E-40
Photo: Jacob Andrzejczak/Getty Images

Bay Area rapper E-40 is emphatically denying any involvement or affiliation with the shooting incident that occurred outside a Denver nightclub following his performance over the weekend. 40 and his manager, Chaz Hayes, issued a statement to MTV News on Monday night stating the rapper's innocence.

"E-40 and [his] management want to state unequivocally that E-40 and his camp were uninvolved in the unfortunate incident at Club Vinyl in Denver on Dec. 27, 2008," the message read. "Neither E-40 nor anyone traveling with him was in the venue at the time. In fact, E-40 had concluded his performance and [had] been back in the hotel room."

According to multiple reports, five people were wounded on the night in question, when an unidentified gunman fired shots into a crowd as patrons were leaving the venue. 9 News in Denver reported that the shooting occurred at approximately 2 a.m. with close to 100 concertgoers outside the premises. One of the victims is believed to be listed in critical condition.

A witness to the shootings told the Rocky Mountain News that bouts of violence and police presence are common at Club Vinyl. At least six incidents have been reported to authorities in the last six months stemming from activity at Club Vinyl.

Although the normally low-key rapper's name is now linked to the unfortunate events in Denver, as of press time, E-40 has not been questioned by police. His management said there were no signs during his time in Colorado that would have forecast this tragic turn of events.

"During his time at the venue, and in fact during the trip to Denver as a whole, [E-40] encountered nothing but love and gave nothing but love back," Hayes said in an e-mail. "E-40 had a crowd-pleasing and peaceful show. While he certainly regrets that this incident took place, E-40 and [his] camp are unable to control the poor and tragic choices that other adults choose to make."

• E-40

E-40
Photo: Denise Truscello/ WireImage

Denver police are still searching for suspects in a shooting spree early Saturday morning outside a club show by Bay Area rapper E-40 that left five people injured. One of the victims was still listed in critical condition on Sunday.

According to 9 News in Denver, the shootings occurred outside Club Vinyl in the downtown area just before 2 a.m. Approximately 100 people were standing outside the venue when shots rang out. Witnesses reported that the gunmen ran away after shooting into the crowd.

The incident occurred as the club was closing and concertgoers were leaving, with bullets flying "everywhere," according to a security guard at a nearby hotel, which was also hit with gunfire, according to the Denver Post. One witness told KWGN News that he saw 50 or 60 patrons "running for their lives," and while police wouldn't say what triggered the incident, the eyewitness said he saw three men with guns and a knife chasing and firing at three other men.

Another witness, who works at the hotel that was hit by bullets, told the Rocky Mountain News that police are at Club Vinyl three to five times a week and that fights are common at the nightspot.

Police said they believe some of the victims were leaving the club at the time of the shootings, but it was unclear if all five had attended the concert.

As of Sunday, no arrests had been made in the shootings, and a spokesperson for the Denver Police Department could not be reached for comment on Monday (December 29) morning for additional details.

• E-40

Andy Samberg
Photo: Jesse Grant/ WireImage

It takes a lot of, um, guts, to name your first single "Ji-- in My Pants." But that's the plan for the unabashedly raunchy debut album from Lonely Island, the three-man musical wrecking crew led by "Saturday Night Live" It Boy Andy Samberg and his writing buddies, Jorma Taccone and Akiva Schaffer. The disc, Incredibad, is due out on February 10 and will feature some help from an impressive roster of heavy hitters, including T-Pain, Norah Jones, Jack Black, E-40, the Strokes' singer Julian Casablancas and, of course, Justin Timberlake.

With a mix of songs made famous in digital shorts on "SNL" over the years — including the Emmy-winning Timberlake collaboration "Di-- in a Box," as well as "Lazy Sunday" (co-starring Chris Parnell) and the Natalie Portman-assisted "Natalie Raps" — the album is meant to make you laugh, but Samberg said he wouldn't mind if you nod your head to it a bit too.

"We definitely wanted it to be a classic comedy album, but also one you put on more than once," Samberg told MTV News. "We've gone out of our way to make it musically pleasing. We started on a few songs that were not funny enough, for us, but they sounded pretty cool. And the bottom line for the project was, 'Is it going to be funny first and music second?' I think it's 95 percent music, and we hope people would throw it on and bump it."

The trio, who've been posting NSFW songs and videos on TheLonelyIsland.com for years, shared a home in Encino, California, over the summer and collaborated on the 14 tracks. Samberg said Universal Republic Records had been after the troupe to do an album since the "Lazy Sunday" digital short dropped on "SNL" in 2005. And, as Samberg told MTV News in 2006, the friends always did want to make an album.

"We finally had the free time to do it this summer," he said. Though some of the "SNL" songs have become instant classics, Samberg thinks there's an added value to the ones that never appeared on the show "because Jorma and Akiva aren't castmembers, and our songs normally require three dudes with very specific rap skills."

Though he was skimpy with the details, not wanting to ruin the surprise, Samberg did reveal that the album is heavy on hip-hop beats but has some of the signature new-wave goodness of songs like "Space Olympics" and the island vibes of "Ras Trent."

"Jorma makes a lot of the beats, but because we knew we had a set amount of time on this, we asked for any and all beats we could get," Samberg said. That resulted in a combination of homebrewed rhythms and professional help from reggae legends Sly & Robbie on "Ras Trent," as well as a few beats from Jurassic 5 turntable master DJ Nu-Mark and underground producer/DJ J-Zone, who has worked with everyone from Gnarls Barkley to Biz Markie and Pete Rock.

Samberg said he's particularly proud of the thump on the first single, "Ji-- in My Pants," which made its debut on the show last week with cameos from a mop-wielding Timberlake, checkout girl Jamie-Lynn Sigler and club hottie Molly Sims. "When I first heard that beat, it sounded like a Timbaland beat," Samberg said. "My first reference was a Missy Elliott club jam, and then we threw some generic Euro Brit dudes on top, because, to be honest, we don't have the chops to crush a Timbaland beat." The video, which features Taccone rapping alongside Samberg, was shot a week before the current "SNL" seasons started, and Samberg said he had "no intentions" of the Universal-funded clip making it onto the show, but once it played in dress rehearsal, the reaction demanded that it make it on air.

While Samberg admitted the three have an affinity for dirty jokes that end somewhere south of the equator, he said they tried not to make the album all locker-room humor. "I would hope that isn't our theme, but it was getting harder and harder to deny," Samberg said. "When we did 'Di-- in a Box' — and that's what most people know us for — it's an uphill battle from there."

Samberg promised that the album's T-Pain song, "I'm on a Boat," is "straight hip-hop," while the Jack Black tune, "Sax Man," finds the Tenacious D frontman singing his heart out. He also revealed that mellow torch singer Norah Jones (who appears on the tune "Dream Girl") is a "goofy girl" who loves comedy, and his normally dour buddy Casablancas shows some comedy chops that might surprise on "Boombox."

The record is also slated to feature Bay Area hip-hop legend E-40 on the song "Santana DVX," as well as the songs "Who Said We're Wack," "Punch You in the Jeans," "We Like Sportz," "Shrooms" and the "SNL" classic "Iran So Far" with Maroon 5's Adam Levine. There will also be an accompanying DVD, but Samberg said he couldn't talk about what would be on it yet because the terms are still being negotiated.

Samberg would love to take the show on the road, but for now, given his hectic schedule, that remains to be seen. "Some of us are more anxious to do it than others," he said. 

