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

Papoose
Photo: Ray Tamarra

With thoughts of injustice flowing through his mind, Papoose erupted in anger in a New York courtroom Tuesday after hearing that his fiancee, Remy Ma, had been sentenced to eight years in prison.

"I got a little bit aggravated. I think anybody would," Pap, wearing a wedding band on his ring finger, said in New York's Platinum Studios Wednesday. "To see a female get persecuted like that for something they didn't do. ... Then, on the other hand, you see Sean Bell get murdered by police and they just walk out the courtroom. A crime they admitted they did. Then somebody that's suspected of a crime goes to jail and gets sentenced to eight years. These police gun a man down and murder him. In the same city a mother gets snatched away from her child. It's aggravating."

Remy Ma (born Reminisce Smith) was sentenced after being convicted of shooting her onetime close friend Makeda Barnes-Joseph during a dispute over money. Smith claimed that Barnes-Joseph stole $3,000 from her.

"I never seen a case with more issues, more grounds for appeal than hers," said Pap, who called Remy's lawyer, Ivan Fisher, "incompetent." "Everybody had different stories. Nobody's stories matched. They all lied on the stand. It's disgusting. It's obvious what that case was about."

Fisher had no comment on Papoose's statements when reached by MTV News on Thursday (May 15).

There's no doubt that Barnes-Joseph was shot. Fisher called it an accident. Papoose refused to go into detail about what he believes to be the truth surrounding the shooting, but he did say his fiancee would have a new lawyer during the appeal. He talked to Remy on Wednesday and said the message she has for the people, especially her fans, is "'Thanks for the support. Black people, go to jury [duty]." Papoose said, "Out of a hundred-and-something jurors while they were doing jury selection, there were only six blacks. ... It was an all-white jury. ... [But] she's maintaining. She's got a strong mind. The case is definitely gonna be appealed. Everything in the dark will come to the light."

Although Pap talks to Remy regularly, he cannot see her in person any time soon. Over the weekend, the two were to be married on Rikers Island. During his visit, however, there was supposedly some controversy over something on his key chain; reports circulated that Pap tried to sneak Remy a tiny skeleton key that can unlock handcuffs.

"That whole claim and that rumor is ridiculous," he said. "Ever since she's been incarcerated, I've been going to visit her consistently. I've always had my key chain that has the key to my truck, my crib. ... Everything that was on my key chain was always there [during my visits]. The [corrections officers have] always seen my key chain.

"This particular time, this one dude. I guess he had a bad day or something," Pap continued. "One C.O. looked at it like, 'You can't bring this in here.' "

Pap added that the corrections officer took the small key in question and let Pap go on about his business. Twenty-five minutes later, the Brooklyn MC was called in to speak to the warden.

"It was a small key," Pap said. "I honestly don't think the sh-- could open handcuffs. [Sneak it to her] on Rikers Island? What are you gonna do with that? For me to give her a handcuff key, that's ridiculous. They put in the papers [that] I was trying to help her escape and all that. If that was true, I would have been arrested. It was just an excuse for them to do some of the foul things they did.

"Everybody knows if it was a felony, I would have been arrested," he added.

"I would say that corrections officer had a good day," said Steve Morello, deputy commissioner of public information for the New York Department of Corrections. "A handcuff key is unquestionably considered contraband in our facilities, and it was without question a formally manufactured Smith & Wesson handcuff key, which is used in some, but not all, of our operations."

As to why Papoose was not arrested for the violation, Morello said that it was never suggested that what Pap had done was against the law but that bringing such a key is a violation of the jail's rules. If the rapper had been carrying such a key all the other times he came to see Remy Ma, corrections officials were not aware of it, Morello said.

"I'm not saying he was trying to stage a jailbreak," Morello said. "I'm just saying he shouldn't have had that key while attempting to visit our facility and see an inmate. We feel it's unfortunate. We don't control weddings that take pace in our jails, but we try to accommodate the legitimate wishes of people in our custody, and they have that right. We worked diligently to make arrangements for the ceremony."

As a result of the new sanctions imposed on Papoose, though, Morello said Pap would not be able to visit Remy Ma at Rikers for six months, which may be a moot point since she will be transferred to an upstate facility soon.

"People scatter. My heart is pure," Papoose said of his devotion to Remy. "It's not in my heart to leave somebody when they're in a time of need. [Crisis] actually brings me closer to them. I'mma hold her down, keep her mind steady. She's gonna be alright."

