Mike Beck
Photo: Heavy Bank

Next week, a number of New York rappers will hold a benefit concert in the aftermath of the death of up-and-coming rapper Mike Beck, who was gunned down on October 30 in Brooklyn, New York. Former Diplomats member Hell Rell, Grafh, Littles, Saigon, Maino, Papoose and Webstar are just a few of the people who plan to come out and support their fallen soldier, with proceeds going to Beck's young son.

"Mike Beck was a good friend of mine outside of music," Maino said. "It's sad because it's hard making the transition from the streets to the music industry, so this could have been me five years ago when I didn't have a deal. When I was coming up I fought the same demons trying to convert from one lifestyle, which was my street upbringing, to the next, that being entertainment ... living right and steering clear of the streets, roadblocks and downfalls."

The show, which takes place Monday at the Imperial nightclub in New York City, will be hosted by radio DJ Kay Slay and Fuse TV personality Dee Vasquez. Prior to the lineup of artists slated to perform in Beck's honor, a number of speakers are expected to address the ongoing violence that continues to plague the community.

"I felt doing this show was the least I could do for a friend," said Maino who alongside club promoter Littles organized the event, told MTV News in a statement. "I'm raising money to send his 10-year-old son to college. What's the point in me making it out of the same web he was fatally trapped in if I can't give back? This is what real people are supposed to do: give back.

"I met Mike Beck for the first time when he performed at the 2006 [Urban] DVD Awards, an event I put together," said Maino. "Mike reached out to me on many other occasions through many good friends, but timing didn't allow us to build the friendship I know he built with some of my closest friends. Once I heard the news, me, Maino and a friend of ours agreed it was a must. We had to do something for his son."

Rapper Saigon echoed the same sentiments: "I'm just doing whatever I can to support a fallen comrade. He was a good brother. Anything to help support his family, I'm all for it. R.I.P. to the homie."

Beck was a member of the Fat Joe-associated K.A.R. (Kill All Rats) group and an aspiring rapper who was well known in New York's underground circuit. News of his death sent shockwaves throughout the industry.

"Rest in peace. He was a real dude, Mike Beck," rapper Noreaga said via Twitter. "I did records for him n he ate in my crib, n drank too. F---ed up my weekend. R.I.P. Rest in peace Mike Beck, our running challenge is now dedicated to his memory."

Fat Joe also remembered his friend on Twitter, simply writing, "R.I.P. Mike Beck!!!!!"

After a five-year stint in upstate New York's Coxsackie Correctional Facility, where he met Maino, Beck pursued a career in hip-hop on the advice of then-manager Bill Blass, who died shortly after Beck's release. The young rapper aligned himself with K.A.R., most notably rapper Pistol Pete, who, along with Fat Joe, released the independent street album K.A.R., which featured appearances by Jadakiss, DJ Khaled, Sheek Louch and more.

This summer MTV caught up with Beck, who came out to support Maino on the set of his video for "A Million Bucks," where the Brooklynite expounded on his sound.

"We doing music. At the end of the day, people gotta recognize what we doing and respect what we doing. 'Cause we doing music," he said. "We ain't just doing the battle stuff. We doing respectable stuff. Music, it brings emotion. It brings feeling. So they gotta respect what we doing."

• Maino
• N.O.R.E.
• Fat Joe

Polow Da Don
Photo: MTV News

Behind The Beats: Polow Da Don

Two down, nine more to go. Polow Da Don is about to start an incredible run. Look for the producer to start flooding the airwaves. He already has 50 Cent's "Baby by Me" and the Gucci Mane/ Usher deluxe combo "Spotlight" hitting. Now, PDD reveals that he has a wide array of hitmakers who are unleashing their collaborative tunes.

"Man, I got nine singles coming out in the next month," Polow told us earlier this week in New Jersey. "50, Gucci [Mane] and Usher, Robin Thicke, Game, Young Jeezy, Chris Brown, Weezer featuring Lil Wayne, Juelz Santana featuring Chris Brown. ... Oh, by the way, I got an Akon single coming out and a Monica single coming out. So that's 11."

Well, we only count 10, so we'll have to catch up with Polow to find out what we're missing. 'Low said he and Usher are going to be rampaging through the A celebrating "Spotlight," as well as being ambassadors for music unity.

"Usher's in that same vibe he was in when he was 23, 24 years old, with more knowledge," Polow said of the singing superstar. "We're out kicking it, having fun. We're doing something this weekend. Me, him and Gucci gonna hit all the clubs, probably spend like 15,000 in each club making it rain. We gonna break the ['Spotlight'] record. Bringing that energy back to the game, where you just see stars messing with other stars, making it exciting for the people. That's really where he's at. He's like, 'C'mon, Polow.' He'll hit me up like, 'What are you doing? Let's go out and kick it.'

"Just really trying to get that energy back in the game, because people don't really mess with each other no more," Polow continued. "Everybody looks at each other as competition when the game overall is losing. So he'll call Chris Brown, ask him how he's doing. He'll stay in touch with Gucci after they do the record. Or call me or Nelly or whoever. We're trying to bring this thing back together as far as the vibe."

Next Wave Of Flav

Polow already told you about all those potential hits he's dropping. He's especially excited about his song with Game.

