Banner - Mississippi: The Album (Universal)
• Jeff Bates - Rainbow Man (RCA)
• Beavershot - Beavershot (Raucous)
• Bedroom Heroes - Sea Change (Standard Recording)
• Dave Beegle - Beyond the Desert (Hapi Skratch)
• Black Dynasty - Reality Check: Deep East (Community)
• Bavu Blakes - Create & Hustle (Bomb Hip Hop)
• Betty Blowtorch - Last Call: Memorial Rarities Collection (Foodchain)
• Big Dismal - Believe (Wind-up)
• Biloxi - Right the Music (MTM)
• Gus Black - Uncivilized Love (Immergent)
• Black Cross - Art Offensive (Equal Vision)
• Tim Blake - Tide of the Century (United States Dist)
• The Bluebirds - Highway 80 East (Louisiana Red Hot)
• Boz Boorer - My Wild Life (Raucous)
• Brave - Searching for the Sun (The End)
• Milton Brown and His Musical Brownies - Daddy of Western Swing (Proper Box)
• T. Graham Brown - Next Right Thing (Compendia)
• Burning Point - Feeding the Flames (Limb)
• Callenish Circle - My Passion Your Pain (Metal Blade)
• Canyon - Canyon Live in NYC (DCN)
• Kevin Ceballo - Yo Soy Ese Hombre (RMM)
• Celebrity - Lovesick (Doghouse)
• The Chaos Engine - Escape Ferocity (United States Dist)
• Chap - Horse (Lo)
• Charger - Confessions of a Man Mad Enough to Live Amongst Beasts (Peaceville/Snapper)
• Cherrywine - Bright Black (Dcide)
• The Children's Hour - SOS JFK (Minty Fresh)
• Chinchilla - Madtropolis (Metal Blade)
• The Commercials - It's Not What You Say, It's How You Say It (Blackout)
• Rusty Cooley - Rusty Cooley (Lion Music)
• Alex Cortiz - Mesmerising (Kriztal)
• Craig G - This Is Now (D&D)
• Paul Craver - Let the Music Play (Ripete)
• Dame Darcy - Greatest Hits (Action Driver)
• Darkest Hour - Hidden Hands of a Sadist Nation (Victory)
• Daughter - Skin (Aum Fidelity)
• Deadbolt - Haight Street Hippie Massacre (Headhunter)
• Deadline - Back for More (Captain Oi!)
• Death on Wednesday - Songs to To (Sidecho)
• Defiled - Divination (Season Mist America)
• Deftones - Deftones (Warner Bros.)
  Read: "Deftones Almost Done With Deftones — For Real This Time"
  Buy Now: Deftones (Warner Bros.)
• Deminer - Woes and So's (Johanns Face)
• Sir Bald Diddley & His Wigouts - Man With Two Left Hands (Raucous)
• Die Monitr Batss - Youth Controllerzzz (Dim Mak)
• The Dining Rooms - Tre (Guidance)
• The Divorce - There Will Be Blood Tonight (Tooth & Nail)
• DJ Kay Slay - Streetsweeper, Vol. 1 (Sony)
• Donnie - Colored Section (Universal)
• D.U.S.T. - From the Sublime to the Obscene (United States Dist)
• Dwele - Subject (Virgin)
• Earth Wind & Fire - Promise (Kalimba)
• Earwigs/Dataclast - Split (Crucial Blast)
• The Eaves - Eaves (Ace Fu)
• Eisley - Laughing City (EP, Warner Bros)
• Electric Six - Fire (Beggars XL)
• Empire - Trading Souls (Lion Music)
• Enslaved - Below the Lights (The End)
• Esmerine - If Only a Sweet Surrender (Ninja Tune)
• Esperanto - Play This Anywhere (Uprising)
• Eternal Flame - King of the King (MTM)
• FBC - Born to Hustle (Shot Callin)
• Feeder - Comfort in Sound (Universal)