The couple met a few years ago through Pap's musical mentor, DJ Kay Slay.

"She's sincere, she's got a good heart," Poose said. "We got a chance to build on a lot of situations. We've been through a couple of things, [and] I got a chance to see she had a good heart."

Papoose just finished a song called "My Girl" where he talks about Remy in one of the verses. "Why I need a handcuff key when I got the key to your heart?" he raps.

"It's about a daughter, mother and wife," he said. "It goes out to all the females in our lives that hold us down, keep us strong. They brought us into the world. We gotta return the favor."

[This story was originally published at 9:22 a.m. ET on 05.15.2008]

• Papoose

Remy Ma and Papoose
Photo: Rob Loud/ Ray Tamarra/ Getty Images

Tuesday (May 13) was a rough day for Remy Ma. One day after her planned jailhouse nuptials to fellow rapper Papoose were called off due to a misunderstanding about an alleged skeleton key Pap was wearing when he showed up at Rikers Island prison, the MC was sentenced to eight years in prison.

On March 27, Remy Ma (born Reminisce Smith), 26, was found guilty of two charges of assault, in connection with an argument she had with a friend, Makeda Barnes-Joseph, last July, during which Barnes-Joseph was shot two times while the two women struggled in a car.

According to Remy Ma's lawyer, Ivan Fisher, the New York Supreme Court sentenced her to eight years in prison on Tuesday for charges of assault, weapons possession and attempted coercion. Fisher said the prosecution had originally requested a 13-year sentence — less than the max of 25 years she was facing — but the judge in the case gave the rapper eight years, which Fisher plans to appeal very soon. Though he couldn't say for sure, Fisher said it's possible the judge in the case was swayed by an emotional address Ma gave the court during the proceeding, during which she addressed the victim directly.

"Remy Ma spoke to the court and movingly spoke to the victim, who was in court, to share with her how sorrowful she was about what happened to her," Fisher said. "It was an extremely moving moment, where she expressed how badly she felt about the tragedy of being shot and that she was very, very sorry it happened to Makeda."

The rapper burst into tears as the sentence was read, and Fisher described her state as "benumbed," "very emotional" and "sobbing." The lawyer said Ma "spoke to the court about the impact the sentence would have on her son [who is 7 years old]."

Both Remy Ma and Fisher have said that the shooting was an accident. After the sentence was handed down, The Associated Press reported that Papoose screamed, "All you want is money!" in the hallway outside the courtroom, seemingly addressing Barnes-Joseph, whose civil suit against the Grammy-nominated Ma has been dropped but could be refiled in the future. Barnes-Joseph was in the courtroom for the sentencing, but was not in the hallway when Papoose began shouting, the AP reported. As he was escorted out of the courthouse by court officers, Papoose reportedly added, "Lock me up! Lock me up!"

Fisher denied that the key Papoose wore to the prison over the weekend could unlock handcuffs, as was widely reported.

"I don't know much about it," he said, "but I know that if the corrections folks thought this was a key used to open their handcuffs, I doubt very much that they would have released Papoose." The lawyer added that the two still plan to wed, but maybe not until Ma is transferred to an upstate prison.

After hearing the sentence, according to XXLMag.com, Remy told the judge, "I'm not a thug. ... I'm not a hard-core anything, I have feelings. I'm a wife, mother, daughter, big sister." The site also reported that supporters of the rapper were in the courtroom wearing red-and-white T-shirts that read, "Free Remy."

• Remy Ma
• Papoose

The Game
Photo: Peter Kramer/Getty Images

In the wake of Friday's Sean Bell verdict, in which three New York police detectives were acquitted of gunning down the Queens native, people are still expressing their outrage.

On Monday (April 28), Bell's supporters were urged to wear black in protest of the case's outcome. The most resonant opposition is coming from the hip-hop community. MCs are putting their influence to use, releasing statements and songs that express their feelings.

The Game is planning to release the response record "911 Is a Joke" via his Web site, ThisIzGame.com, on Tuesday. "I'm outraged and speaking out for my generation that are afraid to speak out against police brutality and murder," the L.A. native explained. "I grew up in Compton and had to stay silent because of the fear that was prevalent in my community. But now that I have a voice, I'm speaking out. ... [Sean Bell] could have easily been me, my brother, my family. So this song is for Sean Bell from my heart. My deepest condolences go out to his family."

