Amy Winehouse
Photo: Getty Images/ Stuart Wilson

There's nothing more gangsta than busting up your tooth and then pulling it out yourself because your boyfriend's too chicken. But that's not why hip-hoppers from Jay-Z to Pharoahe Monch to Ghostface Killah have taken to the '60s girl-group sound of Amy Winehouse.

Actually, the tatted-up British crooner with the beehive hairdo and door-knocker earrings has no idea why rappers dig the tunes on her second album, Back to Black — she's just psyched that Jigga thinks enough of her to remix one of her songs. The Def Jam label boss recently threw down some new verses on a remix of her single "Rehab," and Winehouse said the results were "really, really good."

"I wouldn't know what it is, apart from being different," Winehouse said of her allure to rappers like Monch, who did an earlier remix of "Rehab"; Ghostface, who added verses to her tune "You Know I'm No Good"; and Snoop Dogg, who recently told MTV News that her guest-less album was an inspiration for his upcoming solo flight (see "Snoop's Only Guests On Ego Trippin' New LP? 'Me By Myself' ").

"Obviously I didn't set out to do that," she continued, "but I have pride in being different. And the Jay-Z remix is wicked. I'm flattered that he liked [the song] enough to do something with it."

Winehouse, who declined to describe the remix for fear of spoiling the surprise, said she hopes to hook up with Jay at some point to perform the duet live. But for now she seems unconcerned with whether it will help kick-start her career in the U.S. — Black picked up almost universally positive reviews when it was released Stateside last month but so far hasn't made her the headline star she is in her native England.

"I've done an album I'm proud of, and that's it for me," she said. "The rest of it is icing on the cake. I love playing gigs, and if I get to come to America and play more shows and see more places on the back of a really good record, I'm the happiest girl in the world." Winehouse debuted her Motown-style R&B for American audiences in March with a New York show (reportedly attended by Jay-Z) and during a handful of showcases at the South by Southwest festival in Austin, Texas, impressing critics with her rich vocals, confessional tunes and bad-girl look (see "Amy Winehouse Raises Eyebrows, Bloc Party Draw A Mob As SXSW Wakes Up").

Of course in England, in addition to brisk sales and multiple Brit Award and Ivor Novello Award nominations for songwriting, she's also turned heads with a streak of tabloid-fodder bad behavior, missed gigs, drunken performances and personal drama. She dismisses the headlines as much ado about nothing but is more than happy to answer the question, "What's the most ridiculous story you've read about yourself?"

It may not be the most outrageous, but the one that's got the simplest explanation is why she dropped out of a number of English dates earlier this year amid rumors that she'd face-planted in a bar and busted out her front teeth. "My tooth got knocked out, that's true," she said in her thick North London accent. "I bit down on an ice cube and felt it come loose. I was sitting with my boyfriend and told him he had to pull it out because it was going to come out at some point and would be horrible and bloody. He wouldn't pull it out, so I had to do it myself. I didn't realize the repercussions."

She's not going to launch a full-fledged North American tour until September, but Winehouse is back in the States this week for another short stint, which, according to her spokesperson, has already been bumped up from several-hundred-seat venues to ones that hold nearly 2,000 due to increasing demand. The upcoming dates include a gig at the Coachella festival in Indio, California, on Friday night, where she looks forward to seeing Ghostface and Monch, who are also performing.

But ask her about the dozens of other buzz acts playing at the three-day fest in the California desert — including British new-rave act Klaxons — and this retro queen can't be bothered. "I don't know [Klaxons], but my friend is a fan, so we'll go to that," she said. "I don't know anyone's stuff. I don't listen to any contemporary music. I'm like an old man in a young girl's body. I know what I like, and I'm not open-minded. I'm a fascist."