"The Game record is a hip-hop classic," Polow promised. "It's called 'Would I Be Wrong?' featuring Akon. It's talking about coming from the 'hood. [The song's perspective is] I work all my life trying to get out the 'hood, then when I get to a point where I could get out of the 'hood, the 'hood keeps calling me number one. Then the 'hood is hating on me for trying to get out of the 'hood. So what am I supposed to be doing at this point? Did I risk my life every day to stay in the 'hood, or am I supposed to make a better life for my family? That's kinda what the song is about.

"His verse is crazy," the producer added about Game. "It's going through the whole 50 Cent beef, when he first went to the studio with [Dr.] Dre, he's a painting a picture with his verses. With his new album, he's already considered one of the best rappers, and he's rapping like he's angry [that] people don't consider him one of the best rappers. He's spitting. He's painting the pictures every song."

Streets Is Talking: News And Notes From The Underground

Shawty Lo told us earlier this month that he and Gucci Mane were putting a mixtape together called Fright Night. "I'm Jason, he's Michael Myers," Lo said at the time.

Plans have changed, however. "He's gonna be on a couple of records," Shawty said via cell from Atlanta. "We was gonna do this one together, but we're gonna do one in December."

This mixtape is stilled called Fright Night and has all original production.

"I got a couple nice records," he said. "I got one called 'Birds.' It's talking about the work. It's real crazy. I got one called 'What Comes and Goes.' I got one called 'What the Baby Gonna Do?' Dudes out here crying so much. All that crying, 'What the baby gonna do?' I got one for the clubs, for the ladies. It's something different I ain't never did before. I did it with my man Nate. It's a whole different rap style. It sounds nice."

Lo's LP I Am Carlos drops sometime in the first quarter of 2010. ...

Earlier this week, Glasses Malone got the Halloween frenzy started with his mixtape Nightmare on Seven Street. But the actual holiday is looking like the mixtape game's Super Saturday. In addition to Shawty Lo's Fright Night, Soulja Boy Tell'em is dropping three tapes: Cortez (that tape has leaked already), Dat Piff and the spooky Paranormal Activity. The big gun is going to be one people are already talking about: Lil' Wayne's No Ceilings. Some tracks have leaked, but Wayne has everything covered. He has more songs in the can and the complete, proper version lands Halloween. Check back here later Friday (October 30) for a full preview of the tape.

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

• Mixtape Daily: Polow Da Don, Jay-Z, Young Jeezy, More

• Polow Da Don
• Shawty Lo
• Maino

Maxwell
Photo: Brad Barket/ Getty Images

Celebrity Favorites

Maxwell, you made us wait a little too long for your set during the Essence Music Festival last week, but it's all good. We're definitely eager to hear that BLACKsummers'night LP. Max was in his hometown of NYC on Monday night, hanging out with Fabolous and Nas and celebrating the release of his new record. Another Big Apple giant who loved Max's music was none other than the Notorious B.I.G.

"He was Brooklyn, a smooth-ass dude, B.I.G. definitely f---ed with him," Lil' Cease told us about Biggie's love for Max. "His music was dope, and me and Big supported it."

Man. Can you imagine a Biggie/Maxwell collaboration? We asked the singer what it would have sounded like.

"Wow. Wow. It's hard, because I'm from Brooklyn and [Biggie's] from Brooklyn," Maxwell said. "When Ready to Die was out, his first album was out. He's just the god of it all. I don't know what [our collaboration] would have sounded like. It distresses me more than I could know what it could sound like."

Maxwell also said him and Big could have taken it to the club or got smoothed out.

"It could be both, man," he said. "We're both Geminis, so I guess we would probably have more than one record, maybe. It's all about multiplicity for us. But he's sorely missed, though. I think people made it too real. Now people have a better understanding of what the lines are. The lines aren't too blurred in between the guy onstage and the person who's on the street. It's just sad he's not around for us to have known what those records would have sounded like."

When it comes to who Maxwell listens to now, he says he's a fan of MGMT and Radiohead.

The Streets Is Talking: News & Notes From The Underground

We're going to keep things in BK. Maino, you did it. You put that album out, homie. Surprisingly, Main is the first new artist from New York to release an album on a major label in quite some time. Let's hope this continues. We recently went out to the set of his video for "A Million Bucks" featuring Swizz Beatz. The Bed-Stuy moneymaker told us he's down with Swizz Beatz outside of music as well as on track.

"Swizz is my friend," Main said. "First and foremost. It ain't even just about music with him. He extended his hand on numerous things. This is not the first time we been in the lab together; this is just probably the best. It's a great time for me. I gave them 'Hi Hater,' the 'Hi Hater' remix, then we came back with 'All of the Above.' Now we just gonna continue to make powerful music. It's been a long time since they seen a new, New York artist get this far."

The scene we caught Maino filming was a part in the video where he pulled a heist on an off-track-betting type of establishment and took some of that money they made from horse races. He and his crew took the money back to the 'hood and had some fun giving it away.