Mobb Deep's Prodigy, who is currently in jail for a gun conviction, spoke up from behind bars. "We lost a lot of battles, but we will win the war," he said in a statement. "The decision in the Queens courtroom on Friday was simply a display of power. The NYPD is just a branch of corruption connected to a giant corrupt tree called the United States government. ... The Sean Bell murder cover-up is less about race and more about power. This evil family tree of corruption will do whatever it takes to remain in a position of power. They will put a judge who they can control on the case, in order to get the outcome they want and eliminate the risk of being exposed and exposing the higher-ups. I want to be very clear that all judges, DAs, lawyers and cops are not corrupt, just most of them."

"The Sean Bell murder itself was a reflection of how expendable black men are in the eyes of many," Queens MC Cormega said. "The verdict was a far worse crime because it stripped a dead man of his rights and it stripped a community of hope. We came so far as a people yet gained little momentum, but I would like to thank society for reopening my eyes to the myth called equality and the justice that eludes just us."

Soon after the Bell murder in 2006, Brooklyn's Papoose was one of the first MCs to vocalize his horror at the tragedy with the record "50 Shots." "No justice, no peace/ Another black man shot dead in the streets," he rapped on the track. " ... You thought he had a gun/ That means you shot him for nothing, 'cause he ain't have one."

Speaking to MTV News on Tuesday, Pap expressed that the verdict on Friday was not surprising. "It's a pattern of what goes on in the NYPD," he said. "This has gone on for years with black people in America. I was upset. I was real furious about it. It sends a message that they don't value our lives. I feel they walked in the courtroom laughing, and they walked out of the courtroom laughing."

The officers on trial, Gescard Isnora, Michael Oliver and Marc Cooper, were acquitted on reckless-endangerment, assault and manslaughter charges. Judge Arthur J. Cooperman levied the verdict. "Once they waived their rights [for a jury], I seen it was suspect," Pap added. "I knew it would be no justice. They got a judge with the same mentality as them. ... It's blatant. Kids are left without a father, and the cops are going on with their life like it never happened."

The hip-hop community will definitely not let the situation rest: Grafh put out a song called "Not Guilty (The People's Verdict)" on Sunday night, and Papoose is going to speak on the subject again.

"It's never too late," Pap said about putting out songs. "It's gonna happen again until they do something about it. I commend everybody who has stepped forward, because it says something. In hip-hop, we have a strong voice. People listen to our words."

Prodigy added that it will take more than music to make changes. "People of all races need to come together to control our government and run a giant comb through it, so we can see the filth that comes out," Prodigy said. "Right now, we have a government that controls the people, instead of people that control their government. Until we can do that, there'll be several more incidents like the murder of Sean Bell. America is under a spell, and we need to snap out of it."

• Sean Bell Shooting Case Ends In Acquittal

• Game
• Papoose
• Mobb Deep

A protester reacts to the Sean Bell shooting trial verdict outside a New York City courtroom Friday
Photo: Spencer Platt/ Getty Images

The scene outside the New York courtroom was tense but peaceful Friday morning, as a judge declared three police detectives not guilty of manslaughter, assault or reckless endangerment in the shooting death of Sean Bell, who was killed outside a strip club in New York in 2006 in a barrage of 50 bullets.

The verdict prompted a number of Bell's supporters to storm out of the courtroom, with screams audible outside the chambers moments later, according to The New York Times. Outside the courtroom, thousands more supporters of Bell — who was 23 years old when he was gunned down just hours before he was to marry — gathered, shouting and taunting police, who were out in force in case any violent protests broke out.

Bell's fiancee, Nicole Paultre Bell, and his parents were in the courtroom when the verdict was read in the case, which became a flashpoint for the city and many in the hip-hop community, including 50 Cent, Papoose and Prodigy — all of whom recorded songs or wrote lyrics about the shooting. After the incident, Nas released a statement to MTV News, saying, "The cops need to be charged the way gangsters are charged."

As the judge read his decision, CNN reported that Paultre Bell ran from the courtroom saying, "I've got to get out of here."

After a seven-week trial, Justice Arthur J. Cooperman said that many of the prosecution's witnesses, including Bell's friends and the two wounded victims, were simply not believable. "The testimony of those witnesses just didn't make sense," he said, adding that some of the witnesses contradicted themselves and that their demeanor on the witness stand helped to decide the case, CNN reported.

