Beanie Sigel and Jay-Z
Photo: Getty Images

Beanie Sigel says he's still not getting the reply from Jay-Z that he wants. On Tuesday, the Broad Street Bully appeared on Philadelphia radio station Power 99 as a surprise guest during 50 Cent's interview. The two hinted that Beanie and the G-Unit would be aligning sometime in the future. More overt, however, was the suggestion that Beans would be calling Jay out in public more often.

"He is a crumb. I'm gonna put my foot on his neck until he responds," Beans said as the segment came to a wrap. Beans added that he's ready for a lyrical tangle with his once-close clique member and that he would relish a retort from Jiggaman for the "What You Talkin About (Average Cat)" song.

"Please make a record," Beans yelled on-air. "A week's been out, dog. I'm not taking nothing from Jay as an artist. He ain't no walk in the park as an artist. All I'm saying is I don't gotta jog to keep up to him."

During the interview, Beanie also addressed Jay's recent comments that he did a lot for Sigel, who Jay noted had a record deal and a record label and drove two Bentleys at one point. Sigel said that the label and the cars were earned and that Jay didn't give him anything.

"I think he has good intentions, Jay, but he's using a traditional business corporate model," 50 said calmly. "I think the only place he really went wrong was when he said 'La Familia,' like 'we family.' "

50 added that a few years back, he wanted to offer Beanie at least $800,000 to come to the G-Unit upon his release from prison but that Jay had blocked the deal.

"I said it makes sense right now, I could sell this right now, I could get him out and go right away with the actual music," 50 recalled about the deal that never materialized.

• Beanie Sigel
• Jay-Z
• G-Unit

50 Cent
Photo: Rob Loud/ Getty Images

When 50 Cent called himself the "greatest show on Earth" during a radio interview on Wednesday, he wasn't kidding about the circus reference.

The G-Unit rapper held court on a number of topics with Angie Martinez on New York's Hot 97, from Kanye West and Lady Gaga's joint tour to Jay-Z to his possible plans to hang up the mic. The interview was lively, at times insulting and often confusing.

Regarding the Kanye/ Gaga tour, he revived the theme of some of his comments about West earlier this year. "Ahh, the gay tour," Fif said when West and Gaga's trek was brought up, to a mix of laughter and boos in the studio. "No, didn't she say her tour is gay?" (The singer told Out magazine earlier this year that she'd said to West, "I just want to be clear before we decide to do this [tour] together: I'm gay. My music is gay. My show is gay. And I love that it's gay.")

He then joked, "What did Kanye say, 'Me too?' " The jabs didn't stop there.

50 backed off West several times throughout the interview, only to run right back over him.

"I have nothing against them, but he's cool with [gay people]," 50 said, taking a stab at an explanation. "He goes and drops his videos off with them. Remember 808s & Heartbreak? Remember where he premiered [the 'Lock Lockdown' video], he went to Ellen DeGeneres. I'm just saying he's conscious of the gay community."

He called West the yin to his yang before moving on to 'Ye's big homie, Jay-Z.

In an interview after West interrupted Taylor Swift's acceptance speech at the VMAs last month, 50 said the Chicago MC knew better than to try anything similar with him. Jay-Z responded during a promotional run overseas, saying, "No one is scared of 50 Cent."

The Queens rapper said Jay-Z's comments were misinterpreted by the public, but he still took a dig at the Brooklyn artist in the confusing comments that followed.

"[Jay-Z] should have addressed the guy who was making him feel like a punk," 50 explained. "But he had to make it clear that no one is scared of 50 Cent, 'cause that person [conducting the interview] was probably making him feel like he's afraid, or maybe Kanye West is. It wasn't 50 Cent.

"And the public misinterprets it," 50 continued. "You know how rock and roll has punk rock. Hip-hop has cool punk. Jay is the coolest punk in hip-hop. His presentation makes people decide to say ... 'Cause he's big and his take on it is bigger that the actual art form. He won't actually compete. So there's points where the artist will do things just to create a competition. Battling has always been a part of the culture, but he won't do it to not look like, in the words of Slick Rick, these peasants."