• The Flaming Sideburns - Sky Pilots (Jetset)
• Forgotten - Out of Print (Better Youth Organization)
• The Forgotten/The Headaches - Split (People Like You)
• Frantic Flintstones - EP Collection (Raucous)
• Fresh Blueberry Pancake - Heavy (Shadoks Music)
• Freudstein - Mondo Freudo (United States Dist)
• Freya - As the Last Light Drains (Victory)
• Marty Friedman - Music for Speeding (Favored Nations)
• Jeff Friedman - Slo and Lo (Accurate)
• Hirsh Gardner - Wasteland for Broken Hearts (MTM)
• Ghost Cauldron - Invent Modest Fires (K7)
• Mickey Gilley - Invitation Only (Varese)
• Good Riddance - Bound by Ties of Blood and Affection (Fat Wreck Chords)
• Goteki - Goteki O/S (United States Dist)
• Government Issue - Strange Wine: Live at CBGB (Dr. Strange)
• The Guild League - Private Transport (Matinee)
• Guyana Punch Line - Direkt Aktion (Prank)
• Sammy Hagar - Hallelujah (Sanctuary)
• Neil Hagerty & the Howling Hex - Howling Hex (Drag City)
• Hanzel und Gretyl - Uber Alles (Metropolis)
• Ed Harcourt - From Every Sphere (Astralwerks)
• Jesse Harris & the Ferdinandos - Secret Sun (Blue Thumb)
• Hatesphere - Bloodred Hatred (Century Media)
• Richard Hawley - Lowedges (Beggars XL)
• Helicopter Helicopter - Wild Dogs With X-Rays Eyes (Initial)
• Helloween - Rabbit Don't Come Easy (Nuclear Blast America)
• Hello Defective - Kill Us Now (Element)
• Homesick for Space - Unison (Lakeshore)
• Marques Houston - MH (Interscope)
• Neilson Hubbard - Sing Into Me (Parasol)
• William Hut - Road Star Doolittle (Five One)
• Hybrid Freak Division - Non Conformative (Lion Music)
• Ignition - Ignition (MTM)
• Ikara Colt - Basic Instructions (EP, Epitaph)
• In Dying Days - After the Fire (One Day Savior)
• Incognito - Who Needs Love (Dome)
• Invictus - Black Heart (Limb)
• Iota - Iota (Shadoks Music)
• J Boogie - J Boogie's Dubtronic Science (OM)
• J-Sce the Mastermind - Brain Food (Buymai)
• Jedi Mind Tricks - Psycho-Social CD (Babygrande)
• Joan of Arc - In Rape Fantasy and Terror Sex We Trust (Perishable)
• Kaito - band-red (Spin Art)
• Karda Estra - Constellations (Cyclops)
• King Drapes - King Drapes Stomp (Raucous)
• King's X - Black Like Sunday (Metal Blade)
• Kuprij/Ferrigno/Leal - Promised Land (Lion Music)
• Less Than Jake - Anthem (Warner Bros.)
  Read: "Less Than Jake Want More Than Partying On Anthem LP"
  Buy Now: Anthem (Warner Bros.)
• The Liberty Ship - Northern Angel (EP, Matinee)
• Like Young - Art Contest (Parasol)
• Lilys - Precollection (Manifesto)
• Live - Birds of Pray (MCA)
• Love and Rockets - So Alive (Psychobaby)
• Lynch Mob - Revolution (Cleopatra)
• Lynyrd Skynyrd - Vicious Cycle (Sanctuary)
• The Marked Men - Marked Men (Rip Off)
• Ricky Martin - Almas del Silencio (Sony)
  Buy Now: Almas del Silencio (Sony)
• Matchbox - Rockabilly Dynamos, Vol. 1 (Raucous)
• Lars Eric Mattsson - Power Games (Lion Music)
• Cass McCombs - A (Monitor)
• Melodie Group - Updownaround (Matinee)
• Mendelbaum - Mendelbaum (Shadoks)