• Justin Timberlake
• T-Pain
• Timbaland
• Missy Elliott
• Norah Jones

Lil Jon
Photo: MTV News

Like Snoop Dogg sings on "Sensual Seduction," Lil Jon's motto is "I'm gonna take my time."

The King of Crunk hasn't put out an album in four years. So many things have changed since then, like his recording home TVT going from having money to burn to being on the verge of folding (Jon had no comment on the label's status), but the Atlanta native insisted that he's in no rush to put anything out.

"Of course you're gonna miss being on that stage, having that record out," said Jon, who has been keeping busy DJing in clubs. "But I'm on the Pitbull record ['The Anthem'], which is all over the clubs crazy. I'm on the Felli Fel record ['Buck in Here'], which is crazy all over the clubs. If you go in any club, you're gonna hear my old records. Plus [DJs] take samples of my voice and put it on all them mash-ups. I really ain't never went nowhere."

Jon's next album, Crunk Rock, has taken him a lot longer than he originally planned (his legal issues with TVT over money didn't help speed up his process any), but he said he never thought of giving up the ambitious concept of the project: bringing crunk and rock and roll together for one project.

"I wanted to just give them what I set out to," he said. "People are expecting one thing from me, and I don't want to change the perception of what they are expecting. I didn't want to come out with no regular sh--, because my last two albums did 2.5 million copies. I wanna still bust them in the head and give them something incredible. Music now ... it's just not fresh. I want my sh-- to be fresh like in the '80s, when you was waiting on that new Nice & Smooth album. Or that new De La Soul album. I wanna have people hear these songs and be like, 'This is not that same old bullsh--. It's not just two singles, and the rest is trash.' "

Aside from Crunk Rock, Jon has been getting calls to work with Flo Rida and Pharrell Williams, and he just finished producing E-40's new album. E's street single, "Turf Drop," just hit the Net.

"It's gonna be another record to just totally showcase the Bay Area, the culture," Jon described of 40's new music. "We expect it to be #1. You have to always take care of your core fans. When it gets out there and people see the video, people are gonna be like, 'Oh, sh--, this is some other sh-- again. This is another part of what they told us in "Tell Me When to Go." ' We take care of the core market, then you'll see another single a couple months after that."

E-40, of course, is a staple of Jon's BME Click, which includes Trillville, Lil' Scrappy and new Asian artist Min. The charismatic beatman has also opened his arms to extreme athletes: Pro surfer Travis Mellem, skateboard gurus Greg Lutzka and Ryan Sheckler and snowboarders Danny Kass and Dingo are all down with Jon now.

"Me and the guys, some of us been cool for three or five years," Jon said. "We would see each other at different events. ... I used to skate in the late '80s. I always wanted to surf. I always wanted to get into skating.

"I just think that it feels better if we were all together," he added. "I don't want anything to be segregated. We all do our own thing but have one common goal to have fun in life and be happy. We got one common goal, we should be one crew. That's why we decided to bring all of us together. All my cats are top athletes, but they my homeboys too. We all support each other and really hang out. They are a part of the BME Click, and we have apparel that's hitting the market. We have a snowboarding glove that's hitting the market. We have the T-shirts and sweatshirts coming out. It's a lifestyle. Whatever you do, it's about having fun."

There is still no release date for Crunk Rock. E-40's album will be out later this year.

• Lil Jon's BME Click Charity Event

• Lil John
• E-40

R. Kelly
Photo: Evan Agostini/ Getty Images

R. Kelly is about to hit the road for his upcoming "Double Up" tour, which starts November 14, but that doesn't mean his child-pornography case will be on hold for the duration of his trek. In a hearing on Friday (November 2), a Chicago judge ruled that forensics expert Dr. Sharon Cooper can testify at a hearing, to be held December 18, about the veracity of her methods to determine her claims that Kelly is the man on the sex tape. Cooper has claimed she could identify him through the veins visible on his hands, and the hearing will be used to determine whether that method is acceptable in the scientific community at large. Cooper will also testify about how she determined the age of the victim on the tape, whom prosecutors say was 14 years old at the time of the alleged taping. Kelly will be in between show dates in Sacramento, California, and Chicago, and thus able to attend the hearing. ...

Jay-Z has some Sirius radio plans — the hip-hop mogul is taking over the satellite station for a week starting Monday, The Associated Press reports. He will be in command of Hip-Hop Nation channel 40, playing songs from his albums as well as other artists of his choosing. The stint comes at an opportune time for Jay — his new album, American Gangster, hits stores Tuesday. Sirius will also play back across various programs on the channel a concert Jay-Z is set to perform at Chicago's House of Blues. ...

Mariah Carey will play at a Glamour ceremony honoring the magazine's 2007 Women of the Year. She will perform with the African Children's Choir at the event, to be held Monday at New York's Avery Fisher Hall. The related issue — which spotlights Jennifer Garner, Elizabeth Edwards, Toni Morrison and others — hits newsstands November 13. In other Mariah news, Elizabeth Arden announced on Friday an increase in first-quarter profits thanks to the singer's M by Mariah Carey perfume. The beauty-products company earned $350,000 on revenue of $271.8 million — a year before, the company lost $1.3 million on revenue of $254.8 million in the same quarter. Profits are expected to rise again next year. ...

Da Brat was released from jail after posting a $50,000 bond Thursday night, AP reports. The rapper (real name: Shawntae Harris) was involved in a serious physical altercation early Thursday morning at Jermaine Dupri's Atlanta nightclub, Studio 72. According to WSB-TV in Atlanta, police arrested her on felony aggravated-assault charges after she got into a heated confrontation with a waitress. Da Brat is said to have struck the waitress in the face with a bottle of rum, causing cuts on her face. The waitress was later taken to a local hospital for treatment. ... T-Pain had an uncomfortable experience on Friday when he was arrested in Florida on outstanding warrants, according to TMZ. The singer/rapper (real name: Faheem Najm) reportedly turned himself in to authorities at Leon County Jail, where he was charged with driving on a suspended license, and subsequently released on his own recognizance, without having to pay bail. According to TMZ, police saw T-Pain driving in Tallahassee in June and, after running his record, discovered that he had a suspended license. ...

Like Don Imus and others before him, Duane "Dog" Chapman's racially charged comments have resulted in his show being pulled from the airwaves — A&E yanked "Dog the Bounty Hunter" from its programming schedule on Friday. The channel's top-rated show is being pulled indefinitely, although it has not been canceled. At least two advertisers pulled away from the show on Thursday after a tape of a call between Chapman and his son Tucker — in which the TV star used the N-word repeatedly — surfaced on the National Enquirer's Web site the day before. Duane "Dog" Chapman's lawyer Brook Hart told AP Thursday that Tucker had taped the call and sold it to the tabloid for "a lot of money." ...

E-40 is turning 40! But the bash the Bay Area spitter is planning for November 15 at Las Vegas' Poetry Nightclub will serve as more than just a b-day celebration — E-40 will also be using the event to celebrate 20 years in the rap game and unveil his new beverage line, 40 Water. "Rapping brought me into the entertainment game; once I got in, my eyes got bigger," he said in a statement. "As a business man, I get the best of both worlds, and the privileges of working and reaping the benefits at the best time in my career." The star-studded party will also feature a sneak peek of his 2008 album, The Ball Street Journal, a yellow carpet and more. ...