Fif also spoke about his ranking in MTV News' Hottest MCs in the Game, his belief that Eminem was not aware that his verse for "Forever" was going to be featured alongside Drake, Kanye West and Lil Wayne (despite evidence to the contrary), and what's next in his career.

"It feels like I've done a lot more, but I haven't peaked with just three albums," he said. "It feels like a lot more 'cause there's like six albums of material in the mixtapes. It makes people feel like I've been around a very long time.

"I only created a five-year plan," he added, laughing when asked how long he plans to stick around. "I gotta see how well that is executed and how well that goes before I can go further than that."

• 50 Cent
• G-Unit

Tony YaYo
Photo: MTV News

The O.D.: A Mixtape Daily Exclusive

You can never say never, but the chances of the Beatles of hip-hop getting back together are looking very slim. Last month, Game apologized for the friction he stirred while being a member of the G-Unit, and just recently Young Buck went the same route. But could 50 Cent, Lloyd Banks and Tony Yayo ever find it in their hearts to embrace their lyrically potent onetime crew members?

"Shout to Young Buck," Yayo said standing in the G-Unit offices earlier this week. "I wish you was with us, getting some money, living the life."

Has Yayo's stance actually softened towards Buck after all this time? His response to the Cashville rapper's recent words on cyberspace was, "When I see it, I feel a little sorry for him, because he could be taking the same advantages I'm taking.

"ThisIs50.com is the biggest hip-hop network out there — as well as the Web sites that come after it," Yayo continued. "He could be taking advantage of it, but you don't hear his mixtapes; you don't see nothing from nowhere. I just wish that the guy thought better or was a better businessman, instead of just being a good rapper. You being disgruntled towards 50, now what do you have? You could have been with us in Peru. We went to Switzerland, Istanbul, we went everywhere, man. I'm too real for the industry. Even if I was disgruntled about anything, I wouldn't care, because I'm still getting money. Still got houses, still got cars, sprinklers still come out the ground. I think people get jealous of 50, of how big he is. You wake up, Mayor Bloomberg is talking about 50. Then in the New York Post, he had two pages. Then he was on Fox 5 [New York] news because we're doing an event for the kids and grown-ups — August 30, come nice, in good behavior.

"But the thing is, a lot of artists don't hit that plateau where they're on CNN, on Fox 5," Yayo said. "But what happens, when we're around 50 and dudes is in the circles, dudes start to get mad jealous. They want 50's money. That's what happened with Game and Buck, there was no way they were supposed to mess up the money. That's what they did, they started messing up the money."

Yayo said the Unit could never take Game seriously because "Game is bipolar." As for Buck, whom they knew a lot longer and were closer friends with, it doesn't look like Yayo will be slapping him five anytime soon.

"Buck, I think he's at a point where financially, I don't think he got it, homie," Tony explained. "What are you doing? I don't see him anywhere. Even when you don't see me, Yayo's in Peru getting a nice check with 50. You can call it whatever you wanna call it; I'm still buying cars, Louis glasses, Porches. If Buck was around, he would still have these outlets available to him. Why apologize now?"

Streets Is Talking

Gucci Mane has a handful of major songs in rotation, such as "Break-Up," "LOL Smiley Face" and the "Obsessed" remix. He's on fire, no doubt. Gucci's album however, has been pushed back from September to December. Still, he will have something for the fans next month. The Atlanta concrete king will be dropping Wasted: The Prequel, an EP packed with his biggest mixtape records of the last year. His latest mixtape, The Movie 2, is a special-edition Gangsta Grillz with DJ Drama.