"The concept, you see Maino with 'A Million Bucks featuring Swizz Beatz.' From the outside, it may look like it's just a song about getting money or having fun," he said. "[The video] is kinda like the opposite of it. When I heard the song, [Swizz] had the hook already on there. It was like, 'I might give away a million bucks.' I was like, 'Swizz, I ain't got a million bucks.' He was like, 'I do!' I thought of a way to put me in a situation without saying, 'I actually got a million dollars.' I'm basically, 'I wanna give back to the 'hood. It's hot in the 'hood. You got feds in the 'hood. I'mma come back to the 'hood and give back to the 'hood. I'mma come bring some sunshine.' "

Main said other than Swizz, the only cameos he was concerned about in his video were those from the locals.

"I don't do it for them," Maino said about the people from the neighborhood. "I do it for these people. They here every day. They live here. It's more important for them to be in the video than it is for the so-called celebrities to be in the video."

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

• Mixtape Daily Video: Zaytoven, Rick Ross, Fabolous And More

• Maxwell
• Notorious B.I.G.
• Maino

Fabolous
Photo: Arnold Turner/ WireImage

Fire Starter: Bound To Blow

Wale says he's "kicking in the door and he's everybody's problem." Oh yeah? We're going to see real soon. It's almost time for Wale to put all those chips up on the table. His debut, Attention: Deficit, is due this summer.

Last year, the 24-year-old was tapped as one of our MCs to Watch in 2009. Well, the year is almost halfway done, and the Wale fans need a little more. They've heard all the underground songs and seen the viral videos. Well, the first stop on his path to the top was securing a guest spot from Lady Gaga. The two recently shot a video for his club hit "Chillin'."

But Wale fans shouldn't expect more of the same from Attention: Deficit. He's taking a page from Jay-Z's Black Album and bringing different types of records instead of one cohesive feel.

"I wanna come in the way he intended to leave, the way he probably will leave, with a complete body of work," Wale said. "Obviously, the days of going platinum in the first week for a new artist is gone, but, God willing, this will be one of the albums that stand the test of time. When you talk about real issues, it never gets old.

"The album is about everything," he added. "It's about love, hate, feeling untouchable, feeling insecure, feeling that people are sleeping on you. Going on the major blog sites and seeing what they are talking about. ... It's about everything. A regular person's analysis of the world and a look into his soul. I looked into my own soul to make records."

	MIXTAPE DAILY Who's next and who dominates — right here, all week long!.
	»Mixtape Daily Main Pick: Ace Hood and Lloyd Banks
	»Other Notables: Cam'ron and Drake
	»Celeb Faves: The Game, Andre Iguodala
	»Firestarter: Wale, Fabolous

The Washington, D.C., native says speaking on what's real to him is a trait he has in common with many of his '09 classmates. "We're bringing it back to our reality, our world, and it's honest," he said. "Somebody like Asher [Roth], talking about what it's like to be playing beer pong at a college. I talk about what it's like to work a 9-to-5 at Sprint or to have a girlfriend who has so much baggage you can't get through to her. ... Or the insecurities of growing up dark-skinned. Whatever. It's about my honesty, my reality.

"I got a lot to say," added Wale, who's been co-signed by Jay-Z, Bun B, Kanye West and Pharrell Williams. "I've never been heard before. I got so much to say. So much to talk about. So many things I felt haven't been addressed. Interscope gave me the perfect opportunity to do that. That's what I feel I owe the people."

It just has to be dope. Wale heard the advice of his homie Jay: "With the same sword they knight you, they gonna good-night you with."

"DC, DC" will be the follow-up single to "Chillin'." Wale doesn't want to reveal the other guests on his album, but he did leave a hint: "Whoever is ready to come to D.C."

The Streets Is Talking: News & Notes From The Underground

Fabolous said that despite some fans trying to instigate quarreling between him and his homie Maino, everything is still 100. Fab dropped the line "Cuts in the face, the watch so Maino" in the "Hottest in the Hood" remix, but Loso said it's just clever wordplay, not a stab.

"I heard they was trying to make the Maino line a dis," Fab told us on the Manhattan set for his "Throw It in the Bag" video. "It was just metaphorically saying, 'The watch got cuts in the face.' What does Maino have? A cut in the face. It wasn't a come at Maino. That's my dude. I actually just seen Maino on Mother's Day. He was taking his moms out to dinner. I was just coming from taking my moms to dinner. So it was no bad blood."

Fab said that when he mentions one of his friends' names in his raps, he does get concerned whether they will take it the wrong way without talking to him first.

"Only thing I be unsure about is that sometimes people react to what other people are saying," he explained. "Rather than thinking, 'Nah, Fab is my n---a. He ain't thinking like that.' Or, 'Whoever is my man. Let me call and see what it is before I believe the people talking about it.' I didn't know how he was gonna take it. [Maino] looked like he didn't take it no way. So I'm cool."

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

• Mixtape Daily Video: Lloyd Banks, Fabolous, Ace Hood, Cam'ron, Drake & More

• Fabolous
• Maino

Maino
Photo: Ray Tamarra/ Getty Images

A lot of different emotions come across in the video footage from Maino's concert on Saturday in Long Island, New York: Pain, strength, depression ... It's Maino the man, onstage at his most human. While performing his current single "All of the Above," the Brooklyn MC gets overcome with emotion and tells the crowd of the turmoil he's facing outside of music: His best friend, "80" — whose real name he declined to reveal — was recently shot in the back by police and is paralyzed. He might never walk again.

