Red Cafe
Photo: MTV News

Red Cafe told Mixtape Daily that the working relationship between him and Diddy is like peanut butter and jelly. "He brings tracks in that he feels my voice would marry," Red said. "As well, I bring in what I been doing. He fell in love what I been doing already. The city fell in love with what I been doing already. So we don't wanna change that. It's a little of both."

Diddy putting out his first Brooklyn MC on Bad Boy since Shyne? Say no more. We had to bring it to you. Red's been a beast on the underground scene for a while. Masses, say hi. You'll be getting to know him well very soon.

This Week's Main Pick

Street Kings: Red Cafe (featuring Diddy)

Holding It Down For: NYC

Mixtape: Welcome to Bad Boy

Real Spit: Coney Island Avenue in Brooklyn, right in front of Red Cafe barber salon. It's the area where he laid his head as youngster, and it's the same spot he's invested back in. Cafe's "Hottest in the Hood" record has had a monster buzz this year. So much so, Diddy has jumped into business with the Brooklyn veteran of the underground rap circuit.

"He's been in the game for a minute. He's a well-respected lyricist and MC in the whole New York hip-hop scene," Diddy explained to us while sitting in his midtown Manhattan offices. "But he's not the average New York rapper. He has something special. That's why we signed him."

Diddy has partnered with Akon to release Red's debut.

"We thought it would be a great idea to collaborate, to put our forces together, to ensure the success of Red's career," Diddy added. "He's been hustling on the scene for, like, seven years now. Maybe longer than that. He's just now coming into his own. It's a 50/50 split. It's no secret to the deal. That's the best way to do partnerships with your friends and family. Hopefully, we can join our forces together and take Red to the place he needs to be taken to. He's one of the dopest MCs right now, and he's honed his craft. The type of music he chose to rock on top of makes him a unique MC."

"Just from knowing what Diddy brought to the table and what Bad Boy brought to the table, it's a pleasure to be a part of that," Cafe said about joining forces with PD. "Now it's about making sure that same chemistry comes to life in today's time. The good thing is Shakedown [Red and his company] are already moving. It's almost like a turnkey operation for Diddy. He does his things, adds his sprinkles to make it bigger. But it's already got legs. But I'm happy to be here."

Cafe's mixtape Welcome to Bad Boy came out recently, and he's working on a sequel.

"The part two is gonna be all original. That's how you gotta do it, because now it's a recession, but it's a drought for good music. I'm not gonna leave the people to look elsewhere for salvation. I gotta give them what they need: East Coast music."

Joints To Check For

» "Hottest in the Hood." "For me, when I put out the record, it was beautiful for people to embrace the record," Red said. "It's cocky to say you're the 'hottest in the 'hood.' You already know how hip-hop is. Hip-hop is very cooperative. For me to say that and people to embrace it, especially in my position with no album out, that was a special thing. At the same time, I want to acknowledge everyone else. I feel I'm the hottest in the 'hood, period, but it may be somebody else hot in their 'hood. You gotta acknowledge them. I pass the baton. I go in different 'hoods, I go in D.C., they got a whole DMV version of 'Hottest in the Hood.' In Philly, it's the same thing. In L.A., it's the same thing. It's different from the remixes we did.

"But reaching out to those guys, everybody wanted to do it," he added. "[Lloyd] Banks hollered at me personally. Busta, Rick Ross, Jadakiss, Fabolous, Juiceman, Juelz Santana, Kardinal Offishall — I got verses from everybody. It was too much. You had Uncle Murda, Papoose, Juganot — everybody wanted to be a part of it. It was beautiful."

» "Co-Sign" " 'Co-Sign' is a record I felt needed to be made," he said. "A lot of people don't recognize people's talent as far as mass appeal until they get co-signed by someone else. They'll be like, 'Damn, dude is hot. I'm not sure I'm supposed to like him or not, though.' They wait for the co-sign. They wait for the dude that's up to say, 'Dude is crazy! Listen to homeboy.' That's what the 'Co-Sign' record is about. I don't need anybody to co-sign me. I'm hot, and I know I'm hot."

» "General" (featuring Maino). "Congratulations to Maino, congratulations to Brooklyn, congratulations to the Tri-State for supporting that record and making sure it came out. The 'General' record, we about to shoot the video for it. It's a record that was necessary. It was necessary for the two guys that's waving the Tri-State flag right now to get together and do something like 'General,' do something to represent all the generals across the country and outside the country."

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

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Tony Yayo
Photo: MTV News

Don't Sleep: Necessary Notables

Mixtape: Swine Flu

Starring: Tony Yayo

Key Collaborations: The tape is hosted by universal 'hood king Mac-A-Zoe, and Lil Boosie is featured on "My Cadillac." "I met Boosie at Buck's house," Yayo told us of their first encounter back in the day. "Between Boosie and Gucci, them n---as is my favorite in the South."