When it comes to her spending money, Britney Spears always seems to be saying "Gimme More." Recently released court papers related to her custody dispute with ex-husband Kevin Federline show that the singer drops serious coin on clothes and entertainment and doesn't save or invest any of her almost $737,000 in monthly income, according to AP. Among Spears' monthly expenses are $49,267 in mortgages for two houses; $16,000 for clothes; and $102,000 on entertainment, gifts and vacations. And even though she's a fast-food junkie, she also stated in her financial declarations that she drops $4,758 per month dining out. She also spends zero on education, while giving $500 a month in charitable contributions. Federline, meanwhile, gets $15,000 per month in child support and $20,000 in spousal support, with the latter ending on November 15. ... Don't believe Vanessa Hudgens? Just look at her feet. The "High School Musical" starlet has submitted her hospital birth certificate, which includes her baby footprints, along with a motion that seeks the dismissal of a suit brought on by her ex-attorney Brian Schall, according to "Access Hollywood." He claims Hudgens owes him $150,000 after he helped her earn more than $5 million by advancing Hudgens' funds for her recording and songwriting career. But Hudgens argues that she was too young to sign her contract — when she did so in October 2005, she was 16 years old. A hearing is set for December 5 in Los Angeles. ...

The Spice Girls unveiled a video for "Headlines (Friendship Never Ends)," their first single in seven years, on TodayShow.com on Thursday. The racy video, which features the reunited squad shedding clothes, has since been making the rounds elsewhere. ... Jewel has recorded most of her LPs in Nashville over the years — but now she's ready for a full-on country affair, according to Billboard.com. The singer/songwriter recently signed a multi-album deal with Valory Music Company, a new Nashville indie label named in tribute to June Carter Cash (the country legend's birth name was Valerie June Carter). "I've been wanting to do this record my whole career, but my label was always scared of country music," Jewel said. "I've always had country songs on my records." Her yet-untitled new album will be produced by John Rich of Big & Rich. ...

Morrissey in '08? The singer's recent marathon stand at the Palladium in Hollywood was supposed to be his last sweep through the U.S. for the near future, but according to Billboard.com, his lawyer says Moz will be touring again early next year — and new music is on the way too. According to the magazine, Morrissey will sign a new deal with Sanctuary that will result in the release of a new studio album — to be produced by Jerry Finn, who helmed 2004's You Are the Quarry — and best-of collection next year. As for the tour, manager Merck Mercuriadis said Morrissey will "be back out in January. We'll take a short break and then start again in March." He didn't specify what cities are being considered. ...

Is Meat Loaf done? According to the U.K.'s Times Online, the rock singer announced that he was ending his career midway through a concert at the Metro Radio Arena in Newcastle on Wednesday. "I can no longer continue," he reportedly said as "Paradise by the Dashboard Light" began playing. "This is the last show I may ever do in my life." The concert ended, although it was later announced that the show had been canceled due to an illness. It's yet unclear whether Meat will still perform his scheduled Friday night show in Birmingham. According to Times Online, Meat's promoter spoke with the singer's doctor, who assured the promoter that Meat was exhausted and stressed. The newspaper also reports that his publicist chalked up the Wednesday incident to one of the singer's occasional blowouts. Meat Loaf's management did not return calls to MTV News as of press time. ... The Decemberists have canceled the rest of their Long and Short of It Tour after just two dates, due to an ongoing illness affecting an unnamed bandmember, according to the band's spokesperson. "One of our bandmembers has been ill for a while, but we thought all would be well in time for these tour dates," the group wrote in a statement. "After a couple shows, though, it has become clear that the illness is much worse than we had initially realized. We need to return home so our friend can mend. It saddens us to disappoint our fans. We hope everybody understands it is only because of an extreme situation that we had to cancel a tour we've all been excited about doing since the idea was originally hatched." There are no current plans to reschedule the tour. ...

Jack Osbourne, Jeff Buckley fan? Apparently so — Ozzy's son will MC the Jeff Buckley 10th Anniversary Tribute Concert being staged by the late singer/songwriter's mother, Mary Guibert. The salute will happen November 15 — two days before Buckley's birthday — at the Key Club in West Hollywood, California, and feature 25 Los Angeles-area singer/songwriters. Proceeds will go to the Silverlake Conservatory of Music, which was co-founded by Flea. ... The soundtrack to the upcoming music mockumentary "Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story" will feature actor John C. Reilly — in the guise of Cox — singing songs written by a host of rock luminaries, including Marshall Crenshaw, Beach Boys collaborator Van Dyke Parks, former Candy Butchers leader Mike Viola and San Francisco songwriter Dan Bern. Among the original songs on the album, due out December 4, are "Guilty as Charged," "A Life Without You (Is No Life at All)" and "Let Me Hold You (Little Man)." ...

Carlos Santana and his wife are splitting after 34 years together, Marin County, California, newspaper the Marin Independent Journal reports. Deborah Santana reportedly cited irreconcilable differences in her October 19 filing in Marin County Superior Court. The couple have three children together.

11.1.07

Amy Winehouse stumbled through her performance at the MTV Europe Music Awards on Thursday (November 1) shortly after giving a very brief acceptance speech when she won the Artists' Choice honor. The singer — who was announced as a last-minute addition to the show when she canceled her planned performance at the mtvU Woodie Awards on November 8 — gave a brief "thanks" when she accepted the award, and later appeared to have difficulty remembering the words to her own song and danced unsteadily as she performed. And while this year's MTV Video Music Awards belonged to Justin Timberlake (and Rihanna), JT wasn't able to replicate his success abroad at the EMAs. While he was the most nominated artist, he left with no awards — and maybe even more stunningly, he was outdone by Avril Lavigne, who nabbed Most Addictive Track ("Girlfriend") and Solo Artist of 2007. Other winners included Nelly Furtado (Album of the Year), Linkin Park (Band of 2007) and 30 Seconds to Mars (Rock Out). Justice won the Video Star prize, which they also took home last year. ...

Britney Spears is being sued for $15,000 by a former manager who says she didn't keep up on her payments to him of commissions on her royalties for her first four albums — including on her $7 million advance in 2002 — movies, tours, books, etc. Johnny Wright, who was her manager through February 2003, filed a breach-of-contract suit in Orange County, Florida, claiming Spears didn't provide proper accounting of all her gross receipts. He is seeking compensatory damages, consequential damages, pre- and post-judgment interest and attorney's fees. ...

Like Britney before her, Lindsay Lohan is trying to make sure that her upcoming deposition — pertaining to a lawsuit filed over her 2005 car accident in West Hollywood, California — won't be videotaped, according to the Los Angeles Daily News. Her lawyers are reportedly requesting that the deposition — which Lohan is scheduled to give December 3 — be sealed instead if their request is denied. "The court should act to prevent such an unwarranted invasion of [Lohan's] privacy, especially where the nature of the allegations ... are so inflammatory," her court papers state, according to Daily News. Her lawyers are also requesting that deposition testimony and written responses from other witnesses be made unavailable to the public. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Michael L. Stern denied a motion by her attorneys on Friday for an immediate ruling on whether the deposition will be videotaped, saying he will consider it November 28 instead. ...