After reading through the timeline of the evening, Cooperman concluded that the response by Detectives Gescard F. Isnora, Michael Oliver and Marc Cooper, "with respect to each defendant, was not found to be criminal." The men were found not guilty of the eight counts — five felonies and three misdemeanors— they were facing. Among other charges, Isnora and Oliver had faced first- and second-degree manslaughter, with a possible sentence of 25 years in prison. Cooper was charged with two counts of reckless endangerment. According to the Times, they could still face disciplinary action from the police department, though a decision on that will be delayed until it is decided whether federal charges will be filed against them.

The prosecution attempted to show that the shooting was the result of a frightened, possibly enraged group of disorganized police officers who began their shift that night hoping to arrest a prostitute or two at the club, which was being investigated for prostitution, guns and drug dealing. Suspecting Bell and his friends of possessing a gun, the prosecution said the detectives quickly got in over their heads.

The defense portrayed the shooting as the tragic end to a justified confrontation in which Isnora had what his lawyers described as solid reasons to believe he was "the only thing standing between Mr. Bell's car and a drive-by shooting around the corner." Witnesses claimed to have heard talk of guns during a heated argument between an intoxicated Bell and a stranger outside the club. And witnesses said that as Bell and his friends left the club, the undercover detectives believed that one of the men was going to retrieve a gun from Bell's car, so they followed the men and called for backup.

According to testimony, Bell and two friends got in the car, with Bell driving, and the detectives drew their weapons. Bell panicked to get away from what he believed were armed men. The detectives, who said they thought Bell was trying to run them over and that their lives were in danger, began firing. No gun was found near Bell or his friends.

Once word of the verdict leaked out to the crowds gathered outside the courtroom, CNN reported that one woman shouted at a black police officer, "How can you be proud to wear that uniform? Stand down! Stop working for the masters!"

The case drew immediate response from the hip-hop community, with Papoose dropping a song just a week after the shooting titled "50 Shots," which sampled Sam Cooke's anthem "A Change Is Gonna Come" and featured the lines, "Mike Oliver said his gun jammed, he the main one/ 12-year veteran and don't know how to use a gun." Paultre Bell was featured in a controversial ad from Rocawear as part of their "I Will Not Lose" campaign, which launched just before the trial began. In addition, 50 Cent has referenced the case on cuts, and Prodigy also has several references to Bell on his just released album, HNIC2, on a track titled "Field Marshall P."

• Sean Bell Shooting Case Ends In Acquittal

• Papoose
• 50 Cent

50 Cent and Eminem
Photo: Scott Gries/Getty Images

Artist: Kool G Rap
Representing: The Juice Crew, Queens
Independent Album: Half a Klip
411: Here's a little-known Kool G Rap fact: The first verse of "Men at Work" and his guest spot on "The Symphony" were originally written as one long, angst-driven rhyme. Clearly, he was in a zone at the time.

But KGR declares he's even better today than he was in the golden era of rap.

"G Rap is so current, you could mix me up with anybody in 2008 and I'mma sound relevant and up to the times," he said, sitting in his Queens studio.

Although he took a long break from recording, G Rap told us that he isn't done. He just released an EP called Half a Klip with production from DJ Premier, Domingo and Juice Crew partner Marley Marl.

"I'm still working on the project, and it's gonna be the full-length album," he said. "But it's been a long wait. The last thing I did was in 2005. I dropped a mixtape with Whoo Kid. I wanted to hit them with an appetizer to keep the stomach growls alive.

"It's hard, but not hard, because at the same time, I was working," he added about his hiatus. "I must have a collection of 50-60 songs. We're gonna put this Half a Klip out there, let it do what it do, then hit them with the Full Extended Klip.

Joints To Check For

»"With a Bullet." "Me and Marley, the song we did together basically was a throwback rhyme," G Rap explained. "It was a throwback verse I had, something I had with Nas years ago, like '92, '93. ... We have one of the dudes we're working with featured on the song, giving him a little light. They found a verse from somewhere. I don't know how they got it. But there's a lot of people out here that got stuff — you wouldn't believe, that I wouldn't believe — on me."

»"On the Rise Again." "DJ Premier laid a crazy track to it. My man D-Mac, the guy who I'm partnered with, ran into Haylie Duff and got her to blow vocals through the chorus. It's not a whole lot, but it's just right. The way Premier put it together was a masterpiece.