"I just had a lot on my mind," Maino told MTV News about the onstage moment, which Miss Info posted on her site Sunday. "I had a lot of stuff I was holding in and wasn't letting out. When I got there, it was overwhelming. The part that was overwhelming was that it was so much love. I started thinking about where I've been in my life and how hard it was for me to get here — it's like a miracle. I started getting a little emotional, about not just that, but my homie, my brother, who is a very important part in my life not just in my career."

All Maino will say at this time about his friend's ordeal is that he feels the shooting was excessive and unjust.

"I can't really say too much about the situation because it's dealing with an ongoing investigation," he explained. "I've been advised that I really couldn't get into the specifics of the case, you feel me? But the fact of the matter is: The police shot him and it's definitely unjustified, but that will all come out later on."

Maino also agreed that the police relations in the black community are at a low point, looking at incidents such as tragedies with Sean Bell in New York; Oscar Grant in Oakland, California; and of course "80."

"[The police] do this all the time to people that don't have the means and power to fight them, but we do," Maino said. "A lot of these [officers] have issues of their own mentally. And are not in the best mind state to be out there working in the environment we come from. ... These are the people that have jurisdiction over our lives. It's definitely unjust and unfair. Like I said, the people it happens to, don't have the resources to combat [police shootings] like specialists and lawyers and investigators. A lot of times it goes unnoticed. Next thing you know, it's something that goes away."

Maino also notes that his friend's shooting could have happened to almost anyone in the community.

"Your life can be altered just that easily," he reflected.

• Maino

Young Jeezy and Jay-Z in Washington D.C.
Photo: Prince Williams/FilmMagic

Artist: Papoose

Representing: "Thugga, Thugga, Thuggacation!"

Mixtape: 21 Gun Salute

411: The title has nothing to do with rifles — Pap is all about the art.

"This is my 21st mixtape," Pap said. "I've been putting out quality music consistently. This is the 21st time. A lot of these dudes sign to the labels and sit around and wait for the label to make moves for them. I just got to get it out there to the people. Whether it be a single [or] mixtape, you will have quality. The whole project came together."

'Poose has a video for "All That" already on the Net, with a "Graffiti" clip coming soon.

Joints To Check For

» "Law Library Part 6." "The 'Library' series is basically me speaking on the judicial system," Pap explained. "A lot of people that's incarcerated don't know the laws that's in the library. That could be the difference between doing five or six years and coming home. People who's not incarcerated, we're not telling people to go out there and do a crime. But if you do get in one of those situations, it might help you get out. 'Part 6,' we start it off teaching you how to go to the grand jury, ways to not get indicted. It's teaching you about the law when it comes to robbery. I lost a lot of people to the judicial system. A lot of my people are doing a lot of time. I see people go in there get railroaded, misrepresented. So I'm just using my music to educate them."

» "All That." "It's just New York slang," he said of the phrase. "A lot of regions got their ways of representing themselves and their slang. 'All that' is something New Yorkers say. It's a real catchy, catchy phrase that I put in song form."

» "Graffiti." "Graffiti is a lost element in hip-hop," Pap said. "Something people don't represent like they should. A lot of brothers lost their lives going in the subway just trying to tag their name up. I'm just trying to represent for all the graffiti artists out there, man. I'm in it for the respect. That's one of the reasons I'm in this. Regardless of radio spins or TV coverage, write my name in graffiti. The streets know what it is."

Don't Sleep: Other Notable Selections This Week

» DJ Skee and Charles Hamilton - The Best of the Hamiltonization Process
» DJ Teknikz - Street Execs Countdown 9
» The Empire - Southern Slang 11
» Evil Empire and Lil Wayne - The Leak 6
» Nick James - The Nas Remixes

'Hood's Heavy Rotation: Bubbling Below The Radar

» Bobby Valentino (featuring Lil' Kim and Lil Wayne) - "Beep Beep" remix
» Corey Gunz - "Ain't I" freestyle
» Joe Budden (featuring Joell Ortiz, Royce Da 5'9 and Crooked I) - "Move On"
» Lil' Cease - "Letter to B.I.G."
» R. Kelly - "Joyful People"
» Trey Songz (featuring Lil Wayne) - "Murder She Wrote" remix
» Young Jeezy (featuring Jay-Z) - "My President" remix

The Streets Is Talking: News & Notes From The Underground

Last week, before performing the "My President" remix with Jay-Z in Washington, D.C., Young Jeezy told MTV News that even though his song was inspired by Barack Obama, he didn't expect the president to come out and endorse it. Jeezy is fully aware that there is still a certain distance the commander in chief has to maintain.

"I'm a street cat 100 percent, but there's certain things I had to distance myself between too if I wanna lead the way for the rest of us, if I wanna spit that game back to the 'hood," Jeezy said. " ... I don't expect Obama to come send me a thank-you letter for the song. I feel like he did his thing, and I did what I could to help."

Jeezy voted for Obama in November and said casting his ballot felt like "buying a new car. Buying a new Bentley off the lot with no co-sign at 17 years old."

Jeezy said MCs besides Jay-Z have sent in verses for a "My President" remix, but he was especially excited about working with Hov.

"That's Jay!" he laughed. "Jay is one of the dudes I always respected his craft in the game. Definitely his hustle. For me and him to do so much, I feel like we cut from the same cloth. Great minds always meet at the top. And they do things.