• Raz Mesinai - Resurrections for Goatskin (Tzadik)
• The Meteors - Psychobilly (People Like You)
• Bret Michaels - Songs of Life (Poor Boy)
  Read: "Open Up And Say 'Aww ...' — Bret Michaels Croons For Daughter On Solo LP"
• Mindfield - Below (Lifeforce)
• Miracle Chosuke - 7/8 Wonders of the World (Dim Mak)
• M.O.D. - Rebel You Love to Hate (Nuclear Blast America)
• Matthew Moon - XOM (Hapi Skratch)
• La Mosca Tsé Tsé - Tango Latino (EMI)
• Much the Same - Quitters Never Win (Af)
• Narnia - Great Fall (Nuclear Blast America)
• Nedelle - Republic of Two (Kimchee)
• Network - Best of: View From the Bar (Wenlock)
• Nocturne - Axis of Evil: Mixes of Mass Destruction (Underground Inc.)
• North Mississippi Allstars - Polaris (Artemis)
• A Northern Chorus - Spirit Flags (Sonic Unyon)
• Noxagt - Turning It Down Since 2001 (Load)
• N.V.A. - Straight From the Crate, Vol. 1 (Avatar)
• John Oates - All Good People (Liquid 8)
• Ohm - Ohm (Lion Music)
• On Trial - Blinded by the Sun (Tee Pee)
• The Ordinary Way - Dojo (Bos Music)
• Robert Palmer - Drive (Compendia)
• Papa Reu - Certified (Rue Musik)
• Perfect Murder - Cease to Suffer (Suburban Home)
• The Pernice Brothers - Yours, Mine and Ours (Ashmont)
• Pink & Brown - Shame Fantasy II (Load)
• Pipas - Cat Escaped (Matinee)
• Post Stardom Depression - Ordinary Miracles (Control Group)
• Jeff Potter & the Rhythm Agents - Rhythm Riot (Raucous)
• Powerman 5000 - Transform (DreamWorks)
  Read: "Powerman 5000 Bury The Zombie And Transform Their Sound"
  Buy Now: Transform (DreamWorks)
• Presence - Rise (Curb)
• Protagonist - Hope and Rage (Blackout)
• Pseudo Heroes - Prison of Small Perceptions (Go Kart)
• Railer - Frame of Mind (Underground Inc)
• Rappin' 4-Tay - Gangsta Gumbo (Liquid 8)
• The Real McKenzies - Oot & Aboot (Honest Don's Hardly)
• The Red Hot Valentines - Summer Fling (Polyvinyl)
• The Red King - Vitreolvm (The End)
• Rexway - Last Call Scars (Hapi Skratch)
• Righteous Boy - I Sing Because of You (Future Farmer)
• Robinella & the CC String Band - Robinella & The CC String Band (Sony)
• Amanda Rogers - Place You Dwell (Immigrant Sun)
• Rooney - Rooney (Geffen)
  Read: "Rooney Look To The Past For Pop Perfection On Debut LP"
  Buy Now: Rooney (Geffen)
• Sadis Euphoria - Instinct and Obsession (Willowtip)
• The Scoldees - Nightcap World (Off Hour Rockers)
• Science Fiction - Walls Don't Exist (Third Earth Music)
• Serart - Serart (Sony)
  Read: "System Of A Down Frontman Gets Even More Eclectic On New LP"
• Shai Hulud - That Within Blood Ill-Tempered (Revelation)
• Kate Shindle - Till Today (Skip Sams)
• Silverstein - When Broken Is Easily Fixed (Victory)
• Solefald - In Harmonia Universali (Century Media)
• Son Doobie - Funk Superhero (Battle Axe)
• Soulless - Agony's Lament (Crash Music)
• SouthFM - Drama Kids (MCA)
• Staind - 14 Shades of Grey (Elektra)
  Read: "New Staind LP Marked By Grey Matters"
  Buy Now: 14 Shades of Grey (Elektra)