"I heard [Haylie] wasn't really up on Kool G Rap, but her managers and people she worked with schooled her on who Kool G Rap was," he added. "I'm aware of the Duff sisters. Of course, her sister Hilary Duff is a household name. I didn't know her [older] sister did the same thing too. I guess we discovered each other through this project."

»"100 Rounds." "That's just me going in," he said. "Coming out that street mode and putting it in lyric mode. It's traditional G Rap right there."

Don't Sleep: Other Notable Selections This Week

» DJ Drama and La the Darkman - The Notorious L.A.D.
» DJ DVS-1 and DJ 1Mic - The League Leaders
» DJ Diggz - The Hardest Out 2 (Beanie vs. Styles P)
» DJ Smallz - Florida Trafficking
» DJ Woogie and Lloyd Banks - Bank Vault, Pt. 2

'Hood's Heavy Rotation: Bubbling Below The Radar

» Donnie Klang (featuring Diddy) - "Take You There"
» Saigon (featuring Just Blaze) - "Gotta Believe"
» Bishop Lamont (featuring Focus) - "Better Than You"
» Rick Ross (featuring Triple C and J Rock) - "Ridin' Thru the Ghetto"

Fire Starter: Tyga

"Young Moooolah, baaaay-baaaayyyyyy!" Tyga literally has Lil Wayne's Young Money stamp of approval — the young buck has Wayne's label logo tattooed on his arm. The 18-year-old, who sports a Young Money chain as well, met Weezy at the 2007 VMAs, during a performance by Gym Class Heroes. While Wayne thought he was just a hanger-on, Tyga turned out to be Travis McCoy's cousin and an aspiring hip-hop artist. Now thousands of fans on the Net know who he is. His alternative-rap/reggae ode "Coconut Juice" is getting the royal treatment. He just shot a video to it with Fall Out Boy's Pete Wentz (Tyga is signed to Wentz's label Decaydance Records). He's also got "Space Joyridin" and "Exquisite," with Birdman Jr. and Gata, floating around the Internet to set up his debut, No Introduction.

Celebrity Faves

For an album with no release date, no single or even a set list of producers, Nas' LP Nigger is still getting a bunch of people talking about it. While over in England, Chris Brown said he's eagerly awaiting it, just like the rest of us.

"Nas' album [title], that's incredible," he said. "I would just say, Nas is a great MC. He is always going to be a dope lyricist, a legend in my eyes. At the same time, it's all about people's personal opinion. That's his album, so if he wants to call it what he wants to call it, he can call it what he wants to call it. There's always going to be people saying that [it should have] 'Parental Advisory' all the time, and they have their opinions. But my thing is, it's his album, so you either want to buy it or you don't."

The Streets Is Talking: News & Notes From The Underground

50 Cent can admit when he is totally wrong and his gambles don't pay off. For most of last year, he took the advice of Interscope Records and fell back from the mixtape circuit because the label had advised him that it was taking away from his official record sales. That was right around the time DJ Drama and Don Cannon were having issues with the RIAA.

But 50 has made up for lost time in the past six months, releasing three mixtapes since last fall.

"They think I'm crazy," 50 told us last week in his Connecticut mansion, chuckling about what Eminem and Shady Records tell him about giving away so much material for free. "Sometimes [Em] misses why I put it out. He goes, 'Why did you put it out?' But I can't be as hot as I'm gonna be if I don't play around. I gotta spar before I go fight the champ. That's my concept of it. If I don't go out and make material and lock in, I'm not gonna make the best possible material for the next [official] project."

Fif — who has been working on a new freestyle with Lloyd Banks and Tony Yayo over the beat of Snoop Dogg's "Neva Have 2 Worry" — obviously hasn't been slowed down by any of his recent issues with his hip-hop peers. Lately he and Fat Joe have been going back and forth in interviews, songs and Photoshopped pictures on the Web.

"The Hip-Hop Weekly [a fake cover] came out, and it was a thing with [Benzino] supposed to be [sleeping] with Fat Joe's wife," 50 said. "I didn't make that. I didn't have anyone [Photoshop] that. Why would you do that? I work for Hip-Hop Weekly? They'll know that there are issues between me and Joe, so when he approaches them, they'll say, 'Nah, it must be 50. You know how 50 is.' But I didn't care, 'cause I don't like Joe neither. It doesn't matter to me that they did it, but it didn't come from me."