Amy Winehouse tour dates, according to her publicist:

· 4/26 - San Francisco, CA @ Popscene
· 4/27 - Indio, CA @ Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival
· 5/2 - Minneapolis, MN @ Varsity Theater
· 5/3 - Chicago, IL @ Vic Theatre
· 5/5 - Philadelphia, PA @ Electric Factory
· 5/7 - Boston, MA @ Avalon Ballroom
· 5/8 - New York, NY @ Highline Ballroom
· 5/9 - New York, NY @ Highline Ballroom
· 5/12 - Toronto, ON @ Mod Club Theatre
· 5/13 - Toronto, ON @ Mod Club Theatre
· 8/3 - Chicago, IL @ Lollapalooza

• Amy Winehouse
• Jay-Z
• Snoop Dogg
• Ghostface Killah
• Pharoahe Monch

Pharoahe Monch
Photo: Rawkus Records

Pharoahe Monch has a hit on his hands via his collaboration with the LOX's Styles, "The Life," and is ready to smack the masses with a barrage of other bangers as soon as his new LP, The Sun Will Rise, comes out. The Queens MC said he's not sure exactly when that will be, however — his label Rawkus is still working out the kinks with MCA on a distribution deal.

"Oh my god, it's crazy," he said of the album. "It's gonna breathe a breath of fresh air into hip-hop. My mission is for people to be like, 'OK, he's not afraid. You can tell, he's having fun.' I love an album where you can tell, like 'This n----- had a ball in the studio.' [The music is] hardcore. It ain't thug hardcore, but it's old school hardcore, in the sense of a n----- rhyming over some hot ass, hard sh--."

Monch said Rockwilder, the Megahertz and DJ Scratch are among the producers on the LP's roster, and he's eyeing the Roots' Black Thought to appear on a song. Don't expect Thought to rhyme, though — Monch wants the MC to sing a chorus and he's hoping to get Raphael Saadiq and Jaguar Wright to do the same. Monch also disclosed that he'll be the only one kicking lyrics.

"Right now I'm trying to hold it down by myself purposely because there were so many guests on the last one," he explained.

The small number of cameos isn't the only thing that's going to differentiate his second solo effort from his debut. Holding true to its title, The Sun Will Rise will have a much lighter mood.

"I feel that Internal Affairs was murky and I needed to get some evil stories and some aggression out," he said. "This album is the repercussions and the aftermath of me airing all these things out. It's not as vulgar, there are not as many curses. It's mad spiritual, it's sexy, but at the same time it's motivational as well. Hopefully when people hear it they'll be like 'It's cool to be hardcore, it's cool to party, it's cool to cry.' "

People have been feeling Monch's evocative hook on "The Life." He sings, "My life is all I have/ My rhymes, my pen, my pad/ And I done made it through the struggle/ Don't judge me," and Styles raps a musical biography. That track will appear on Rawkus' upcoming Soundbombing 3 compilation.

"Actually, we first did the song for ESPN, for a show called 'The Life,' " he explained. "They asked me to do a chorus. An artist named Tribecca laid down some verses along the lines of sports and the chorus was altered from that. The original chorus was, 'My life is all I have, my skills, my hops, my jabs.' People loved the chorus so much, even though it was on some sports type of vibe, we figured we'd swing the chorus around for a broader concept and get somebody who could put some feeling on another vibe. We all thought the LOX was the clique to [work] with on that level."

Monch said he chose not to rhyme on the song as a way to experiment and raise eyebrows.

"I love to stay unpredictable," he said. "Just to have the people ask the question, 'Why didn't he rhyme on it?' I thought it would be dope for the first time, get on a joint and just do a chorus that I was singing on. Throw a curve ball.

"We're talking about doing the remix now," he added. "I might spit on it. Everybody wants me to spit on it, but I might not. That would be more shocking. I wrote the verse already — it's sick."

• Pharoahe Monch

Nate Dogg
Photo: Def Jam

Nate Dogg is ready to drop his long-awaited solo album, and — unsurprisingly — the King of Cameos isn't going it alone.

Some of Nate's past collaborators — including Pharoahe Monch, Kurupt, Jermaine Dupri, Ludacris, Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg — will rap along with the crooning O.G. on Music & Me, which drops December 4, according to his label, Elektra Records.

Supplying the tracks to Nate's gangstafied soul offerings will be a roster of producers, including Bink, the Megahertz, Mike City, Battlecat, Fredwreck and Dre's sometime beatmaking accomplice Mel Man, the Elektra spokesperson said.