• Starflyer 59 - Old (Tooth & Nail)
• Starlight Mints - Built on Squares (Pias)
• Fredro Starr - Don't Get Mad, Get Money (Riviera)
• Street Talk - Restoration (MTM)
• Joe Stump - Armed and Ready (Leviathan)
• Sumptin' Terrible - Sumptin' Terrible (Thizz)
• Suntan - Send You Home (Kimchee)
• Swift - Communication Manual (Tribunal)
• Swimming Pool Q's - Royal Academy of Reality (Bar/None)
• Tarantella Serpentine - Class One Laser Product (United States Dist)
• Therapy? - High Anxiety (Spitfire)
• 1349 Rykkinn - Brown Ring of Fury (Jester)
• The Thorns - Thorns (Sony)
• Those Peabodys - Unite Tonight (Tiger Style)
• The Threats - Demos and Rarities (Dr. Strange)
• To/Die/For - Jaded (Nuclear Blast America)
• Toshack Highway/Sianspheric - Magnetic Morning/Asperin Age (Sonic Unyon)
• The Tyde - Go Ask Yer Dad (EP, Sanctuary)
• Ultimate Fakebook - Before We Spark (Initial)
• Ultra X - Taste the X (Bomb Hip Hop)
• Uproar - And the Lord Said (Step 1)
• Vanderhoof - Blur in Time (Steamhammer)
• Verbena - Musica Negra (Capitol)
• Very Ape - Kosher Boogie (Alive)
• Void - Posthuman (Candlelight)
• Rocky Votolato - Light and the Sound (EP, Second Nature)
• Weird Al Yankovic - Poodle Hat (Volcano)
  Read: "Weird Al Parodies 'Lose Yourself' But Won't Spoof Em's Video"
  Buy Now: Poodle Hat (Volcano)
• X27 - Your Neu Favourite Band (Narnack)
• Jesse Colin Young - Walk the Talk (Liquid 8)
• Various artists - America the Beautiful (Sony)
• Various artists - Black & Proud: The Soul of the Black Panther Era (Trikont)
• Various artists - Booty Summer Party 2003 (Little Joe)
• Various artists - Casey Kasem Presents: America's Top Ten (Top Sail)
• Various artists - Guitar Ace: A Tribute to Link Wray (Musick)
• Various artists - Hits of 1952 (Memoir)
• Various artists - Hardest Hits (SPG)
• Various artists - Ingredients Step, Vol. 5 (Good Looking)
• Various artists - Lexoleum (Lex)
• Various artists - Lullaby for the Apocalypse (Uprising)
• Various artists - Lyricist Lounge: West Coast (BP Metro)
• Various artists - Non-Stop Bluegrass (K-Tel Entertainment)
• Various artists - Now That's Chicago (Sony)
• Various artists - Patriot Songbook (Hollywood)
• Various artists - Punk-O-Rama, Vol. 8 (Epitaph)
• Various artists - Punk vs. Emo (Fast Music)
• Various artists – "Queer as Folk" Third Season (Tommy Boy)
• Various artists - Riddim Driven: Time Travel (VP)
• Various artists - Sound Pollution: High Energy High Voltage (Pollution)
• Various artists - String Quartet Tribute to Garth Brooks (Vitamin)
• Various artists - String Quartet Tribute to Linkin Park (Vitamin)
• Various artists - String Quartet Tribute to Rod Stewart (Vitamin)
• Various artists - String Quartet Tribute to Staind (Vitamin)
• Various artists - Tribute to Bruce Springsteen (Big Eye)
• Various artists - Tribute to 3 Doors Down (Big Eye)
• Various artists - Ultimate Diva Collection: The Diva Series (Verve)
• Various artists - Ultimate Wedding Hits, Vols. 1 &2 (Curb)