But several days ago, 50 did hold a mock funeral for Joe online. In the video, he started to cry, saying the SoundScan returns of Joe's The Elephant in the Room killed him. He also warned Joe's friend Rick Ross not to align himself too tightly with the Terror Squad general.

"Rick Ross is doing good," 50 elaborated. "I also complimented him that he had the #1 album. I said, 'Just don't stand too close to this fat piece of ...' I'm saying that because of what [Joe's] trying to do. He runs to Miami and hangs out with them like he's running Miami? Does Fat Joe run Miami? I don't think Fat Joe runs Miami. I think people from Miami would be upset you're even questioning that. The fact he can influence DJ Khaled on the radio, does that mean Fat Joe runs Miami? ... I don't care if [Khaled] ever plays my records. He's not important enough to what I'm doing for it to matter. Not to say Miami doesn't count. He doesn't count for it to matter to me."

The G-Unit album, tentatively titled Lock and Load, is slated for this summer, while Fif's next solo LP, Before I Self Destruct, is coming toward the end of this year.

To watch an exclusive clip of 50 explaining why his problems with so many artists have a roundabout connection to Jay-Z, click the player above. ...

The T's have been crossed, the I's have been dotted, and now Brooklyn's Papoose is a free man.

"Actually, I just got out of the situation with Jive," he told us last week at Philippe's restaurant in Manhattan. "I had options when I was trying to get out of the situation with Jive. Now that I'm out of the situation, I'mma make my decision within the next couple weeks or so. And I'm going to move forward. After I make my decision, I want the single out, and I want the album to come right afterward. I want my album out as soon as possible. I just want to get it out there."

The lyrical MC said he wants to release his album, Nacirema Dream, this year, no question. He pinpointed June as a target month, but he's still shuffling songs for the project. Now that he's out of his contract with Jive, Pap said there are a few songs from the album he turned in that he wants to swap out for better ones.

"I'm not with the industry politics, like, 'Yo, you have to have this type of record.' I'm not with none of that, because I'm not bred like that. I'm bred from the street."

Speaking of the street, the DJ Kay Slay protégé recently got into it with another 'hood-certified guy, Fat Joe. After trading barbs in the press about a fight they had in North Carolina, Pap said he's done with Joe. But he warned everyone against thinking someone with a slim frame like his couldn't hold his own with a big guy like Joey Crack.

"That's the same reason he got punched in his face," Pap boasted. "Don't underestimate nobody. He's a big dude, but that's dead weight. He thought he was just gonna come in there and get an easy run, try to punk me. 'Yo, you got a problem with me?' That sh-- don't scare me. I'm from Brooklyn; that don't put no fear in my heart. Size don't mean nothing. Like I said, that's dead weight.

"If you listen to the interviews, he told you himself," Papoose continued. "He wants to fabricate, 'Papoose was in the corner, he was so afraid.' But he doesn't realize that the people and the fans aren't stupid. You said it yourself; you asked me, 'Do I have a problem?' You said yourself that I said, 'Do you want to make it a problem?' That was the only thing he was honest about. Everything else, the fabrication starts. A person that's afraid isn't going to ask you, 'Do you want to make it a problem?' So it speaks for itself." ...

Yes, they can. Once Russell Simmons made up his mind to back Barack Obama in the Democratic presidential primary and had to step down as chairman of his nonpartisan political group the Hip-Hop Summit Action Network, one of the first things he did was ... e-mail DJ Green Lantern?

"I got the e-mail from Russ, like, 'I'm going in. I made my decision; I'm throwing the whole house behind Obama,' " Green said.

Green, in turn, picked up the phone to ask Simmons to collaborate on a Barack Obama mixtape called "Yes, We Can," named after the Illinois senator's popular refrain.

"The light bulb just went off," he explained. "[Russell] is going in; I been a Barack supporter for a long time. [Russell] was conflicted with what he wanted to do, and when he finally made the decision, I just hit him back immediately. I got the idea, let's go and get everybody who's professed their support. Let's make it happen."

"That's his idea; this man did it all," Russell chimed in about Green. "When he called me, I was with it. It's just one more layer for the cake. We already see [Obama] as the nominee. I don't think it's possible for him to lose the nomination. But we have a long haul in front of us. Young people got to come out; they got to vote."