Don Imus' radio comeback is now set in stone: The controversial shock jock will be back on the airwaves after a nine-month hiatus on December 3. Imus will return to New York's WABC-AM, which is home to another inflammatory jock, Rush Limbaugh. The Rev. Al Sharpton, a vocal Imus critic, issued a statement on the development through his National Action Network, saying they've "always maintained that wherever Don Imus goes back to work, the company should clearly outline to advertisers and trade organizations like the National Association of Black Journalists how they intend to safeguard against Mr. Imus returning to his former vile and biased behavior. One would think if they were sincere about his apologies and his new commitment they would enthusiastically meet with advertisers and the NABJ to voice these assurances. If they do not, then we exercise the right in the next 30 days to visit advertisers to ask what has changed since they withdrew their support to Mr. Imus's show six months ago. If there are no guarantees that the same conduct they withdrew support from will be duplicated upon his return, we will certainly act accordingly. Mr. Imus has the right to make a living, but we have the right to make sure he does not come back to disrupt our living. Particularly since these are the commitments he made personally." ...

Vanessa Hudgens isn't all smiles these days — the "High School Musical" star is battling with one of her former lawyers over money she allegedly owes him, according to TMZ.com. Brian Schall claims Hudgens owes him $150,000 after he helped her earn more than $5 million by advancing the starlet's funds for her recording and songwriting career. But Hudgens argues that she was too young to sign her contract — when she did so in October 2005, she was 16 years old — and she subsequently disaffirmed it on October 9 of this year, according to the site. Papers filed in court by her lawyer say California's Family Code "provides that the contract of a minor is voidable and may be disaffirmed before (age 18) or within a reasonable time afterward." ... In related news, Aaron Carter has extricated himself from a contract he signed with Lou Pearlman, according to TMZ. The singer's attorney filed suit against the disgraced boy-band mogul in May 2006, requesting that Carter he released from the contract, which he signed as a minor. A bankruptcy judge ruled in Carter's favor and ordered that the contract with Pearlman and his label, the bankrupt TransContinental Records, is no longer in effect — but it's not yet known who orders Carter's recordings with the label. Carter is also seeking an accounting of royalties. ...

What do Justin Timberlake, Christina Aguilera, Prince, Genesis, Kenny Chesney, Maná and the Police have in common? Well, in case you're not on the concert-revenue tip, they've been drawing fleets of fans to their shows, making them finalists for the 2007 Billboard Touring Awards. JT and the Police are among the nominees for Top Tour and Top Draw, while Timberlake has also been noticed in the Breakthrough Artist category. Aguilera has a nod in the Top Package category for her tour with Pussycat Dolls and Danity Kane, and she's up for Breakthrough Artist as well. Prince's stretch of 21 shows at London's O2 arena earned him a spot in the Top Boxscore category, along with Bonnaroo and the U.K.'s Download Festival. The awards — based on the artists' box-office performance from January 1 through September 30, as reported by Billboard's Boxscore chart — will be presented 5 in New York as part of the 2007 Billboard Touring Conference. ...

Lance Bass' publicist is denying that the 'NSYNC star was ever married, despite what E! Online reports Bass said in a recent interview, according to The Associated Press. "People do stupid things in the heat of the moment," he had said, referring to a trip to Vegas he supposedly made with an ex-girlfriend. "I've been in Vegas where I've gotten married for, like, five minutes ... it was one of those crazy moments where you're with a friend and you're like, 'Hey, wouldn't it be fun if we did this?' And that's all that happened. It's the Vegas thing to do ... the only reason we did it is because we wanted to get free drinks all night. And we didn't get one. We're like, 'We just got married!' They're like, 'Ah. Whatever.' " But Bass' publicist Ken Sunshine subsequently told AP that, "He never really got married. That's why there's no record of it. ... By saying he was married in Vegas, it was a way to get free drinks." A clerk at the Clark County marriage license bureau said no license under Bass' name could be found in a search of records dating back more than 30 years, according to AP. Bass has been making the rounds to promote his new memoir, "Out of Sync" — which reveals why he kept his homosexuality hidden for as long as he did. ...

The Emmy Award-winning television program "Biography" will air a program on Guns N' Roses on November 29. The show will be part of a string of music documentaries that is also set to include Jennifer Lopez and Fleetwood Mac. ... Try this marketing scheme on for size: The Jonas Brothers are partnering with Gibson Guitars to record their next album while aboard one of the company's tour buses as they trek along the West Coast on the Miley Cyrus/ Hannah Montana Best of Both Worlds Tour. The group will also be playing additional gigs on the tour, and at special shows in Nashville and Memphis, Tennessee, fans will be able to enter a contest for a private meet-and-greet at Gibson Guitar Showrooms. ... Joel Madden has dismissed rumors of tension between he and girlfriend Nicole Richie, while the pregnant socialite has also denied a report that she has been smoking, according to People. "Having a baby is the most exciting thing that's ever happened to me, and to us," Madden said. His band Good Charlotte recently toured Australia, after which he and Richie spent "a great little getaway" in Thailand. "Now we're just getting home, getting settled in L.A. and getting ready," he said. Their baby is reportedly due in January. ...

Da Brat was reportedly involved in a serious physical altercation early Thursday morning at Jermaine Dupri's Atlanta nightclub, Studio 72. According to WSB-TV in Atlanta, police arrested Da Brat (real name: Shawntae Harris) on felony aggravated-assault charges after she got into a heated confrontation with a waitress. Da Brat is said to have struck the waitress in the face with a bottle of rum, causing cuts on her face. The waitress was taken to a local hospital for treatment; Da Brat is being held at DeKalb County jail, according to WSB. Spokespeople for Da Brat and her longtime mentor Dupri had not responded to MTV News' requests for comment at press time. ...

Jonathan Davis fans will be in for a surprise when they check out the Korn frontman's upcoming solo tour: He'll already have a concert CD/DVD package available for purchase, if everything goes according to plan. Billboard.com reports that Davis will film a small show for friends, family and the press on November 8 — the day before the tour kicks off in Hartford, Connecticut — and transform it into a limited-edition package that will be available, at least initially, only on his tour. The DVD will chronicle bandmember tryouts, rehearsals leading up to the recording and more. ... The Smashing Pumpkins have rescheduled five gigs they had been forced to postpone after Jimmy Chamberlin experienced chest pains, sending the drummer to the hospital. The Pumpkins will now play the Nashville gig on November 11 and the one in Austin, Texas, two days later, after which they'll hit Atlanta for a pair of shows November 15-16 and play the rescheduled Dallas show two days after that. Chamberlin was released from the hospital Wednesday after an angiogram revealed that he had a partially blocked artery. ...

Guess who was an OiNK user? None other than Nine Inch Nails boss Trent Reznor. In an interview with New York magazine about the new Saul Williams album, Reznor said, "I'll admit I had an account there and frequented it quite often," of the now-shuttered file-sharing site. "At the end of the day, what made OiNK a great place was that it was like the world's greatest record store. Pretty much anything you could ever imagine, it was there, and it was there in the format you wanted. If OiNK cost anything, I would certainly have paid, but there isn't the equivalent of that in the retail space right now. iTunes kind of feels like Sam Goody to me. I don't feel cool when I go there. I'm tired of seeing John Mayer's face pop up. I feel like I'm being hustled when I visit there, and I don't think their product is that great. DRM, low bit rate, etc. Amazon has potential, but none of them get around the issue of pre-release leaks. And that's what's such a difficult puzzle at the moment. If your favorite band in the world has a leaked record out, do you listen to it or do you not listen to it? People on those boards, they're grateful for the person that uploaded it — they're the hero. They're not stealing it because they're going to make money off of it; they're stealing it because they love the band. I'm not saying that I think OiNK is morally correct, but I do know that it existed because it filled a void of what people want." ...