May 27:

• Lillix - Falling Uphill (Warner Bros.)
  Read: "Lillix Pair Angelic Voices With Rock Sensibilities On Debut"
• Local H - No Fun (Thick)
• Vince Neil - Live One Night Only (Image)

• Jewel - 0304 (Atlantic)
  Read: "Jewel Bites Into A Musical Pickle-And-Peanut Butter Sandwich"
  Buy Now: 0304 (Atlantic)
• Monica - All Eyez on Me (J)
  Read: "Monica Revises Leaked LP With Help From Missy Elliott"
• Sugar Ray - In Pursuit of Leisure (Atlantic)
  Read: "Babies, Marriage Somehow Lead Sugar Ray To Write A Club Song"
• Train - My Private Nation (Sony)

• Duran Duran - Singles Box Set 1981-1985 (Capitol)
• Justin Guarini - TBD (RCA)
• Metallica - St. Anger (2 CDs, Elektra)
  Read: "Metallica Album Preview: Damage Inc. Is Back In Business"
  Buy Now: St. Anger (2 CDs, Elektra)
• Radiohead - Hail to the Thief (Capitol)
  Read: "New Radiohead Album, Hail To The Thief, Due In June"
• Luther Vandross - Dance With My Father (J)

• Petey Pablo - Still Writing in My Diary: 2nd Entry (Jive)

• Gang Starr - The Ownerz (Virgin)

• Beyoncé - Dangerously in Love (Sony)
• Triumph the Insult Comic Dog - TBD (Warner Bros.)
  Read: "Eminem Enemy Triumph Previews LP; Beefs With Bow Wow, Benji"

• Macy Gray - The Trouble With Being Myself (Sony)

• Deftones
• Staind
• DJ Kayslay
• Less Than Jake
• Weird Al Yankovic

Eminem
Photo: MTV News

On his radio program Thursday night, New York's DJ Kay Slay premiered a new Eminem and 50 Cent freestyle aimed at Ja Rule and Murder Inc. built on the beat from Tupac's "Hail Mary."

At the beginning of the song, 50's manager, Chris Lighty, whom Ja labeled a coward on a freestyle last week (see "Ja Rule Calls 50 'Loose Change,' Disses 'Feminem' And Dr. Dre"), calls out Murder Inc.'s founder. "F--- you, Gotti!" Lighty yells.

"Irv Gotti, too much Bacardi in his body," Em chimes in, using the same flow as Pac used on the original "Hail Mary." "You ain't a killer, you a pu---/ That ecstasy got you all emotional and mushy/ Bitches wearing rags in photos/ Ja's word being quoted/ In The Source, stealing Pac's sh-- like he just wrote it."

Em continues his Pac impression on the chorus, rapping, "Come get me/ Muthaf---er, if you want Shady/ If Pac was still here now/ He would never ride with Ja/ Na, na, na, na, na."

Then 50 Cent, who has a song out now with Tupac called "The Realest Killas," comes in. He borrows lyrics and uses the same flow from Makaveli's "Hail Mary" and "Against All Odds." He insinuates that Ja is a closet homosexual, calls Incster Black Child ugly enough to scare kids, and declares Irv Gotti is old and flabby like retired boxing great Larry Holmes.

Slay told listeners that Busta Rhymes was on the third verse, but he didn't play that part, saying people would have to wait for his new mixtape to hear the entire track.

The "official" version of the song, though, does not include Busta, who didn't record with Em and 50, a source within the Shady/Aftermath camp said. The untouched "Hail Mary" freestyle hits the streets Monday on the mixtape Invasion Part II: Conspiracy Theory, the sequel to last year's Invasion. Like the Invasion mixtape, Conspiracy Theory was put together by Em's DJ, Green Lantern.

According to the crew, more disses are on the way, including a track called "Haile's Revenge" that features Em's daughter, Haile Jade, in the background and Slim Shady and D12 on the mic.

That track is said to be a response to Ja's lines of "Em, you claim your mother's a crackhead/ And Kim's a known slut/ So what Haile's gonna be when she grows up?"

There's also a G-Unit and 50 Cent collaboration called "Bump Heads," and not to be left out of the fray is incarcerated G-Unit member Tony Yayo. He has a freestyle aimed at the Inc. To make the mixtape, he called in from prison and rapped over the phone.

Conspiracy Theory won't be all disses and bad blood, though. New tunes from the G-Unit, plus "Make It to 8 Mile," one of the first tracks from Obie Trice's debut LP, will also be included.

For a full-length feature on mixtape culture and the role of mixtapes in making a rapper's career, check out "Mixtapes: The Other Music Industry."

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

• Eminem
• 50 Cent
• Ja Rule
• The Inc. Records
• DJ Kayslay

• 50 Cent
• Diddy
• Jay-Z
• Fabolous
• Eminem

NEW YORK — For the second year in a row, DJ Kay Slay, a.k.a. the Drama King, was dubbed the mixtape king. Unfortunately for Slay and the spectators at the seventh annual Mixtape Awards, a backstage scuffle forced the show to end before he could be presented with the honor.

At the Hammerstein Ballroom on Tuesday night, a sense of unity was being promoted amongst many of the top turntablists, who help the hip-hop community thrive. It was a night to give them recognition for the beloved offerings they bestow upon the streets: mixtapes (which are now distributed in CD form).