"The song was powerful already with Nas; now Jay is on there," he added. "We got a few more people on the remix." ...

Brooklyn behemoth Maino promises a new single soon but wanted to make sure he started 2009 off right by serving the streets. So he released "Letter to Pac," on which he speaks directly to the slain icon, and "Prediction 09."

"I like to have fun and do different things," he said. "I knew we was coming into the new year. Some people are waiting for me; some people are waiting to hear I'm never gonna come out again. I have a monster record that's about to drop, so I said, 'Let's start throwing things out before the single comes out.' So I took the Skillz idea, which was '08 Rap-Up,' and said, 'Let me flip that: "09 Predictions." ' I like to do things different."

Here, Maino breaks down a few of his forecasts:

"This Year, Remy Ma Gonna Win Her Appeal."
"Remy, I would love for her to get out. For her to be in prison right now is crazy. I been in prison, but I was in jail at a time when I didn't have a career. I didn't even have a child. And she had a career. She was doing her thing. To have that and go to prison I guess is hard. I definitely wanna see her win. That's one of my positive predictions for the year."

"Got a Feeling That Cam'ron, He Gonna Pop Back"
"I got a feeling that some way, he's gonna pop up. I don't know why I feel like that. I thought about all the people who haven't been here in a while and hasn't been on the scene and dropping records. He came to mind. I was like, 'Man, I got a feeling he's gonna come back.' I don't know what capacity, but he's gonna come back."

"We Finally Gonna See 50 Cent on 'Oprah' "
"I would like to see that. I'm very interested in seeing her talk to a real dude. That day I [recorded the song], I was driving in my car and listening to 50 talk about it. He was on the radio and was talking about the Oprah thing. I was like, 'He's sending shots at her,' but what if she said, 'I'mma bring the dude on here and see what he got to say.' That would be real interesting. I think it would be big for hip-hop. She's not gonna cry [during the interview]. That would be very high ratings."

"Foxy Brown Is Gonna Come Out With a Sex Tape"
"If you gonna tell me she ain't finished, what are you telling me? She's finished — not because she's not talented. She's finished because she's a head case. I think people would pay to her see her sex tape. We're living in a time where sex tapes are almost cool. Why not make a sex tape? She's not going to make it rapping."

"Yung Berg Still Won't Get His Chain Back"
"Impossible for him to get his chain back. Yung Berg caught a bad one last year. We know his chain went on tour."

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

• Mixtape Monday Video: Young Jeezy, Jay-Z & More

• Young Jeezy
• Maino
• Papoose
• Juelz Santana

Busta Rhymes
Photo: MTV News

Call them your favorite rappers, voting virgins or just plain citizens finally doing their civic duty. Some of rap's biggest names voted for the first time in this election, and they feel liberated about it.

"Real beautiful day for me, man," Busta Rhymes said Tuesday afternoon (November 4). In his mid-30s, Bus never voted before because he felt no prior candidate could identify with the African-American experience. It changed with Barack Obama. Busta sees the Illinois senator not just as an extraordinary leader, but as a symbol.

"The fact that his skin complexion, his age, the stories he has to tell," Busta said. "What we can see in him is way more than what we've been able to see in any other [candidate] prior to him. Seeing him could be the one thing that's gonna spark the mind of the young child — whether it be black, Indian, Puerto Rican, Asian — that it's possible for them to achieve that greatness. My kids can look outside of their father. They have a motivation to reach a level [higher] than I ever had before. That alone does it in such a major way for me."

(Watch Ludacris take another first-time voter to the polls in the Newsroom blog.)

Busta recorded his new album, B.O.M.B., until 4 a.m. Tuesday, then went home to sleep. But he was up at 6 and at the polls at 7. He said voting in New York was a "defining moment" in his life.

At first, however, he wasn't 100 percent sure that he would be able to vote.

"I pull up to the poll site, I go inside," he recounted. "The entire staff was so excited to see me, I felt like I was coming home to my crib. People were embracing me, kissing me on the cheek. I'm kissing them back. Then a lady opens up the book and says, 'Let me see your ID.' When I registered to vote, I didn't get anything back in the mail, so I didn't have the confirmation [my registration] went down correctly. So I see my signature in that big-ass book. I point to my signature and say, 'That's me, miss.' She grabbed my ID and said, 'It looks like you.' "

Once Busta got his pass to go to the booth, he got nervous. He couldn't mess this up.

"I looked at the booth for, like, 20 minutes," he admitted. "I couldn't go in there. I knew I was only gonna get one time to go in that booth and make the vote the right way. I pulled back the curtain, and I said, 'This sh-- looks weird. Please give me the instruction one more time.' "

When at last, Busta voted, he said, "I had a feeling I never felt. We [as entertainers] get to do a lot of great things — travel the world, get cars and jewelry. The thing that cost me nothing was the greatest and most rewarding feeling in the world for me. I did my part."

Juelz Santana voted in New Jersey.

"I feel good," the Obama-supporting Diplomat said. "My first time ever. It's kinda like when you tell the truth, like how they say when you tell the truth, the truth will set you free. That was one of the things that I hoped, that I could be a part of history.