Jacob "The Jeweler" Arabov pleaded guilty on Wednesday to falsifying records and giving false statements to investigators looking into a multistate drug ring, The Associated Press reports. Arabov, 42, the "King of Bling," who has made custom jewelry for everyone from Kanye West to Bono, agreed to a plea deal that will have him serve up to 46 months in prison and pay a $2 million penalty in exchange for prosecutors dropping money-laundering charges against him. Arabov was arrested at his New York jewelry store in June 2006 and accused of being part of a conspiracy to launder about $270 million in drug profits for the Black Mafia Family, a crime ring that operated out of the Detroit area beginning in the early 1990s. ... Linda Stein, 62, former co-manager of the Ramones and ex-wife of Sire Records founder Seymour Stein, was found dead on Monday in her apartment on New York's Upper East Side; she was killed by blunt-impact trauma to the head, police told New York's WCBS. Stein was also known as a real-estate agent to the stars, finding spots in New York for Sting, Billy Joel, Steven Spielberg, Calvin Klein and Bruce Willis. Police are treating the death as a homicide. ...

Black Lips — who took Brooklyn, New York, by storm with a circus parade in September — are bringing their maniacal ways to the big screen. The group will transform itself into a fictional late-'80s underground punk band for "Let It Be," a feature film due to begin production in May. The film will be directed by newcomer Roger Rawlings ("Neurotica"), and produced by Andrew Meyer ("The Breakfast Club") and Winn Coslick ("The Bottom"), and feature both original Lips music and key songs from the era. ... Swedish indie-rockers Peter Bjorn and John will try to make sure they're remembered as one of the year's most buzzed-about bands with an extra handful of 2007 U.S. shows. The "Young Folks" squad will play Houston (November 23); Dallas (November 24); Indianapolis (November 27); Cleveland (November 29); Louisville, Kentucky (November 30); Cincinnati (December 2); and Millvale, Pennsylvania (December 3). ... Touch and Go Records celebrated its 25th anniversary with a three-day bash last summer — now another prominent Chicago indie-rock label, Thrill Jockey, is getting ready to blow out 15 candles with a two-day shindig of its own. The Fiery Furnaces, the Sea and Cake, Eleventh Dream Day and many more artists who contributed to the label over the years will convene at the city's Logan Square Auditorium for the event, which will include two stages and be held December 14-15. ...

Talks between Hollywood screenwriters and studios hit an impasse on Wednesday, and with mere hours to go before their contract was set to expire, the writers were on the verge of the first major strike against the film and TV industry in 20 years. Reuters reports that talks broke off when the deadlock could not be broken between the writers and studios over writers' demands that they get an increased share of DVD revenues and Internet downloads of their work. Leaders of the Writers Guild of America ruled out declaring an immediate walkout when their contract, which covers 12,000 members, expired at 12:01 a.m. (3:01 a.m. EDT) on Thursday. According to the AP, the union instead said it would brief its rank and file at a meeting in Los Angeles on Thursday night. In the meantime, WGA members may continue to work under terms of the old three-year labor pact, though a spokesperson said, "They will technically be working without a contract." No further talks were scheduled, but an industry spokesperson said after Wednesday's eight-hour session that union negotiators had told studio officials they would contact them on Friday. If a walkout does take place, studios and TV networks have stockpiled scripts that could last into next year. ...

Believe it, "X Files" fans: A film sequel will start production in Vancouver, British Columbia, in December, according to Entertainment Weekly. Creator Chris Carter is slated to direct, and TV series stalwarts David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson will revive their respective roles for the project, which has been in the works since the release of "The X Files: Fight the Future" in 1998. "If we didn't do it now and the [writers'] strike was protracted, it would force the movie to come out several years from now," Carter told the magazine. "And that was too late. It was either now or never." ... The woman who was ordered to pay more than $220,000 in the first verdict in a music-downloading trial, Jammie Thomas, has raised more than $16,000 so far in donations on FreeJammie.com. Now she's begun offering a whole range of gear to help raise more for her defense fund, including "Free Jammie" dog T-shirts ($17.49), white thong underwear ($9.99) and women's tracksuits ($49.99), as well as mugs, beer steins, teddy bears, kid's clothes, hoodies and boxer shorts.

• R. Kelly
• Jay-Z
• Mariah Carey
• T-Pain
• E-40

Jagged Edge
Photo: Columbia Records

The ATL/ Bay Area hyphy connection is being carried on by, of all people, R&B crooners Jagged Edge.

The foursome is ready to release its next single, "Stunnas," which features Jermaine Dupri. E-40 trumpeted "stunna shades" in the Lil Jon-produced hyphy anthem "Tell Me When to Go," and the flashy glasses are a staple of the hyphy culture.

"Jagged kinda has a set fanbase," group member Richard Wingo said from Atlanta. "They know our sound. Whenever they hear a Jagged record, they know it. We try not to get too far from what we've done in the past, but we always try to add a little more spices to the pot. It's just something we haven't done in the past."

Besides "Stunnas," Jagged veer a little on their fifth album with the reggaetón song "So Amazing" with Voltio and on "Season's Change" with John Legend, which marks the first time the group has worked with an outside male singer.

For most of the LP, of course, Jagged Edge sing the ballads their fans have come to expect.

"I think the overall message from day one to now is that it's OK to feel these things, it's OK to say certain things," co-lead singer Brian Casey said. "It's OK to express yourself in a way that might not feel comfortable, and you can still be cool. 'Cause we're cool brothas. And if I have something to say to a young lady, I'mma say it. We know our formula, and we're not going to stray too far from what we've done before, but we sprinkle in our little nuances, and we'll be [in the game for a long time]."

"It's going to always be that time when it's you and a young lady, or just you in a more mellow setting, and you don't want to hear hip-hop or rock and roll," Brian's twin, Brandon, added. "I think there will always be a lane for [those] who make [slow jams]."

Jagged Edge were in Atlanta to perform and sign autographs at a Best Buy. "Stunnas" isn't actually on Jagged's new CD; but if you buy the album, you can download the song off the group's Web site, JaggedEdge.net.

Jagged and Dupri are shooting a video for "Stunnas" in a couple of weeks, and there's a chance E-40 could appear on the remix.

• Jagged Edge
• John Legend
• Jermaine Dupri
• E-40
• Voltio

E-40
Photo: Jason Campbell

After seemingly coming from out of nowhere just over two months ago, "High School Musical" has emerged as the surprise hit of 2006. The soundtrack to the Disney Channel original movie debuted at #143 on Billboard's albums chart after selling 5,000 copies. The following week, it skyrocketed to the #58 spot, selling close to 13,000 copies — but the climb didn't end there.

For the past five weeks, the "High School Musical" phenomenon has made its home in the top 10, while big-name artists sit back and watch as tracks from the children's TV movie crush high-charting hopes. Four weeks ago, "High School Musical" hit #1 after selling 101,000 copies (see "What Is 'High School Musical' And How Did It Get To #1?"). Since then, the disc has hovered in the #2 and #3 spots. According to the latest SoundScan figures, the soundtrack will return to #1 on next week's Billboard chart after logging 142,000-plus scans last week. Total sales of the disc are currently at 811,000.

Not bad for a bunch of unknown teen actors in a film that fuses "Romeo and Juliet" with "Grease," shot on a $5 million budget.