• Mixtape Daily: Tony Yayo, Cam'ron, Lil Scrappy, Rakim

• Young Buck
• G-Unit
• Tony Yayo

Tony Yayo
Photo: MTV News

According to Tony Yayo, one of the rules 50 Cent lives by is once you kick sand at him in the sandbox, it's a wrap. It doesn't look like 50 or anyone in G-Unit are interested in reconciling with Game. Recently, the Compton native — and onetime member of the Unit — apologized for being involved in friction with the collective. However, Yayo told us he's not buying it.

"Now he's thinking about his mistakes," Yayo told MTV News. "He said in that interview he might feel a different way the next day. Game is bipolar. One day he's this way, the next day he's the next. When you got a group like G-Unit ... we sold millions of records, we got a lot of egos. From Buck and Game, I think they just gotta learn how to control them egos. In their eyes, to me, they got jealous of 50. They'll say, 'Yayo is up under 50's a--.' Or 'He's 50's yes-man.' It's not that — I don't have any hate in my heart towards anybody. I don't have hate in my heart towards Game or Buck. But when we built a brand, G-Unit was selling millions of records like he said — yeah, we was the Beatles.

"Let me tell you like this," Yayo added. "Let me keep it real. You're either gonna be down with 50 and be below him a little bit ... but you're still travelling the world. I just came back from Ireland, Switzerland and Turkey. So I don't care what nobody says. ... Or you could go against him and get more publicity. Buck and Game, when they went against 50, they got way more publicity. Way more people wanna interview them and know what the beef's with 50. So they gain more interest than me.

"If I was to flip on 50 today, it would get me more media than me being down with him," he continued. "But I'm not a snake. So Game started the 'G-Unot' thing, tried to hurt the brand. C'mon, people respect the movement. They respect when they see guys from the 'hood who came from the 'hood — started out with nothing, now got something, not knock each other when we get to the point where we all got money, houses, cars, kids, bills."

• Tony Yayo
• G-Unit
• 50 Cent

50 Cent
Photo: G-Unit

50 Cent has a mission: to make sure hard-core rap music thrives. Fif is about to hit us with his War Angel LP. The G-Unit dropped the first record, "Redrum (Murder)" — real soulful, real hard. According to Fif, this is going to be the mixtape ... er, street album of his career. The project is available for free download via 50's Web site. As always, keep checking for us at Mixtape.MTV.com.

Don't Sleep: Necessary Notables

Street Album: War Angel LP

Headliner: 50 Cent

Essential Info: Polow Da Don and Timbaland were so excited about the project, they almost gave Fif tracks. But production from those two will more than likely pop up on Before I Self Destruct, due in September. The G-Unit General is warming the scene up before summer officially hits, dropping his new mixtape before the official product.

If you're curious about the title, know that it's not about a beef with one person in particular — this war angel is fed up with the watered-down music in hip-hop right now. It's not what he adored growing up as a fan.

"What I fell in love with initially ain't even in the mutha----in' art form anymore. It's cool because there's an opportunity for me to become [that] to a whole new generation ... because of their age group, they're not aware of it.

"Now I gotta shift the energy," 50 added. "I gotta make them follow me. After they follow me, they'll be able to make real hip-hop records and make them successful. I have to have a successful project with really good hip-hop music to make these people go, 'OK, we can make [a real hip-hop album].' I have to be successful to make the record companies go, 'We can support this guy that wrote a rap album' instead of feeling like 'We need him to go on this record with Ne-Yo or Dream. Get somebody on there to do the hook.' That's the concept of what they feel they can present to the public and that's not what the f--- I was going on when I started."

	MIXTAPE DAILY Who's next and who dominates — right here, all week long!.
	»Monday: The LOX Present D-Block
	»Tuesday: Other Notables: 50 Cent and Young Buck
	»Wednesday: Celeb Faves: Soulja Boy, Drake

50 is debuting the entire mixtape Tuesday (June 16) on Hot 97 with Funkmaster Flex then posting it on his Web site that night for free download. The Queens MC is also hiring new video directors — a different one for each clip — to come up with visuals for the mixtape.