Nate's first single, the bluesy "I Got Love," is already getting airplay on a few radio stations and sounds almost like a church testimonial. On the track, Nate reaffirms that "ain't nobody tighter" than him when it comes to singing, and he asserts that he has no love for hoes, but does have an undying affinity for his homies and the ghetto.

Although Nate has built his career not from his own songs but by singing hooks for everyone from Warren G — on the 1994 smash "Regulate" — to his most current appearances with Fabolous, Mariah Carey and Brian McKnight, Music & Me is actually not his first album.

He released the double CD G-Funk Classics, Vol. 1 & 2 in 1998 on his independent label, Breakaway Records. That LP spawned the underground hits "Never Leave Me Alone," which featured Snoop Dogg, and "Me and My Homies," which featured Tupac Shakur.

• Nate Dogg
• Snoop Dogg
• Ludacris
• Pharoahe Monch
• Kurupt

Crystal Method
Photo: MTV News

Following a successful Cyberfest in San Francisco last weekend, organizers have announced they will bring the electronic music festival to two other U.S. cities this fall.

Cyberfest Houston is scheduled for September 22 and will feature the Crystal Method, De La Soul, Biz Markie, DJ Skribble and Keoki.

Another Cyberfest will be held November 24 in Miami. The lineup for that show has not been announced.

Other acts slated for the Houston festival include Darude, Pharoahe Monch, Madison Avenue, DJ Icey, Christopher Lawrence, Dieselboy, Daft Punk contributor Romanthony, Aphrodite and Dave Ralph. They will perform on a 140-acre field.

Last weekend's Cyberfest featured the Crystal Method, Überzone and Mix Master Mike (see "Festival Lineup: D12, Crystal Method, More In San Francisco"). Eminem's group, D12, did not perform.

• The Crystal Method
• De La Soul
• Biz Markie
• DJ Skribble
• Keoki

Xzibit
Photo: Loud

New York turntablist crew the X-ecutioners have a good excuse for taking more than four years to record their new album. It is Built From Scratch. Acclaimed vinyl manipulators Total Eclipse, Sinista, Roc Raida and Rob Swift also took the time to recruit a stellar lineup of guest musicians, which includes Linkin Park, Xzibit, Dan the Automator and the late Big Punisher.

The X-ecutioners' track with Xzibit will be the album's first single, while the Linkin Park collaboration is scheduled to be the second. Track titles have not been confirmed.

DJ Premier, Pharoahe Monch, the Beat Junkies, Kool G Rap, Inspectah Deck, the Tom Tom Club, beatboxer Kenny Muhammed and hardcore rappers M.O.P. also make appearances on the album, due September 25 on Loud Records.

Built From Scratch is the follow-up to 1997's X-pressions, one of the first turntablist albums.

The cover of the new record will be a replication of Public Enemy's classic Yo! Bum Rush the Show, which features Chuck D and the gang in a basement room huddling around a turntable and mixer.

The X-ecutioners' version of the cover will feature the four members of the group along with hip-hop innovator Kool Herc, scratch inventor Grand Wizard Theodore and Grandmaster DXT, who, as Grandmaster DST, popularized record scratching on Herbie Hancock's "Rockit."

• The X-Ecutioners
• Linkin Park
• Xzibit
• DJ Premier
• Pharoahe Monch

Lil' Mo
Photo: Elektra

When it comes to awards shows, the Grammys have never been tops on rappers' to-do lists. Many feel the awards program doesn't show true love to hip-hoppers.

Big Pun poked fun at what he felt to be an award injustice on last year's "It's So Hard" ("Almost went home with the Grammy/ Next year bringing on three for the family"). Others have been more blatant by snubbing Grammy night, as Eminem did when he won in 2000 for Best Rap Solo Performance and Best Rap Album Apparently the Recording Academy's latest peace offering is still not enough. Despite the academy's recent announcement that it has added a fourth rap Grammy category — Best Rap/Sung Collaboration — some MCs are not impressed.