While hip-hop legend E-40 made a strong play for Billboard brilliance with his latest, My Ghetto Report Card, the "Ambassador of the Bay" fell short of a #1 finish. Instead, the disc, which features contributions from Mike Jones, Juelz Santana, UGK and Too Short, debuts at #3 with sales of more than 94,000 — right behind Back to Bedlam, British crooner James Blunt's debut album, which hangs tight at #2 with 126,000 scans. Jay-Z find Ne-Yo climbs one spot to #4 with In My Own Words, which picked up close to 77,000 sales during its third week in stores. The previous chart's first place finisher, Juvenile's Reality Check, slips four to #5 after selling close to 75,000 units.

Carrie Underwood's Some Hearts racked up sales of more than 64,000 to earn a #6 spot. Matisyahu's Youth claims #7 with week-two scans of 58,000. The Legend of Johnny Cash comes in at #8 with 56,000 sales; the retrospective collection has sold nearly 1.5 million copies since its release in October.

A second helping of Fall Out Boy's From Under the Cork Tree, which has sold more than 2 million copies since its release, helped boost sales of the disc by 122 percent. The album was reissued last week with demo and bonus tracks along with a couple of remixes, and it leaps ahead 33 chart positions to #9 on sales nearing 52,000. Rounding out the top 10 for a second week is Sing-A-Longs & Lullabies for the Film "Curious George" from Jack Johnson and Friends, which picked up an additional 50,000 scans, pushing total sales past the half-million mark.

It was a sluggish week overall for debuts, with precious few outings actually breaching the top 200. Morph the Cat, the third solo outing from Donald Fagen — who, along with Walter Becker, are the masterminds behind Steely Dan — opens at #26 with 32,000 sales. The soundtrack to "Dave Chappelle's Block Party," featuring live performances from Mos Def, Big Daddy Kane and Erykah Badu, bows at #44 with sales of 21,000 and change. Guitar virtuoso Joe Satriani's latest, Super Colossal, debuts at #86, selling nearly 12,000 copies, and Black Sabbath's Greatest Hits 1970-1978 — which hit stores the morning after the band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame — comes in at #96 with sales of 11,000 plus.

Willie Nelson's You Don't Know Me debuts at #114 with over 9,000 units sold, and Nickelodeon Kids' Choice, Vol. 2, a compilation boasting contributions from Gwen Stefani, Kelly Clarkson, Simple Plan and Ryan Cabrera, checks in at #125 with close to 9,000 in sales. NOFX's Never Trust a Hippy finishes at #186 with 5,000 scans.

Following his appearance last week on "American Idol," sales of Stevie Wonder's A Time to Love surged 89 percent, making it one of this week's biggest gainers. The record, which sold more than 5,000 copies, occupies the #183 slot, returning to the chart after being away for three weeks.

• E-40
• James Blunt
• Ne-Yo
• Matisyahu
• Carrie Underwood

E-40's <I>My Ghetto Report Card</I>
Photo: Warner Bros/ Wea

Move Over, Crunk: E-40 claims to have inserted "It's all good" and "fo' shizzle" into the hip-hop lexicon, and this week he's trying to incorporate the hyphy movement into the mainstream with My Ghetto Report Card. He's called all hands on deck for the effort, including Mike Jones, Juelz Santana, Too Short, UGK, T-Pain and Oakland, California's best-named artist, Keak Da Sneak. Lil Jon was apparently too busy behind the decks to spit out any verses on tracks like "They Might Be Taping," "Do Ya Head Like This" or the curious two-part skit "GetTheF---On.com."

Score Another One for the Underdogs: Re-releasing albums with a bonus DVD shortly after their original release is all the rage — but Fall Out Boy aren't ones to conform. Instead they're revisiting their Grammy-nominated From Under the Cork Tree with just one disc, a limited-edition item specifically designed for their Black Clouds and Underdogs Tour. They've managed to squeeze extra cuts on the new version, endowing them with their hi-larious titular prowess: "Snitches and Talkers Get Snitches and Walkers," "The Music or the Misery" and "My Heart Is the Worst Kind of Weapon." There's also remixes of "Sugar, We're Goin Down" (by lead singer Patrick Stump) and "Dance, Dance."

Old-School Boogie: DMC is shooting for high scans this week with his long-awaited solo debut, Checks Thugs and Rock N Roll — more scans, that is, then the disappointing number Run-DMC counterpart the Rev Run tallied with his own solo debut, Distortion, late last year. A limited run comes with a bonus DVD — and, of course, those peculiar guest spots by Kid Rock, Sarah McLachlan, Jam Master Jay and members of Korn, Buckcherry and Aerosmith.

Meanwhile, Boogie Down Productions — who treaded the path beaten by Run-DMC — are also recalled this week with Blast Master Tapes: The Best of the B-Boy Sessions. There's a heap of unreleased songs from 1985-'87 sprinkled over the course of the two discs, including the very fermented "D-Nice Rocks the House" and an alternate version of "Criminal Minded."

Hard Up for Bonus Tracks?: You'd have to think all the way back to last summer to recall Hard-Fi's Stars of CCTV making a splash in the U.K. (and subsequently getting some lovin' from the Brit Awards), but now the neo-ska band's debut disc is finally hitting U.S. shores. So what extra treats await all you holdouts? None, unfortunately: Free of bonus content, the U.S. version has the same 11 tracks that appeared on the U.K. one, including "Middle Eastern Holiday," "Tied Up Too Tight" and "Feltham Is Singing Out."

Party on, Dave: Don't want to sit through a movie to hear your favorite hip-hop artists perform? Well, that's what soundtracks are for. The one for "Dave Chappelle's Block Party" has a dozen delectable delights, including the Roots' eye-popping pair-up with Big Daddy Kane and Kool G Rap, Mos Def's "Universal Magnetic" and "Umi Says," and more Erykah Badu performances than you can shake a stick at.

Kids' Stuff: The "Kidz Bop" clan pummeled the competition with its little fists a couple of weeks ago, and now there's a second wave of pint-size threats this week led by Devo 2.0. Ranging in age from 10 to 13 years old, Nicole, Nathan, Kane, Jackie and Michael put a pre-pubescent polish on Devo classics like "Whip It" and "Cyclops" — even though, according to their profiles, they're more into the Mars Volta and Chopin. If you still don't believe this project, feast your eyes on the accompanying DVD, which has performance material by the teensy troupe, plus footage of original Devo members and some computer-animation elements.

Over on the other side of the playground, Nickelodeon Kids' Choice, Vol. 2 lets the original artists do the talking, and this time around that means Gwen Stefani, Ciara, Weezer and Franz Ferdinand. Extra special is Simple Plan's live performance of "Shut Up" from the 2005 Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards.

Slightly older kids — namely those 45 years and above — will jump for joy upon seeing, for the first time in the U.S., the soundtrack to the movie version of hallucinogenic children's show "H.R. Pufnstuf." There's more tracers, er, traces of Sid and Marty Krofft this week with the reissue of "The Bugaloos" soundtrack, which was a show about a bunch of rock musicians with wings who live in a magical forest and are hunted by Benita Bizarre, who wants to deprive them of all their happiness. Now that's what you call a bad trip.

Lest Ye Forget: Sonic Youth have hundreds of records to their name, but even loyal fans are probably lacking the original EP the band put out way back in October 1981. Well, they're in luck this week: Not only is Geffen re-tailoring the five-song set with eight additional tracks (mostly live stuff from that year), they're also tossing two more related titles back into stores after being out of print for more than a decade. The Whitey Album, a Madonna tribute of sorts by Ciccone Youth — the SY-ers, plus the Minutemen's Mike Watt and Dinosaur Jr.'s J Mascis — is back, as is SY guitarist Thurston Moore's 1995 solo affair, Psychic Hearts.