"When I start writing music to my core, I'm talking about the way I came up, the way I was raised," he explained. "That's easy to me. Tell me to make a commercial pop record, a commercial hit record and that's more difficult to me than to create concepts that people are excited about where I'm from."

After War Angel, 50 says to look for Sincerely Southside, on which he'll be rapping over some '90s R&B hits, as well as a full G-Unit mixtape prior to the release of Before I Self Destruct.

"I write at a rapid pace," he said. "I have binges. There's points I'll be in the studio ... I've met moments when I'm there and unmotivated by production. Just there and unexcited about the whole sh--. Then there's times when every beat that comes on, I have an idea."

Mixtape: Back on My Buck Sh--

Headliner: Young Buck

Co-Starring: DJs Scream and Smallz

Key Collaborations: "Ups and Downs" (featuring Lil Wayne), "What They Talking About" (featuring Plies), "Bag it Up" (featuring All Star and Yo Gotti)

Essential Info: We hit you with a nice tease last week but, as promised, here is the full piece on Young Buck's Back on My Buck Sh--.

"Lyrically, I think I've grown. This mixtape right here, as you listen to it you're gonna always get the energy from Young Buck, but the content I'm speaking on is reality-based. Records about the reality of my life is pretty much my strong point in music — as well as the party music and the trap music, you're gonna always get that from me. That's what formed Young Buck. But I like to venture in different lanes and reinvent myself as an artist every time around."

Buck says a record that hits home for him is "A Lot to Learn."

"I think I learned something right now — 90 percent business and 10 percent talent," Buck said. "If you ain't got the streets, you ain't got nothing.

"My survival comes with how hard I hustle, so my hustle never stops," he added. "I've been making sure my business is totally correct so I could get everything I deserve. Everything I go out and learn. No disrespect to none of the labels out there, but I feel if they're able to take from someone, they're gonna do it. Right now I'm focused on the business. That's why I'm able to create Cashville Records and have legendary artists like C-Bo and the Outlawz."

Other Heat This Week

» Kurupt and DJ Quik - BlaQKout » OJ Da Juiceman - Boomin & Bunkin » J. Cole - The Warm Up » Wale - Back to the Feature » Raheem DeVaughn - Art Of Noise » DJ Blazita - Natural Born Killaz » DJ Blazita & Superstar Jay - Who Watches New York? » Mistah FAB - The Realest Sh-- I Never Wrote Pt 2 » "Hood Affairs TV Vol 7" (DVD)

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

• Mixtape Daily Video: Drake, Kanye West, 50 Cent, D-Block & More

• 50 Cent
• Young Buck
• G-Unit

Lloyd Banks
Photo: MTV News

G-Unit's Lloyd Banks has been at odds with Rick Ross since the Miami MC And now that Ross has been hinting at battling Eminem, Banks says that Ross has gone too far.

"As far as calling out Eminem, c'mon man. That's just gonna make me spank on you even harder," Banks said Thursday (April 30), before revealing that he has another diss record coming for Ross, who he slammed with his recent "Officer Down" track.

"I got 'Officer Down, Part II' coming. He'll have to deal with that," Banks added.

To backtrack, on Thursday Rick Ross released a video from St. Maarten, where he is vacationing after his Deeper Than Rap LP debuted at #1 on the Billboard albums chart this week. He then turned his attention to the G-Unit/ Shady camp, who recently put out a video by Banks and DJ Whoo Kid promoting their new 4-30-09: Happy Birthday, Vol. 4 mixtape. In it, Whoo Kid admonished Ross for calling the Unit "monkeys."

"You know now they saying 'monkey' could be [a] black-on-black racial [situation]," Ross says to his friend Gunplay in the video.

"Cut it out, that's racial. You can't call other black people monkeys," Whoo Kid said.

In Thursday's video, Ross took the slur to Eminem.

"The only way I could fix that — Eminem you're a monkey," Ross said in his video. "He's really a honky [pronounced to rhyme with 'monkey'], but that's racial. You n---as monkeys. The world knows you're monkeys."

Banks didn't take kindly to the Em insults.