"I don't know," said Fabolous, whose collaborations with singers Lil' Mo, 112, Jimmy Cozier, Mariah Carey and Nate Dogg would qualify for the new category. "I think they should get a new board to handle the hip-hop. They should get some hip-hop people to handle the hip-hop board. They probably have the same people that handle pop and country pick the rap category. And all they gonna do is look at the Billboard [charts] and see who's at the top. 'OK, Will Smith, Eminem.'" In the new category, songs that feature rappers guest-starring on singers' songs and vice versa can be nominated, whereas before such songs had been relegated to the category of Best Performance by a Rap Duo or Group. Method Man and Mary J. Blige were nominated and won in 1996 for a remix of the former's "All I Need," despite having no official ties as a duo.

There are a couple of catches with the new category, however — the track nominated must be a true collaborative effort, and the guest star must be credited in the song's billing. For instance, Nate Dogg would miss out with a song like "Oh No," by Mos Def and Pharoahe Monch and featuring Nate singing just the hook. On the other hand, Nate would be eligible with Dr. Dre and Kurupt for "Xxplosive." There, Nate sings the chorus and a verse.

Lil' Mo's "Superwoman" (featuring Fabolous), Ray J's "Wait a Minute" (featuring Lil' Kim) and R. Kelly's remix of "Fiesta" (featuring Jay-Z and Boo and Gotti) are strong possibilities because of their popularity.

Recording Academy President Michael Greene could not be reached for comment.

For more Grammy news, check out the MTV News Grammy Archive.

• Lil' Mo
• Eminem
• Big Punisher
• Dr. Dre
• Mos Def

NEW YORK — The hip-hop soundtrack to the gritty HBO prison drama "Oz," which features the Wu-Tang Clan, Snoop Dogg and Cypress Hill, won't be released until next month, but it's already generated some revenue for a charity that aims to help real-life prisoners.

In a ceremony held Wednesday at Manhattan's Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, the soundtrack's creators donated $10,000 to the school's Innocence Project, which provides free assistance to prisoners who are attempting to prove their innocence through DNA testing.

Rapper Pharoahe Monch, who attended the ceremony, said that the soundtrack's charitable focus helped convince him to contribute a track.

"First of all, I'm a fan of the show," said the rapper, who scored a hit last summer with "Simon Says," from his first solo album, Internal Affairs. "It's a good thing to lend a contribution to something that gives prisoners a fair shake, in terms of just giving them a voice, because once you're convicted, your voice is limited." Avatar Records President Larry Robinson presented the donation Wednesday to lawyer Barry Scheck, co-founder of the Innocence Project. Scheck, also a former member of O.J. Simpson's legal defense team, promised that "every nickel" donated from the soundtrack will go toward aiding prisoners.

Each track on the album focuses on some aspect of the criminal justice system. For his track, Pharoahe Monch decided to write from the perspective of a racist white cop.

"It's his imaging of how he sees things — he's vocalizing it in the squad car and he's vocalizing it to his partner," the former Organized Konfusion rapper explained. "It's just his perspective and his twist on what's going on as he patrols." Brand Nubian rapper Lord Jamar, who is also a cast member on "Oz," raps over samples of the show's brass-driven theme music on his contribution to the soundtrack, which includes lyrical references to the show. "Within my personal rhyme, I had some of the show references on there. ... From reading scripts every week, I had a real understanding of the show," Lord Jamar said. His track also includes contributions from Kool G Rap and Talib Kweli.

The soundtrack's first single will be "Behind the Walls," a lean, West Coast-style track that finds Kurupt and Nate Dogg rapping about "living life behind the walls" of prison.

The album, due January 9 on Avatar Records, also includes new songs by Master P, Krayzie Bone, Three 6 Mafia and others.

• Pharoahe Monch
• Wu-Tang Clan
• Snoop Dogg

When it comes to giving videos an extra dose of oomph, Busta Rhymes is just as reliable behind the camera as he is in front.

• 11/18 - New York, NY @ Hammerstein Ballroom
• 11/30 - Pittsburgh, PA @ Metropol
• 12/1 - Washington, DC @ Nation
• 12/3 - Worcester, MA @ Palladium
• 12/4 - Hartford, CT @ Webster Theatre
• 12/5 - Buffalo, NY @ Sensations
• 12/6 - Providence, RI @ Lupo's Heartbreak Hotel
• 12/7 - Poughkeepsie, NY @ Chance
• 12/8 - Old Bridge, NJ @ Sting Rays Night Club
• 12/9 - Virginia Beach, VA @ Rogues