And in other play-it-again news, Now ReIgnition Records is giving Black on Black: A Tribute to Black Flag another push. Initial Records originally slipped out the disc in mid-2003, but the label went bust shortly thereafter. BF and metalcore fans alike should take note, because there are six bonus covers by Bleeding Through, Most Precious Blood, the Black Dahlia Murder and others appended on the re-release.

Song Titles of the Week:

"Auntie Toothache" and "What a F---ing Lovely Day!" from Stephin Merritt's Showtunes

Other Notables:

Nicolai Dunger's Here's My Song: You Can Have It ... I Don't Want It Anymore/ Yours 4-Ever: Gotten over that title yet? Good. Dunger — a seasoned Swedish singer/songwriter who's collaborated with Will Oldman, Calexico and others — has found new friends in Mercury Rev, with whom he partnered for his new LP. He co-produced and recorded the album with the New Yorkers, letting them handle most guitar duties, although the album isn't officially a joint release between the two camps. Don't miss the slick slide guitar on "Country Lane."

NOFX's Never Trust a Hippy: Twenty-two years into their career, NOFX have finally accomplished their mission. "Thing is, NOFX will be going to hell for this EP," the band says on its Web site. The six-song menu includes a song to that end, "I'm Going to Hell for This One," plus "Everything in Moderation (Especially Moderation)," "Golden Boys," "You're Wrong" and two slices that will resurface on the band's incoming Wolves in Wolves' Clothing LP: "Seeing Double at the Triple Rock" and "The Marxist Brothers."

Miss Kittin's Radio Caroline: French neo-electro whiz Miss Kittin pays homage to pirate station Radio Caroline with a mix CD featuring 15 artists you've never heard of. They include Jesper Dahlbäck, Der Zyklus and Andreas Fragel. Hopefully this disc's as animated as her Web site (MissKittin.com).

New Releases:

• Ambulance LTD - New English EP (TVT)
• Axxis - Paradise in Flames (Locomotive)
• Big City Rock - Big City Rock (Atlantic)
• Border Crossing - Ominous (Recall)
• Robert Bradley's Blackwater Surprise - What About That: New Year's Eve in Bloomington (two-CD live album; Kufala)
• Bonnie Bramlett and Mr. Groove Band - Roots, Blues & Jazz (Zoho)
• Devo 2.0 - Devo 2.0 (digipak with DVD; Disney)
  Read: "Are They Not Kids? Yes, They Are — And They're Giving Devo A Disney Makeover"
• DMC - Checks Thugs and Rock N Roll (limited edition comes with DVD; Asylum)
  Read: "DMC Hoping 67-Year-Old White Guys Dig His New Record"
• Nicolai Dunger - Here's My Song: You Can Have It ... I Don't Want It Anymore/ Yours 4-Ever (Zoë/ Rounder)
• E-40 - My Ghetto Report Card (Warner Bros.)
  Buy Now: My Ghetto Report Card (Warner Bros.)
• Donald Fagen - Morph the Cat (deluxe edition with DVD also available; Reprise)
• Paul Flaherty and Chris Corsano - Beloved Music (Family Vineyard)
• Flee the Seen - Doubt Becomes the New Addiction (Facedown)
• Jimmy Gaudreau - In Good Company (CMH)
• Jackie Greene - American Myth (Verve Forecast)
• Grace Griffith - My Life (Blix Street)
• Grand National - Kicking the National Habit (limited edition; Recall)
• Guillemots - From the Cliffs (EP; Fantastic Plastic)
• Hard-Fi - Stars of CCTV (Atlantic)
  Read: "Hard-Fi Don't Need Clash Comparisons To Know They're Cool"

Buy Now: Stars of CCTV (Atlantic)
• Etta James - All the Way (RCA)
• Lanterna - Desert Ocean (Jemez Mountain)
• Las Rubias Del Norte - Panamericana (Barbès)
• Miss Kittin - Radio Caroline (Mental Groove)
• Willie Nelson - You Don't Know Me: The Songs of Cindy Walker (Lost Highway)
• NOFX - Never Trust a Hippy (EP; Fat Wreck Chords)
• Pure Inc - A New Day's Dawn (Locomotive)
• Duke Robillard - Guitar Groove-a-Rama (Stony Plain Music)
• Joe Satriani - Super Colossal (Epic)
• The Saw Doctors - The Cure (Shamtown/ Ryko)
• Sepultura - Dante XXI (SPV)
• Seven Glory - Over the Rooftops (7spin Music)
• Jules Shear - Dreams Don't Count (Mad Dragon)
• SheDaisy - Fortuneteller's Melody (Lyric Street)
• Slick Ballinger - Mississippi Soul (Oh Boy)
• Soledad Brothers - The Hardest Walk (Alive)
• Garrison Starr - The Sound of You & Me (Vanguard)
• Thomas Stronen - Parish (ECM)
• Warren Zanes - People That I'm Wrong For (Dualtone)
• Various artists - Nickelodeon Kids' Choice, Vol. 2 (Nick)
• Various artists - Pickin' on the Dixie Chicks: A Bluegrass Tribute (CMH)
• Various artists - Pickin' on Keane: A Bluegrass Tribute (CMH)
• Various artists - "Dave Chappelle's Block Party" soundtrack (Geffen)
• Various artists - "The Shaggy Dog" soundtrack (Disney)
• Various artists - "She's the Man" soundtrack (Lakeshore)

Notable Reissues And Archival Material:

• Bill Anderson - The Definitive Collection (Hip-O/ MCA Nashville)
• Benise - Nights of Fire! (Rosanegra)
• Black Sabbath - Greatest Hits 1970-1978 (Rhino)
• Boogie Down Productions - Blast Master Tapes: The Best of the B-Boy Sessions (two CDs; Traffic Entertainment)
• Bobby Brown - The Definitive Collection (Hip-O/ Geffen)
• Cameo - The Definitive Collection (Hip-O/ Mercury)
• The Chesterf!elds - Electric Guitars in Their Hearts: The Best of the Chesterf!elds (Cherry Red)
• Ciccone Youth - Whitey Album (Geffen)
• Dr. John - Right Place, Right Time: Live at Tipitina's - Mardi Gras '89 (The Music Force)
• Fall Out Boy - From Under the Cork Tree: Limited Black Clouds and Underdogs Tour Edition (Island)
  Read: "Fall Out Boy Promise An 'Event' Video For 'Sixteen Candles' "

Buy Now: From Under the Cork Tree: Limited Black Clouds and Underdogs Tour Edition (Island)
• Rick James - The Definitive Collection (Hip-O/ Motown)
• Charlie Louvin - Echoes of the Louvin Brothers (Varèse)
• Hugh Masekela - Hugh Masekela Presents: The Chisa Years 1965-1975 Rare and Unreleased (BBE)
• Stephin Merritt - Showtunes (Nonesuch)
• Thurston Moore - Psychic Hearts (Geffen)
• Vinnie Moore - Vinnie Moore Collection: The Shrapnel Years (Shrapnel)
• Willie Nelson and Roy Clark - An Introduction to Willie Nelson & Roy Clark - The Liberty & Capitol Masters (Fuel)
• The Pretenders - Pirate Radio: 1979-2005 (box set with four CDs and a DVD; Rhino)
• Prince - Ultimate (two CDs; Rhino)
• John Rich - Underneath the Same Moon (BNA/ Legacy)
• Otis Rush - Fuel Presents: An Introduction to Otis Rush (Fuel)
• Sonic Youth - Sonic Youth (EP; Geffen)
• Various artists - Black on Black: Tribut to Black Flag (Law of Inertia)
• Various artists - Punk 101: The Best of the Punk Years (Cleopatra)
• Various artists - "Bugaloos" soundtrack (Él)
• Various artists - "Heartworn Highways" soundtrack (Shout! Factory)
• Various artists - "H.R. Pufnstuf" soundtrack (Él)