"I had to ask the guy standing right there, 'What buttons do I press?' " Juelz continued. "I seen all types of crazy sh-- happening in the poll. 'Tell me what to press. I don't wanna be pressing the wrong things.' "

Finally, Santana made his choice.

"It was pretty fast," he said of the process. "Faster than we expected. We knew a lot of people would go voting before work. The good thing about Jersey, it's a lot of different polls in one town, and the towns are so small. It was crowded in there, but it moved kinda fast. It took about 45 minutes."

Maino waited in line for about an hour to vote in New York, and he said it was worth it. Especially because prior to a few weeks ago, he thought his criminal record would prevent him from being eligible.

"I had a great team, the supporting cast around me," Maino said, explaining how he found out his rights. "I thought I couldn't vote. I had been incarcerated; I had two violent felonies. I did a long bid. I felt I would never be able to vote. They don't inform us that we have those rights. My people told me, 'We researched it. You can vote.' I was like, 'Nah.' I was arguing with them. I didn't even want to fill out the voter registration. I felt it would be a waste of time. But I filled it out, it came back, and I was [good to go].

"It was a major experience," he added about voting. "I'd never been a part of anything like that, other than when I was very young, going with my mother. I never went inside the booth. It was just a beautiful experience knowing we're on the verge of making history. Win, lose or draw, it feels good to be a part of something."

Nas, Soulja Boy Tell'em and Bow Wow all either voted for the first time or voted earlier via absentee ballot.

"Tonight is the night," Juelz said, describing how he wants to celebrate if Obama wins. "I wanna say I'm gonna get a couple of bottles, but I don't know. They like pulling white rabbits out of black hats, if you get what I'm saying. It's too obvious, Barack is winning. If McCain wins, we'll have new meaning for the word politics. You're going to go to the dictionary and just today's date is going to pop up. Even though I felt Obama was winning, I still went out and voted. There's no room for failure."

Busta was so excited about voting, he got on the phone with friends and went out to the streets to inspire people to get to the polls, no matter what.

"We campaigned everywhere," Rhymes noted. "[If Obama wins], you gonna get a little bit of everything from me [tonight]. You gonna feel my presence as if I was running the campaign. I'mma be running around every club, stampeding and taking over every situation to make sure the celebration is prioritized."

MTV News is at the polls in all 50 states — check out our coverage all day long on MTV and right here on MTVNews.com. Then, tell us why you voted! Comment below, upload video at yourhere.mtv.com, or text VOTE to 66333 with your first name, age, state and a comment about your experience. Your message will appear on our election map and could appear on TV today!

• Election 2008: The Choice Is Made

• Soulja Boy Tell'em
• Bow Wow
• Juelz Santana
• Maino
• T.I.

Maino and Swizz Beatz
Photo: Hustle Hard

Artist: Young Chris

Representing: State Property Chain Gang

Mixtape: Never Die

411: Jay-Z is still betting on Young Chris being next up. The Philly MC's solo debut, Now or Never, is still due next year, but it won't be on Def Jam, the only label he's known.

"Me and Jay, that's personal," Chris told us. "We're personal friends since I been in the game at 15 years old. When I say, 'Leaving Def Jam,' it means leaving Def Jam, not Roc-A-Fella too. Roc-A-Fella is a family."

Chris said that as he heard it, Roc's official roster is himself, Memphis Bleek, Kanye West and Young Hov. "Everybody is still doing their thing. Shout-out to the whole S.P.," he said. "[The Roc roster] got short in a short matter of time. I know everybody was shocked by that."

State Property are definitely back together and, as a unit, they are free agents. That hasn't stopped the Beanie Sigel-captained collective from working on albums separately and as a group. Chris is trying to keep his heat up with his Web site, YoungCBlog.com, and by releasing a string of mixtapes. Never Die is his latest, and he put it together with DJ Omega and DJ Drama.

"I got a song titled 'Never Die,' " he said. "Justice League did the beat. It was recorded two years ago. It's the same beat as Rick Ross' 'Maybach Music.' Due to my album being pushed back, they sold the beat to Ross. The song meant so much to me, 'cause I was talking about a lot of people in my 'hood that got hit up real bad and made it through it. I just figured the mixtape [should be called] Never Die. Hip-hop never dies."

Joints To Check For

» "Cypher" (featuring Wale, Freeway and Beanie Sigel). "It was a big record for us. Wale was in Philly working at the same studio I work at with Dre & Vidal. ... I came in the room, he said he wanted to hear some material. Instead of playing records, I had a beat I played. He started bobbing his head. Freeway came in, started bobbing his head. I said, 'We gonna do this like a real cypher. Let's go four [bars], four [bars], four [bars].' Beans came in the room. By the time he came in, [there] wasn't no more room for him to jump in on the fours, so we said, 'Yo, go ahead and anchor it.' The record has 3 million plays on my [MySpace] page. I speak to [Wale] almost every day."

» "Don't Dance" freestyle. "I love that Swizz knock," Chris said of the track where he rhymes over T.I.'s "Swing Ya Rag." "Swizz [Beatz] is one of my favorite producers. Shout-out to him. I say it was one of them records that was underrated or overlooked. Some people when they hear my freestyle, they be like, 'Who's beat was that?' They still ask to this day when they hear it on the mixtape. I just went in."