"As far as calling out Eminem, you're not in the top 10 lyricists nowhere," Banks said. "So just sit down, man. We seen what Em can do. Em's in a whole 'nother lane. How do you go from praising somebody in one interview to calling him a 'monkey' in the next? He's been in out of pocket too many times. We'll see where his future goes. It doesn't look too bright, if you ask me."

Banks also said that Ross has nothing to be proud of as far as Deeper Than Rap's first-week sales go.

"First of all, his first week [sales] was 150 thousand and change," Banks said. "That was with two or three months of promotion, beefing with the most popular rapper there is right now outside of Eminem. There is no bigger promotion than that.

"He reminds me of 12 or 13 year old," Banks added. "You know he's always lying. He said he spoke to [G-Unit employee] Nelson [allegedly about offering Ross money to end the beef], and it already was put out there you didn't speak to him. Then you say, 'I took the [prison-guard] position because my boss asked' him to. They didn't need you to go to the penitentiary to make a buck. C'mon."

Despite his response to Ross, Banks was actually in a great mood: It's his 27th birthday, he just released the Happy Birthday mixtape, and "Officer Down" has been a stronger seller on iTunes.

"If [Ross] responds, it benefits me," Banks said. "It goes straight to iTunes. I found a way to make money off a beef."

• G-Unit
• Eminem
• 50 Cent
• Lloyd Banks

50 Cent
Photo: MTV News

NEW YORK — This week, 50 Cent's big game is a gun-filled adventure in the desert. Next time? It could be a special G-Unit version of "Tetris."

The hip-hop icon talked to MTV News in the G-Unit offices near Madison Square Garden about "50 Cent: Blood on the Sand," out today on Xbox 360 and PS3.

You may think of 50 Cent first as a rapper, but the man's life is now filled with video games, including titles of his own. First there was "50 Cent Bulletproof," then a PSP spin-off and now "Blood on the Sand." The latest takes 50 to a Middle Eastern-looking city to chase down a crystal skull that's been stolen from him and his crew. The new game has 18 unreleased 50 tracks, plus hits from several G-Unit and 50 albums and a score from Swizz Beatz.

"The game is an intense experience," 50 said. It was developed by the British studio Swordfish, but it's 50 who came up with the skull bit. "The crystal skull actually exists," he said. "It's a diamond, an artifact. I saw it in a magazine in Dubai. I took it and said, 'Make this what they're after.' "

Video games are everywhere for 50. He's got video games on the tour bus, an Xbox 360 in the front and a PS3 in the back. He doesn't play them as much as the rest of the G-Unit. They're giving the PS3 more time than the 360 lately because they just got it. They're playing lots of sports games.

He's got the games he battles Eminem in. "We have different versions of Pac-Man, Ms. Pac-Man and regular Pac-Man in Detroit, in the studio where me and Em record at," 50 said. "We sit there and we pride ourselves on who actually has the higher score on those games."

Eminem has the advantage on 50 right now. "He cheats because he's developed the patterns and sh-- ... After a while you get enough time playing it and you develop these strategies and patterns in the actual game and it's kind of like cheating. I don't get as much time to play in the arcade game."

50's got a lot of video games he wants to make after "Blood on the Sand." You might be surprised at what he's thinking about: "I'd like to be a part of developing, marketing and promoting a game I'm not actually in," he said. "It could be like Tetris. It's one of my favorite games."

He's even got games in his beefs. His video for "I'll Be the Shooter" amps up his beef with Rick Ross thanks in part to the inclusion of virtual firefights from "Blood on the Sand." Gaming as part of rap-battling? It broadens the means of expression, he said.

"So it's not misinterpreted that hip-hop is a negative art-form, I'll take it to somewhere where they can see a sense of humor and where it's productive at the same time."

However, that doesn't mean that 50's going to keep tying his games into his beefs. "I'm not sure, and if I tell you now, they'll be waiting for it. My whole thing is being unpredictable when it comes to each altercation or situation."