DVDs:

• Benise - "Nights of Fire!" (Rosanegra)
• Conspiracy - "Live" (Cleopatra)
• Chick Corea - "Rendezvous in New York: New Trio" and "Rendezvous in New York: Chick Corea & Gonzalo Rubalcaba Duet" and "Rendezvous in New York: Now He Sings, Now He Sobs Trio" (Image Entertainment)
• Danielle Dax - "Bad Miss M: Danielle Dax Live" (Cherry Red)
• Jazz Crusaders - "New Morning: The Paris Concert" (Music Video Distributors)
• Lovedolls Superstar - "Fully Realized" (Eclectic)
• Poison - "Seven Days Live" (Music Video Distributors)
• Mike Stern - "New Morning: The Paris Concert" (Music Video Distributors)
• Tankard - "Fat, Ugly and Still (A)Live" (Locomotive)
• Type O Negative - "Symphony for the Devil" (SPV)
• Townes Van Zandt - "Be Here to Love Me" (Palm Pictures)
• Various artists - "ATL Underground Live" (Carlos Glover)
• Various artists - "The Butterfly Ball" (Music Video Distributors)
• Various artists - "Funk You Very Much" (Music Video Distributors)

Coming Attractions:

March 21:

• Teddy Geiger - Underage Thinking (Columbia)
• My Chemical Romance - Life on the Murder Scene (with DVD; Reprise)
  Read: "My Chemical Romance's 'Murder' DVD Just Got Bigger"
• Prince - 3121 (Universal)

March 28:

• Ghostface Killah - Fishscale (Def Jam)
  Read: "Ghostface Killah Spins Tales From The 'Hood On Fishscale"
  Buy Now: Fishscale (Def Jam)
• T.I. - King (limited-edition re-release with bonus DVD; Atlantic)
• Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Show Your Bones (Interscope)

Read: "Are The Yeah Yeah Yeahs Anxious About Bones? No No No"
Buy Now: Show Your Bones (Interscope)

April 4:

• Flaming Lips - At War With the Mystics (Warner Bros.)
  Read: "Flaming Lips Go To War Against Britney, Gwen On New LP"

Buy Now: At War With the Mystics (Warner Bros.)
• Morrissey - Ringleader of the Tormentors (Sanctuary)
• Pink - I'm Not Dead (La Face)
  Read: "Pink Pens An Open Letter To President Bush On New Album"

• E-40
• Fall Out Boy
• Hard-Fi
• Nicolai Dunger
• Darryl "DMC" McDaniels

• E-40

Lil Jon at Electric Lady Studios in New York on Tuesday.
Photo: MTV News

NEW YORK — Call it hyphy on the Hudson.

"We in New York showing New York how the Bay Area does it," Lil Jon proclaimed recently at the legendary Electric Lady Studios, where he was hosting a listening party for his label BME's latest signing, E-40.

"We just acting a rectum!" corrected 40, using his own unique slang and getting hyphy with some friends from "Cali-fool-ya." If the late Mac Dre, also a Bay Area rap icon, had been there, even he couldn't have mustered up a "thizz face" (think 3rd Base's gas face) — not with all the soul food, hot new hip-hop and the bevy of strippers provided by Lil Jon.

"They have this thing in the Bay called the hyphy movement, and we're bringing 40's album to New York since this is the capital of press, of rap, of television, of everything," explained Jon (see "Hyphy: Crunk, Northern California-Style"). "Everything starts from New York. If it don't break in New York, then it won't be worldwide."

The King of Crunk produced E-40's current smash, the hyphy anthem "Tell Me When to Go," and E-40 said people shouldn't be surprised — after all, crunk and hyphy are cousins.

"My boy Too Short and Jon are [very close]," said E-40. "We stayed in contact. I been in a few of [Jon's] videos. We did one of the coldest songs about the South, 'Rep Yo City,' on my Grit and Grind album. Then we did 'Anybody Can Get It' [on my next album.]"

"When we did 'Rep Yo City,' we saw the label 40 was on wasn't marketing and promoting him correctly," Jon interjected. "We just stayed in contact when he got off the label. He said, 'Let's do something.' I said, 'OK.' "

"This dude just don't do crunk music, he does it all," 40 said. "He does R&B, he gets on the hip-hop backpack. He know how to do it all. The boy is dummy. All the blaps he did for me. He did it right in front of my tall can face."

"That means I did all the beats while he was sitting right there," a smiling Jon translated. "That's another thing you gotta learn, when you pick up 40's My Ghetto Report Card album, get your notepad, 'cause you gonna learn a lot of lingo."

E-40 said the title of his upcoming release refers to the fact that he never "did nothing foul in the game." 40 said his credentials are "straight A's across the board."

Mike Jones, UGK, Too Short and T-Pain are among his guests on the project, due March 14.

Now that 40's LP is done, Lil Jon can start working more heavily on his own upcoming LP, Crunk Rock — especially since Jon and TVT Records have resolved their financial strife. Earlier this year, he said he would never record for them again.

"Me and TVT was going through our thing and I hadn't been on no records," Jon said, explaining how Crunk Rock's first single, "Snap Ya Fingers," came about. 40 and the Young Bloodz's Sean Paul also appear on the track. "We was working on 40's record when I came up with the hook almost instantly. I just put [the song] out in the streets, 'cause they hadn't heard me in awhile. The record took off almost immediately. Just off the Internet, the record was at 1,000 spins. That helped us close the deal [with TVT] because the record got so hot. It showed me my fans want to hear some more of me.

"[The song] is basically talking about what's going on in the clubs of the A," Jon added. "Everybody snappin', rockin', taking it easy, having a good time."

Jon isn't revealing the lineup for his album just yet, but he said plenty of industry friends will be present and to expect a classic. Crunk Rock doesn't have a release date set yet.

You'll see a lot more of E-40 and the Bay Area hip-hop scene on "My Block: The Bay," airing Sunday at 2 p.m. and Monday at 5 p.m. on MTV2, and Thursday, March 16 at 11 p.m. on MTV.

• Lil Jon
• E-40

MTV.com Exclusive: E-40

• E-40

Common, David Banner, More At Zune BBQ Party

• Common
• David Banner
• E-40

Jeezy, E-40, More On The Set Of Young Buck's "Get Buck" Video

• Young Buck
• Young Jeezy
• E-40
• Tony Yayo
• G-Unit

2006: The Best of Studio Photos

• Lil Jon
• Yeah Yeah Yeahs
• Kelis
• Beck
• Nelly Furtado

From Wild To Hyphy

• E-40

2006 VMAs: Bling Report

• Paul Wall
• Busta Rhymes
• Pharrell Williams
• Lil Wayne
• 50 Cent

MTV.com Exclusive: E-40 Photos 03.03.2006

• E-40

Sucker Free on MTV: Spring 2006

• Pitbull
• E-40
• Ghostface Killah
• Chris Brown
• Lil Wayne