» "Murda Freestyle" (featuring Sparks). "The joint I did with Sparks, that was another beat that was underrated," Chris said. "That beat was from Uncle Murda's record. I called Sparks to the studio one day. I already had my verse laid. As you can see, he got on and threw it right back to me. I had to go back in some more. Passed it right to him. Me and him was just venting in the studio one day. Sparks definitely has the most charisma out of the whole [State Property] clique."

Don't Sleep: Other Notable Selections This Week » Willie the Kid - Absolute Greatness
» DJ Haze and the Game - BWS Radio Part 5
» DJ Purfiya - Welcome 2 Flawda Volume 6 (Hosted By Brisco)
» Lil Wayne - Young Moula Baby (Chopd n Slowd by DJ Rico)
» DJ Spinatik - Miami Heat

'Hood's Heavy Rotation: Bubbling Below The Radar

» T.I. - "Ready for Whatever"
» Jennifer Hudson (featuring Fantasia) - "I'm His Only Woman"
» E-40 (featuring Bun B and Gucci Mane) - "The Recipe"
» Bow Wow - "Father's Day"
» Avery Storm (featuring Jadakiss) - "Terrified"

Celebrity Faves

"Anything is possssssible!" Kevin Garnett said that Kanye West stayed in heavy rotation when he was going through the NBA Playoffs in June. Right now, he's pumping The Recession, Tha Carter III and T.I.'s new music. He's deep into mixtapes.

"WhiteOwl. I listen to WhiteOwl," he said at an event for the video game "NBA 2K9" last week. "Green Lantern, Drama down South. I try to keep them guys in rotation. Mixtapes are huge. At least for me. They the ones that leak everything. Without the mixtapes you can't really get that raw material. I look forward to that. WhiteOwl, keep dropping that."

The Streets Is Talking: News & Notes From The Underground

New York is sort of like the New York Yankees. There's been a focus on superstars and veterans, and cultivating the careers of younger talent has been mishandled or outright ignored. For one reason or another, no label has been able to pull the trigger on some of the new-school cats who have been waiting in the wings for years, like Grafh, Papoose, Uncle Murda and Saigon. But with "Hi Hater," it looks like the city is finally going to have a much-awaited debut from a new MC hailing from the five boroughs: Maino.

"People should look at me and feel we all need to get on the same page," he said recently. "We need blood, new faces. I'm the new face of NY, the new face of Brooklyn. I'm waiting for more. I'm waiting for the rest of my n---as to come up. We need that."

"Hi Hater" just happened to be what the rapper — and New York — needed: a record by a Big Apple artist that's getting played in heavy rotation outside the city. People from all regions are learning to respect the record. Just look at Young Jeezy and Game, who recently invited Maino to make guest appearances during their respective NYC concerts. NYC concerts that took place on the same night.

"I got the call from Jeezy a couple of days prior to that," Maino said of the August 26 shows. "The Game thing — I don't really know Game. That was on the strength of somebody else. The Game thing was spur-of-the-moment. Somebody that he f---s with that has a lot of love for me asked me to do him a favor. So I came through, got it done. This is during the Jeezy show that [Game's camp] was hitting me, asking me to come through and do my song. I didn't get a chance to kick it with [Game] like that. We don't have a real relationship like that. But it's respect.

"Yeah, man. New York City," Maino added. "You can't come to New York City and not know what I'm doing. You can't say you don't feel what's going on with Maino. Nobody can deny me. It's just the grind. I'll do 15 shows in one night if I could."

His record is three. Maino actually performed for a college crowd after gracing the stages with Jeezy and Game.

"I'm out there, it feels good," he said. "I'm trying to build momentum. I got the remix to 'Hi Hater.' The video is a new version of the 'Flava in Ya Ear' remix. Then I got the 'Hood Love' song with Trey Songz. It's a strong radio record. I'm looking to keep building steam."

Maino has pushed back the release of his debut, If Tomorrow Comes, from its October launch date to several weeks later. He wants to continue building his out-of-state following. In the interim, he's putting music out in the street.

"I'mma drop a couple of mixtapes: Maino Is the Future and Black Flag City: The New Religion," he said. "I can never leave my roots just because I'm getting a national look.

"Sometimes you look at great work. You don't necessarily copy it, but you remind people of what's going," he added about Maino Is the Future being similar in title to the G-Unit classic 50 Cent Is the Future. "That title fits right now. Me being the only new New York rapper that's being noticed nationally — it's only right. People are starting to pay attention to me and wanting to know what's going on up top." ...

Scarface says he's taking a final bow. He wants the upcoming Emeritus to be his last solo LP.

"I don't retire, I quit," he laughed, standing on a golf course in Houston. "It feels real good. The Emeritus record, the reason I'm so proud of it is because it's my last. I'm done, man. If you leave it up to me, I quit. Only thing that's gonna bring me back [is] if I do an album with somebody. Me, Cube and Nas do something, or me and Jigga and Beans do something. It's gotta be a trio or duo. Me and Bun B do a duo. That's why I took that name Emeritus, dude. Because I'm gone. I'm retiring with honors and still holding the position."

The usually humble Uncle Face actually bragged a bit when talking about himself, his career and his newest album.