And let's not leave this out: He's got the video game he wants to turn into a movie. "I am actually optioning the rights to 'Saints Row' to do a movie about that game," 50 said, referring to the "Grand Theft Auto"-like series from "Blood on the Sand" publisher THQ.

Oh, and 50's got a Wii — we'll have more on that tomorrow on our MTV Multiplayer blog. But today, the game 50 most cares about is "50 Cent: Blood on the Sand," out on the Xbox 360 and PS3, rated M and the latest release in one of hip-hop's most powerful brands.

For more on "Blood on the Sand" and other video games, check out our gaming blog, Multiplayer.

• "50 Cent: Blood On The Sand" Screen Shots

• 50 Cent
• G-Unit
• Eminem
• Swizz Beatz

50 Cent performs at Solid Fest in Venezuela on January 31, 2009
Photo: MTV News

50 Cent is a very busy man. He's been working with Dr. Dre and Eminem on his forthcoming album, Before I Self Destruct, as well as their next projects. He'll be playing the Bamboozle Left festival alongside Fall Out Boy and Cobra Starship. He's even found time to get into a war of words with Rick Ross.

But as he promised Ross in one of those messages, 50 also found time to travel to Caracas, Venezuela, for a surprise performance with Wisin y Yandel on Saturday. He helped the reggaetón giants close out Solid Fest at the Hipódromo la Rinconada. Daddy Yankee and Enrique Iglesias also played the two-day festival.

"The excitement about being in Venezuela is tremendous, to see the music break the language barrier — and the opportunity to do that in an area where actually they're the bigger artist," 50 told MTV News.

50 emerged from the stadium wings, along with G-Unit members Tony Yayo and Lloyd Banks, to surprise the crowd of 40,000 screaming fans during Wisin y Yandel's set. They performed the official remix of G-Unit's "Rider Pt. 2" called "Asi Soy."

This was not the first time 50 had joined Wisin y Yandel onstage: He teamed up with them last summer at Madison Square Garden for their sold-out show during Puerto Rican Day Parade weekend. They also have plans to work on a track for Wisin y Yandel's next record.

"We're working with 50 Cent on a song called 'Mujeres en el Club,' " one of the group's members said. "It would be a dream come true. Not just for us, but for reggaetón it would be huge."

The group will be featured on "Unscripted: Wisin y Yandel" February 21 at 2 p.m. on MTV Tr3s.

• 50 Cent
• G-Unit

50 Cent
Photo: Getty Images

50 Cent obviously isn't waiting for Lil Wayne to explain. But the G-Unit's commander-in-chief is keeping an ear out for a response from the New Orleans native. 50 disses Wayne, Oprah Winfrey and apparently Kanye West in a new record called "Play This on the Radio."

"First they said that f----t's hot, then they let that junkie shine," 50 raps to lead off the record. "Gave him all the f---in' trophies, tell me, where the f--- is mine?"

As the song closes out, 50 threatens Wayne.

"I'm on your heels, Mr. Carter. I heard you. You want me to 'die ugly?' OK. Don't end up on the list, n---a. Be a missing person like Cam'ron, like Ja [Rule], like [Fat] Joe. Who wants some?"

50 called into DJ Whoo Kid's satellite radio show on Saturday and alluded that the first part of his rap was aimed at Kanye West, and confirmed that the second part was aimed at Lil Wayne. Fif explained his latest barbs at Weezy were in response to a record called "Louisianimal" that landed on mixtapes in November. (The song debuted on a mixtape by the Empire, whom Wayne has repeatedly admonished in public for bootlegging his dated material.)

On the record, Lil Wayne threw a light but obvious jab at 50, saying, "All about a dollar, f--- two quarters/ B---h, I'll pour syrup in that vitamin water/ I hope you die ugly, and tonight will be gorgeous."