Despite the show starting almost two hours later than its advertised 8 p.m. time, the proceedings were rolling: A few performances took place and awards were being handed out. Then it was time to present the honor for Best Artist on a Mixtape 2K2.

While Easy Mo Bee, with the legendary Chuck Chillout in tow, was reading the list of nominees, a fracas began backstage. You could see a few bodies popping out from behind a curtain, one of which was DJ Kay Slay's. He started getting into a boxing-style fighting stance when somebody broke up the fray. According to the show's promoter, Justo Faison, Slay and Pudgee P — who earlier in the evening won the award for the Best Mixtape Personality 2K2 — had a confrontation. "When you bring two egos together, that's what you get," Faison assessed. "It don't have to be like that, but sometimes it happens. They had a little squabble and it was over."

Not only was their altercation over, but so was the Mixtape Awards. Slay promptly came to a podium on the stage and announced that it was time to go home. "This is over, goodnight. Everybody have a nice night!" he exclaimed in a huff and walked off the stage.

Moments later one of hip-hop's founding fathers, Kool Herc, took the mic and gave a diatribe on the dissension in the ranks of DJs. "We all brothers," Herc said of the feuding, which has been publicly brewing for months, most notably among the two biggest spinners, Slay and DJ Clue. "Y'all need to stop that bullsh--, man. Clue and Kay Slay need to stop that sh--. [Jam Master] Jay's not even here and y'all showing that same ni--a sh--. Kay Slay, you're my man, but leave that penny-ante sh-- alone. If Clue was about anything, his ass would be here and this would be televised on MTV." (Clue, who boycotted the event, has publicly denounced the awards and said he asked that his name be taken off the ballots because of what he claims to be a "bogus voting process and flagrant exploitation of the labels to get a check out of the situation.")

Kay Slay then returned to the mic to give his side of what happened. "I ain't letting no f---ing punk from nowhere talk no sh-- to me," Kay explained. "F--- 'The Drama King,' my name is Keith. Respect comes first and I don't give a f--- where a n---a disrespect me, if he disrespect me right there he gets the sh-- beat out of him right there."

"You won't be a lesser man if you handle it another way rather than letting the sh-- go on," Herc pleaded with Kay. "Sometimes you're hot, you can't say what you want to say. That's all, young man. You absorb it and handle it another time. That's all, just hold onto it. Brother, we gotta work this out. It's uncalled for."

While the bewildered crowd was clearing out, Justo, who was disappointed about how things ended abruptly, remained optimistic about next year's awards. "If you separate them dudes, it goes on," he said. "But I figured we just shut it down for now and get everybody out. Every year we learn something. This is the seventh year, the first year we've had any type of incident. We gonna do some things different next year, bottom line. I don't think [the show] was bad. I think we should put a [boxing] ring up here once a year and people that have a problem can deal with it."

The afterparty was at Nyla, the restaurant formerly owned by Britney Spears (see "Britney Spears Bails On Her New York Restaurant, Nyla"), and the rest of the plaques were given out there.

Among the awards that were presented during the show were Best Graphics, given to J-Love; Best DJ Producer, which went to Ron G, who beat out Clue; and Best Radio Mixtape DJ, which was handed to Enuff.

• DJ Kayslay
• DJ Clue
• Kool Herc

DJ Kay Slay
Photo: Rahman Dukes

Not that they are ever at a loss for words, but your favorite mixtape DJs are running off at the mouth as much as they can these days. This is their time of year. No, it isn't turkey day that's got them talking, but the Seventh Annual Mixtape Awards. Just weeks away, the honors have given everyone a reason to promote their street offerings. At stake — a year's worth of bragging rights.

DJs Clue and Envy, along with last year's big winner, Kay Slay, once again made the top of the list, with nominations in categories including Best Mixtape DJ and Best Mixtape Personality.

The awards take place on December 3 at the Manhattan Center in New York with host DJ Red Alert. Surprise presenters and performers and promised. The secret is out on a performance by artists we don't normally see standing at the front of the stage. DJ Kay Slay, Doo Wop, Tony Touch, Brucie Bee, Kid Capri and Ron G will rap their posse cut, "Champions." Funkmaster Flex and DJ Clue also recorded the song with their peers, but there is no word on if they will join in on the festivities.