"I'm not just one of the best in Houston, I'm one of the best in the world," he said with a grin. "My mama had to bring that to my attention. I think she's been on the Internet. She's been reading how good I am. I didn't realize how good I am until my mama told me."

We heard Emeritus last week, and Face can definitely say he's going out on a high note. That intro from J. Prince is very interesting, and wait until you hear what Face has to say about Lil' Troy. Brutal.

"I really discussed. I talked about sh-- that was relevant, that meant something," he said. "It's bigger than what I ride in. Bigger than where I live. Bigger than what I drink. Bigger than the jewels I rock. I got some good records."

Face locked into his zone while recording, but did mange to take a break every day to swing on the greens.

"When I was doing the Emeritus album, I was playing my ass off," he said about his love of golfing. "That's all we had to do. Come out here and play and go to the studio. I wanna play [Luther Campbell]. Me and Luke are gonna get together and do a hip-hop golf tournament. We should. It makes for a great tournament."

Face said that besides Luke, he'd think about squaring off against the King of Crunk, Lil Jon.

"I don't think Lil gonna wanna wrassle with me," Face said. "You better call Will Smith for me. ... Call the Fresh Prince for me. We was on tour with Fresh Prince and Jazzy Jeff. Queen Latifah, Busta Rhymes when he was with Leaders of the New School. We had A Tribe Called Quest on the tour. How long I been in the game? Look at Q-Tip. Q-Tip is still relevant. I love that dude."

Emeritus is slated for December 2.

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

• Mixtape Monday Video: Beanie Sigel, Young Chris & More

• Maino
• Scarface
• Kanye West
• Lil Wayne
• Young Chris

Rick Ross
Photo: Bryan Bedder/ Getty Images

Rick Ross says he's laughing at the bloggers. Well, some bloggers certainly are taking liberties with the Miami MC's recent corrections-officer scandal .

Since TheSmokingGun.com reported earlier this week that the rapper was once a prison guard, some people have been posting Photoshopped pictures of Ross on various police-movie posters. There's Ross' head on RoboCop's body, Ross' head replacing Martin Lawrence on a fake "Big Momma's House" poster, Ross' face replacing Sylvester Stallone's on a faux "Cop Land" poster — you get the picture (no pun intended). Meanwhile, the message boards have been heating up with talk of rap's Biggest Boss. Some people are confused, while some have vilified him.

This is the same guy whose music they were pumping just two weeks ago. His music is still just as banging as it was prior to this scandal, and from the two freestyles he just dropped, his skills have not diminished. So the question is: With so many people having bought into Ross' 'hood-legend persona, has this dance in the rumor mill created a rift between Ross and his fans that can't be patched up?

"I think real n---as won't think so," the Clipse's Malice said a couple of days ago in New York when asked if this episode will hurt Ross' credibility. "That don't mean what he's talking about [in his rhymes] ain't true. The thing I wish is he came clean, if in fact that is him [in the photos]. 'Cause you ain't gotta make no excuses for whatever you did. You might have thought differently at one point in time. I don't think that should discredit that man."

"I'm not even going to go that far into it," said Mal's brother, Pusha T. "I don't know what it's gonna do to him, what it can or what it should do to him. I know the hip-hop community has given passes for much [worse]."

Fabolous suggested that his Def Jam labelmate keep making hits and not to let the banter get to him.

"I don't know if it will really hurt him," Fab said on the set of Ryan Leslie's "Addicted" video. "As an artist, I think Rick Ross makes great music. He's always shown me love and respect whenever I met him. Everybody has a past. I don't know if [being a prison guard] is his past or not. That's not my place to say. I think if he continues to do what he does, sweep all that garbage under the rug — you know what? That's success. That's success taking a shot back at him. All of a sudden past pictures come up. He should just keep doing what he do."

Maino, on the other hand, wasn't as forgiving. During a recent listening session for his album, he gave his opinion on Ross. (The footage was posted on Blogxilla.com.)

"I'm disappointed," the Brooklyn MC said when asked about Ross. "I'm really disappointed. I pride myself on being 100 percent who I am. If I went to college and had a job before, I would just say that. ... Him, in my opinion, I just think he should have just addressed it. ... 'Look, man. I was 19. It was a part of my life. ... I got to the coke later.'

"I don't have a problem with what he was doing before the rap game," Maino added. "That ain't my beef with him. The thing is, he was denying he was doing it. He said [the pictures] was Photoshopped and wasn't real."

Fat Joe didn't speculate on the authenticity of the pictures, but he did give a little insight into Ross the person. "He's a great dude. He's my friend," Joe said. "We'll just wait to see what [else] he has to say about it."

In n videotaped interview that recently hit the Web, Rick Ross denied ever being a prison guard.

• Fabolous And The Clipse Address Rick Ross Rumors

• Rick Ross (Hip-Hop)
• Clipse
• Maino
• Fabolous

Lil Wayne, Young Jeezy, Mary J. Blige And More Come Out For Hot 107.9's Birthday Bash 2009

• Lil Wayne
• Trey Songz
• Plies
• Shawty Lo
• Pleasure P

Jay-Z, Young Jeezy, T-Pain, More At Hot 97's Summer Jam 2009

• Maino
• Movado
• Jim Jones
• Jadakiss
• Young Jeezy