"When he said it, I don't know if it was old or new material," 50 explained to Whoo Kid. "But because he didn't say anything [to clarify the timing of the song], I take it that he meant for it to be out there right now. When that hit the street and you don't hear him say, 'That was old' ... Em don't got time for you, period. I will mop the streets with your a--."

50 started shooting disses at Wayne a while back, in the wake of Weezy being named MTV News' Hottest MC in the Game in 2007. 50 also said he had provocation to dis Wayne before because Weezy was working with a slew of his rivals — including Ja Rule, Fat Joe and the Game — but didn't actually have real hatred toward Wayne. Tensions between the two seemed to substantially subside over the past year and change. There were even negotiations between Wayne and the G-Unit to tour together. However, the pleasantries seemed to go out the window once "Louisianimal" appeared.

50 told Whoo Kid that a response to "Play This on the Radio" would be a foolhardy effort on Weezy's behalf.

"If he says something back, I'm gonna drop the bomb on his a--," 50 warned. "It's gonna be hard for me to get off him.

"He's a talented artist," Fif continued, "but if you put him in a space when we're in direct competition, my consistency will break his neck."

Also during the interview, 50 talked about the shot he takes at Oprah Winfrey in "Play This on the Radio" ("I don't wanna chit-chat on your sofa/ I ain't Jay-Z, f--- you Oprah"), accusing Winfrey yet again of being "prejudiced" against hip-hop.

50 Cent's next LP, Before I Self Destruct, is slated for an early February release.

• Kanye West
• Lil Wayne
• 50 Cent
• G-Unit

50 Cent
Photo: Getty Images

They all came through. Lil' Wayne, 50 Cent, Nas, Rick Ross, DJ Khaled, Ace Hood, Young Jeezy, the Clipse, Ludacris, LL Cool J, DJ Drama, Joe Budden, Fat Joe, Tha Dogg Pound, Snoop Dogg, Charles Hamilton, B.O.B., T.I., Fabolous, Soulja Boy and even Katt Williams. The best of the best appeared on Mixtape Monday and we have to thank all the artists and all of you who have watched and logged on every week to support us.

This was our biggest and best year ever and, in 2009, we promise to only make it even better. Look for some big enhancements and a continuation of the big names. But before we get too far ahead of ourselves, let's take few minutes to reflect on the dopest segments from your favorite day of the week.

You didn't think we would let 2008 close without us sending major big ups (once again) to the artists who keep this underground circuit we love thriving? OK, no more time to waste, here are our annual Mixtape Monday Awards — and head over to the Newsroom blog to see what more we have to say about our picks! Trumpets, please!

Mixtape Act of the Year
Shaheem Reid's Pick: G-Unit
Rahman Dukes' Pick: G-Unit

Mixtape DJ of the Year
Shaheem Reid: Drama
Rahman Dukes: Green Lantern

Radio and/or Satellite DJ of the Year
Shaheem Reid: Green Lantern
Rahman Dukes: Whoo Kid

Lyricist of the Year
Shaheem Reid: Nas
Rahman Dukes: Nas

Most Slept-on Album of the Year
Shaheem Reid: The Game, L.A.X.
Rahman Dukes: Mobb Deep, H.N.I.C. 2

Album of the Year
Shaheem Reid: Lil Wayne, Tha Carter III
Rahman Dukes: T.I., Paper Trail

Concert of the Year
Shaheem Reid: Kanye West's Glow in the Dark Tour (Close second props to the Rock the Bells Jones Beach stop)
Rahman Dukes: Atlanta's Birthday Bash

Producer of the Year
Shaheem Reid: Kanye West
Rahman Dukes: Kanye West

Topic of the Year
Shaheem Reid: The Auto-Tune takeover
Rahman Dukes: Did Jay-Z and Beyoncé get married?