The two have been putting in calls to the likes of Common, Q-Tip and Will.I.Am to get original songs for the project. But, according to Green, the mixtape is going to feature 50 percent new material and 50 percent of his remixing. They're aiming to finish the project before next month's HSAN summit in Pennsylvania.

"I'm having a field day with these Obama speeches," Green explained. "I actually got joints where I'll make a beat, I'll get somebody to sing a hook, and where there's supposed to be verses, it's just straight speeches. I played one for my mother, and she started crying. So it's gonna be inspiring, but then on the street side, it's just gonna be some descriptions of life on the street, but not any of the thuggery."

"[This is] something that I had to do personally," Simmons said of backing Obama and the mixtape. "I think this endorsement is something that I had to do, and it kind of promotes a conflict, so I didn't want to be nothing but a participant. I'm not involved in the day-to-day activities of the Summit anymore because I endorsed Barack Obama." ...

Before we take it a step further, R.I.P. Chad Butler, a.k.a. Pimp C. Bun B's second solo LP, II Trill, is coming in less than a month, and the first single, called "That's Gangsta," features Sean Kingston.

" 'Gangsta' is still doing real good," Bun said at the South by Southwest music festival earlier in March. "We're gonna shoot that video, just waiting for Sean to get back from overseas to get that movin'. Finin' to start getting some viral videos together — just trying to stay focused and grind it out."

"Damn I'm Cold" features Lil Wayne, while Mya sings on "Good II Me." Scott Storch produced "I Luv That." All are being considered as singles.

"The song with Mya is a real good record," he said. "We got this song called 'You're Everything With Me' with Rick Ross, David Banner and 8Ball & MJG. The beat is incredible. I think what the song represents would be something good. We got a lot of good options. That's one thing with UGK: We never tried to make singles; we always made sure we got a solid album. Our problem was trying to decide what the single would be."

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

• Mixtape Monday Video: 50 Cent, Papoose

• 50 Cent
• Eminem
• Papoose
• Fat Joe
• DJ Green Lantern

• 50 Cent
• Papoose

Papoose
Photo: MTV News

Remy Ma's conviction on assault Thursday certainly was emotional. The Bronx rapper cried as the judge ordered her to be held in prison until her April 23 sentencing.

And now, Brooklyn rapper Papoose — long-rumored to be her paramour — has confirmed to MTV News that he and Remy are, in fact, a couple and had plans to marry next month.

Pap said the two are moving forward with their nuptials despite Ma's predicament and are making arrangements to marry in prison.

"We always wanted to keep our personal lives personal, so that's why we never went public with our relationship," he wrote in an e-mail to MTV News. "Right now, I just feel like she gotta live through me. Yes, we were scheduled to be married on a yacht April 27th. But due to circumstances beyond our control, we are now making arrangements to be married in prison."

The couple rebutted rumors earlier in the year when New York radio personality Egypt reported that the two would wed. The next day, Papoose told media outlets the reports were false. He shied away from the relationship question in spite of the affection he showed the former Terror Squad star in lyrics.

"Remy look good in person, just like she do in the magazines/ So I'mma stay close to Miss Martin like Dr. King," he spit on "Bonnie N Clyde," a mixtape collaboration between the two.

The pair also filmed an online video clip of them sparring when Papoose was embroiled in a lyrical slugfest with Remy Ma's former mentor, Fat Joe.

Earlier this week, in an interview with MTV News prior to Remy Ma's conviction, Papoose declined to comment on her pending case. He explained that the two were friends. With the recent turn of events, the rapper felt it was time to reveal their relationship.

Remy's charges stem from an incident last July when the rapper and Makeda Barnes-Joseph argued after leaving a mutual acquaintance's birthday party. Remy Ma (real name: Reminisce Smith) alleged Barnes-Joseph stole several thousand dollars from her purse that night; Barnes-Joseph was shot after the two struggled in her car. Remy Ma fled the scene in an SUV but crashed nearby. Neither the money nor the weapon have been found.

Papoose closed his message by reiterating that Remy Ma would be appealing her case. He also asked for fans to write letters on her behalf, perhaps for a petition to the judge. Remy Ma is scheduled to be sentenced April 23.

"All her supporters who feel Remy had an influence on their life should write a short letter to the judge asking for the shortest sentence possible," he wrote. "Send it to LettersForRemy@gmail.com."