The nominees for the Seventh Annual Mixtape Awards:

Best Mixtape DJ

• Whoo Kid
• Action Pac
• DJ Envy
• DJ Clue
• DJ Green Lantern
• DJ Kay Slay

Best New Mixtape DJ

• DJ Yoshi
• Meddafore
• Clinton Sparks
• DJ EFN
• DJ Pudgee P
• DJ Butta

Rookie of the Year

• Sickamore
• Love Dinero
• DJ Rerok
• Big Mike

Best R&B Mixtape DJ

• DJ Famous
• DJ Rell Love
• RC
• Action Pac
• Danny S
• DJ G-Brown
• DJ Infiniti
• DJ Finesse

Best Blends Mixtape DJ

• Chill Will from the East Side
• Mista Rello & Jadel
• DJ Envy
• DJ Arson
• Doggtime
• DJ Kool Kirk
• Junior Tec
• Jay Faire
• Dirty Harry
• DJ Shogun
• DJ Pudgee P

Best Reggae Mixtape DJ

• DJ Fidel
• Dexterity
• Bobby Konders
• Max Glazer
• DJ Kulcha
• Bam Bam
• Soul Controllers
• DJ Precise
• Vlad

Best R&B DJ

• Action Pac
• Ems
• J-Love
• DJ Absolut
• DJ Wreck
• DJ On Point

Best Underground Mixtape DJ

• Hot Day
• DJ Spinbad
• J-Love
• DJ Revolution
• Rick Lee
• DJ Menace
• D.O.A. Da Mixtape Killah

Best Female Mixtape DJ

• Beverly Bond
• Lazy K
• DJ Kaori
• La La
• Ji Ji Sweet
• Kaye Dunaway
• Lady Tec 22

Best Promotional Mixtape

• Don Diva
• Diplomats
• Cornerstone
• And 1

Best Freestyle Mixtape DJ

• Doo Wop
• DJ Clue
• Tony Touch
• G-Unit

Best Mixtape Duo

• DJ Clue & DJ Envy
• Action Pac & Sickamore
• Hot Day & Jae Supreme
• DJ Kay Slay & Whoo Kid
• DJ Arson & Danny S
• Mike Jones & Magnificent
• DJ Absolut & DJ Enuff

Best Club Mixtape DJ

• Mister Cee
• DJ Goldfinger
• DJ S&S
• DJ DJ Khalid
• DJ Marz
• Cipha Sounds
• Baby D
• DJ Fader

Best Skillz on a Mixtape

• DJ Juice
• Blackout
• PF Cuttin
• DJ Uneek
• DJ Green Lantern
• Clinton Sparks
• DJ Vice
• DJ Spinbad
• Craze
• DJ EFN

Best Artist on a Mixtape

• Nas
• Jay-Z
• Eminem
• Freeway
• Grafh
• Jae Hood
• N.O.R.E.
• Joe Button
• Sheek
• 50 Cent
• Saigon

Best Radio Mixtape DJ

• DJ Green Lantern (Hot 97, NYC)
• Clinton Sparks (WBOT, Boston)
• DJ Vice (Power 106 L.A.)
• DJ Enuff (Hot 97, NYC)
• DJ Bee (WOWI, Norfolk, VA)
• Mike Love (WGCI, Chicago)
• Cosmic Kev (Power 99, Philadelphia)
• DJ DJ Khalid (WEDR, Miami)
• DJ Buck (WWKX, Providence, RI)
• Craig G (WZMX, Hartford, CT)

Best Mixtape Personality

• DJ S&S
• DJ Kay Slay
• DJ Envy
• Whoo Kid
• Ty Boogie
• DJ Clue
• DJ Epps
• DJ Pudgee P
• DJ Kurupt
• Fantasy

Best Commercial Mixtape DJ

• DJ Clue
• Choc & Cipha Sounds

Best Dirty South Mixtape DJ

• Jamad
• DJ JukeBox
• C To Tha Muthaf---in Wiz
• DJ Bee
• DJ Jelly
• Michael 5000 Watts & DJ Ron C