Breakthrough DJ of the Year
Shaheem Reid: Infamous
Rahman Dukes: DJ Scream

Breakthrough MC of the Year
Shaheem Reid: Shawty Lo
Rahman Dukes: Shawty Lo

Live Performer of the Year
Shaheem Reid: Kanye West (Gotta give a shout to my runner up T.I. His shows had so much energy.)
Rahman Dukes: Lil Wayne

Internet Superstar
Shaheem Reid: Charles Hamilton
Rahman Dukes: Consequence

Breakthrough Of The Year (Producer)
Shaheem Reid: Drumma Boy
Rahman Dukes: Don Cannon

Craziest Collaboration
Shaheem Reid: Jay-Z, T.I., Lil Wayne and Kanye West on "Swagger Like Us"
Rahman Dukes: Young Jeezy and Nas on "My President"

Check for in '09
Shaheem Reid: Obviously, that three-headed monster from the land of Interscope is going to be extremely successful when and if 50 Cent, Eminem and Dr. Dre put out albums. But I'm thinking Jay-Z's Blueprint 3 will be the album the year. Hov's rhymes and a lot of Kanye's beats? That's guaranteed timeless music. On a more underground level, I'm hoping Joe Budden and the Clipse get more shine. They have been some of the doper MCs in the game for the past few years. I thoroughly enjoyed all of Fabolous' guest appearances, so I have faith in the upcoming Loso's Way.

Rahman Dukes: I'm still waiting on that classic album from my boy Saigon's The Greatest Story Never Told. "Believe It" is still an amazing record, and that's just a taste of what to expect from the album. Of course, keeping it Queens, I can't wait to see what 50 Cent does. Fif is by far the realest cat doing it in the game. Jay-Z has been on a streak lately with all of the Kanye West-produced tracks, so his album will probably be the best of '09. Can't forget about the Clipse, and hopefully we'll finally get that Cuban Linx II. Lets go, Rae!

Of course, not everyone can win an award, so here's the best of the rest:

Standout Street CDs and Independent Albums of '08

50 Cent's Sincerely Yours, Southside
G-Unit's Return of the Body Snatchers and Elephant in the Sand
Lil Wayne and DJ Drama's Dedication 3
The Clipse's Road to Till the Casket Drops
DJ Khaled's We Global
Prodigy's H.N.I.C. 2
J. Period's March 9th Mixtape and Best of Mary J. Blige (Three CD Edition)
Notorious B.I.G. and Big L's Live From Amsterdam
Nipsey Hussle's Bullets Ain't Got No Name, Vol. I and II
Crooked I's Block Obama I and II

We are the best in the business, baby. See you in '09!

• Mixtape Monday: 2008's 'Hood Awards'

• 50 Cent
• G-Unit
• T.I.
• Nas
• Kanye West

50 Cent's 40 Day Community Celebration In Queens, New York

• 50 Cent
• Tony Yayo
• Lloyd Banks
• G-Unit

On The Set Of G-Unit's 'Like The Way She Do It' Video

• G-Unit
• 50 Cent
• Lloyd Banks
• Tony Yayo

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

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

Paris, Diddy, 50 Cent, LL Cool J Arrive On The Scene, Posse In Tow

• Paris Hilton
• G-Unit
• LL Cool J
• 50 Cent
• Lil Wayne

50 Cent Performs In London, 10.16.2005

• 50 Cent
• Lloyd Banks
• Young Buck
• G-Unit

2004 VMA Kickoff Jam In Miami, 8.22.2004

• Carl Thomas
• Mario Winans
• Ludacris
• Chingy
• G-Unit

Usher, Beyonce, Kanye West, Brandy And More At The 2004 BET Awards

• Beyoncé
• Brandy
• Chingy
• G-Unit
• Jermaine Dupri

50 Cent, R. Kelly, Fat Joe, Kanye West, Others At Summer Jam 2004

• 50 Cent
• G-Unit
• Lloyd Banks
• OutKast
• R. Kelly

Spankin' New Fall 2003

• Britney Spears
• blink-182
• G-Unit
• Enrique Iglesias
• P.O.D.

46th Annual Grammy Awards Green Carpet

• Beyoncé
• Christina Aguilera
• 50 Cent
• G-Unit
• Justin Timberlake