• Papoose
• Remy Ma

Fat Joe
Photo: MTV News

When Fat Joe promises to keep his mouth shut, he's not just referring to his hit single "I Won't Tell." He's also talking about his business in the streets. Joe told MTV News he has gotten into fights with plenty of rappers of before, but he has never mentioned names, in accordance with his code. Joe also had no plans to go public about last week's altercation with Papoose — until an e-mail blast was sent out detailing what he insists is a false version of events on 50 Cent's ThisIs50.com. (50's anti-Joe campaign continued Tuesday [March 11], when he released the G-Unit mixtape The Elephant in the Sand.)

"He's a Pho-to-shop-aaaaaah," Joe said Monday in New York, smiling and obviously mimicking 50's song "Window Shopper." Joe was referring to the doctored pictures of him beat up black-and-blue that surfaced on the Net. He blames 50 and company for the defamation.

"I don't have nothing to gain from putting out stories that I beat up Papoose," said Joe, who claimed victory in the squabble with the Brooklyn MC. "Papoose, this is an approach he chose. He felt he was taking a negative and turning it into a positive, but in the long run, time tells the truth. Time will tell."

Joe said after the fight, he and Papoose made peace and actually hugged.

"As a man, I kept it moving," he said. "That was it. It was squashed. Four hours later, I heard I got beat up. [There were] too many people there for him to get away with those lies. If we were in a little room alone, maybe he could pull off [the lie], I guess. I don't think no one would believe a 60-pound guy could beat up Fat Joe."

Joe's recollection of the fight goes like this: He and Papoose were on a bill to perform at a North Carolina concert along with several other rappers. All the acts were staying at one hotel. A member of Joe's entourage found out that Papoose was staying on the first floor. Joey Crack said he started acting like Javier Bardem looking for Josh Brolin in "No Country for Old Men."

"I knocked on every door," Joe said. " 'No Country for Old Men'! You better believe it."

Finally, Joe found the room where Pap, Cassidy, Yo Gotti and Gucci Mane were chilling with their crews. He approached Pap and asked if they had a problem.

"I was hoping he would say he didn't have a problem," Joe said. Neither man would back down, and the altercation ensued.

Joe's disdain for Pap came on the heels of 50 Cent's takeover of New York radio station Power 105.1 several days ago. While on-air, 50 threw shots at Joe and his family. Papoose and Remy Ma were guests at the time, and Remy even took a few jabs.

"Unfortunately, I felt I had to make somebody pay," Joe explained. "[Papoose] was up there laughing.

"It's hard," he added. "Sometimes you reach that boiling point. Sometimes they try to pull you back in. 'Prove it to us again. Show us you're a tough guy.' "

(Head here for Joe's comments on being a news junkie, whether he'd ever run for office himself and the recent events surrounding New York Governor Eliot Spitzer.)

Ironically, Joe said his latest big record, "I Won't Tell," was fueled by learning that 50 Cent and Remy Ma had made an alliance.

"They make me deliver hits," he said. "They say success is the best revenge.'

"I Won't Tell" features J. Holiday, though Joe admits that he originally had someone else in mind to sing the hook.

"This guy here, he's very talented, he's special," Joe said of Holiday. "He's real talented. The girls at my label were like, 'You gotta work with him.' 'Cause originally I was gonna use R. Kelly. But J. did it, and he killed it.

"It was so much fun," the Terror Squad Don added of the song's clip. "It was like a real party. You know how you do a video, and it's work, and people are trying to make it look like a party? Nah, this was a real party. Miami, everybody is there. ... They almost threw Junior Reid out 10 times. He was like, 'Because I'm Jamaican, they think it's me [smoking].' "

Diddy, LL Cool J, Sheek Louch, Bow Wow and DJ Khaled are among those making cameos in the video. Joe's new album, The Elephant in the Room, was released Tuesday.

• Fat Joe Tells His Side Of Papoose Fight

• Fat Joe
• Papoose
• 50 Cent

Photo: Larry Marano/ Getty Images

• Beanie Sigel
• Papoose
• Nas
• Jadakiss
• Kanye West

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

• Papoose
• Rick Ross (Hip-Hop)
• Trey Songz
• Lloyd
• DJ Drama

Fashion Check: Hoodies

• Jay-Z
• Pharrell Williams
• Lil Wayne
• Clipse
• Fat Joe

You Hear It First: Papoose Photos

• Papoose