Best Midwest Mixtape DJ

• Drunken Master
• G-Spot
• Phatty Banks
• Skno
• Bent Rock
• Paul Bunyon
• Phantom

Best West Coast Mixtape DJ

• DJ Vice
• DJ Echo
• Adam 12
• DJ Tim
• Rampage
• DJ Rob Reyes

Best Graphics on a Mixtape

• DJ Pudgee P
• DJ EFN
• DJ Absolut
• Suss One
• DJ Four Five
• Get Money Nation
• J Love

Best Mixtape Producer

• DJ Clue
• Ron G

Red Alert Award

• Ron G
• DJ S&S
• Kid Capri
• Craig G

Pinkhouse Award

• DJ Ran
• Heart Attack
• DJ Khalid

The Brucie Bee/Starchild Award

• DJ Vic
• Dirty Harry
• DJ S&S
• DJ Lance
• Grandmaster D

• DJ Clue
• DJ Kayslay

Nas at his video shoot
Photo: Rahman Dukes

For his new single and video, "Made You Look," Nas has once again taken it to the streets.

"We went out to the five boroughs," he said Tuesday night of the video shoot with director Benny Boom, who captured the rapper performing all around New York. "We couldn't get permits, so we went guerilla-style. That's the way it's supposed to be. I see videos and like my man Tracy Morgan said, 'Every video I see, there's a girl, a model, dancing.' What the f--- is that? When you see me, you see the truth." (Click here for photos from the video shoot)

"We took it back to '88," said Boom, who's also directed such videos as Nelly and Kelly Rowland's "Dilemma" (see "Kelly Rowland Moves Into 'Leave It To Beaver' House"). "We wanted to take it back the old Rakim days when you did a video and made it performance and made it hot and showed love to the streets. ... [We] brought Nas to all the neighborhoods and everybody showed love to him. I wanted to give it that whole king of New York aspect of Nas. On the streets he's the king of New York of this rap thing."

"In Queensbridge we showed sections of the bridge," he added. "We had his Bravehearts out there. In the Bronx we had Fat Joe and all his people came and showed love. They came 25 deep in front of the Big Pun mural. We went to Harlem at Rucker Park and we had the ballplayers out there. We went to BK on Fulton and St. James, Fulton and Putnam, to Big's old stomping grounds, and everybody out there gave us crazy love."

Jadakiss, DJ Kay Slay, Killah Priest, Brand Nubian's Lord Jamar also showed their adoration for Nas by making cameos in the video.

"No R&B, straight hip-hop," Nas said on the mic, standing on a small stage in the basement of a Manhattan restaurant, before cameras started rolling. For the video's last scenes to go in the can, a fake club had been set up and Nas and the Bravehearts were the center of attention during a live performance.

"We just wanted to make sure people heard him," Boom said of his choice to shun the usual video process of lip-syncing. "If we wanted the feel of a live show, I was gonna give them a live show. Throw that mic on. Let him rip."

"The record is crazy," Boom later gushed. "I'm a old-school n---a. So for me, that's that 'Straight Outta Compton' [feel]. The sample and that loop is straight from the late '80s, early '90s of when they was introducing hip-hop."

The current state of hip-hop and a certain rhyme foe were at the forefront of Nas' thoughts during a lull in the action. "It's the fourth quarter and everybody has an R&B record, and they say they're hip-hop," he protested. "They just lying, sellin' out hip-hop music with R&B records. You're on your eighth album? Where's your balls at, man? Make a rap record. What, is you scared? Make some rap music. Hip-hop is not about radio, it's not about the TV. These n---as is too [MC] Hammer. This sh-- is real music from real life."

Nas' next dose of reality, God's Son, has been pushed back to December 17. Many of the tracks were recorded from late September to mid-October in Miami while Ja Rule (who co-stars with Nas in the video for "The Pledge" remix) was also down at the studio working on The Last Temptation.

According to Nas' spokesperson, God's Son is still being recorded with "Made You Look" soundscape provider Salaam Remi, Large Professor and the Alchemist contributing most of the beats. No lyrical guests have made it on the LP as of yet.

• Nas
• Kelly Rowland
• Jadakiss
• Brand Nubian
• Killah Priest

Nas "Made You Look" Video Shoot

• Nas
• DJ Kayslay