Essential Info: OK, the obvious question: Why? "I think my flow ... everything is serious about me," Yayo said. "I feel my flow is serious; I feel like I'm the most underrated. Swine Flu is an epidemic. I'm about to start an epidemic ... I wanted to use what's relevant right now to get people's attention. I learned that from 50."

Another thing he learned from Fif was to never stop the war.

Yayo says he got Mac-A-Zoe from the Zoe Pound to host the underground CD via a phone call from prison. G-Unit's personal public enemy #1 shouted out the Zoe Pound on the hit "The Magnificent," and has worked with Pound member Redd Eyezz in the past.

"Being all the stuff that's going on with Rick Ross, I had to get Mac-A-Zoe to host the mixtape for me. Mac-A-Zoe said him and Ross used to be cool. ... I got in contact with Mac-A-Zoe through Sha Money. We're all Haitian — me, Zoe, Sha Money and Whoo Kid. Sha Money called me with Mac-A-Zoe on the phone. We're kicking it on the mixtape. He's basically saying Rick Ross is an impostor. I agree with him. This guy is talking about bricks, I'm 'phony Yayo' and I sniff coke and smoke crack. All this delusional sh--. I don't know where [Ross] is getting it from. But you're the n---a that's a cop. I'm gonna make a movie. Don't push my back to the wall where you try to make it seem like I can't eat, or try to destroy my brand."

Like G-Unit member Lloyd Banks, Yayo says he's fed up with Interscope Records, but he still owes the label one more album. But Yayo isn't in a rush to drop an official LP — he's just excited about staying relevant on the mixtape circuit.

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"It's all politics," the Southside Queens native said. "I never thought Interscope cared about me anyway. G-Unit the label pushed me more than Interscope."

Swine Flu comes out next week and a part two will follow shortly after.

"Me, I don't see myself going to Hollywood and doing all that acting sh--," he said. "N---as know Yayo for wilding out and all types of crazy sh--. I'm going back to my street element."

The Last Word on Ross: "This n---a got t---ies, thinking he looks better than me. He's confused. Then the n---a is on the cover [of XXL] with these fake Louis Vuitton glasses talking about swag. You gotta put that on the record. I been fly, I been doing this." Unfortunately, it doesn't look like this beef is going to end anytime soon.

Mixtape: Hottest in the Hood.Com, Volume One: Welcome to Bad Boy

Starring: Red Cafe and Diddy

Key Collaborations: Diddy as the host, with Lloyd Banks, Juelz Santana, Lorel and Busta Rhymes on the "Hottest in the Hood (Remix pt. 2)." Fabolous and Paul Cain on "We In Here." "Take Off Your Clothes."

Essential Info: Yup, we told you about this mixtape awhile ago. The Arm and Hammer Man, Red Cafe, is making moves. This mixtape not only celebrates more bread and much-needed promotion coming in with his signing to Bad Boy, but the Brooklyn bruiser has just started his own Web site. (Look at the title of the CD and we'll give you one guess what the name of it is.)

While Red serves the curbs and cooks up that Bad Boy debut, he's getting his collaboration game up on everyone from OJ Da Juiceman, Cam'ron, Maino, Jadakiss, Rick Ross and the G-Unit. Yes. The G-Unit.

"This project is star-studded," he said of his album. "I don't just grab people and put them on the record just to have a name on the record. If an artist come that I'm thinking is gonna sound good on the record and he don't sound good, even if he's five-times platinum, he can't be on that song. This is a work of art for me. Just for name, I can't have nobody come in and mess up my art. For the most part, that's how I move. I need every record to sound crazy and classic — or as close to classic — as possible."

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Red Cafe
Photo: MTV News

This is huge for New York City and hopefully big for hip-hop as a whole: Diddy is close to signing another super lyricist from Brooklyn and going in with Akon on the project. On Wednesday (April 29), Diddy released a vlog on his P.TwittyTV YouTube channel announcing that Red Cafe is just about officially on Bad Boy.

"I know the word is bubbling in the streets," Diddy said in the video. "We're in final negotiations with Shakedown [Records] for Red Cafe, for him to be on Bad Boy, also associated Akon and Konvict music. The ink's not dry but we feel comfortable enough to drop this new remix, the 'Hottest in the Hood' remix."

Red's been signed to Akon's Konvict for quite some time, and recently Diddy got in on the action. All three were in Atlanta over the weekend at the Core DJs retreat, where they debuted the remix, which features Rick Ross, Jadakiss, Fabolous, OJ Da Juiceman and Diddy.

PD and Red are immediately planning to put material out. A new Red mixtape with Diddy's heavy involvement is coming soon.

"The new mixtape is on the way," Red told MTV News recently. "This new mixtape is gonna be so tough. It's hosted by Diddy; it's gonna be crazy. Something special. You gonna have freestyles on there, original records on there you never heard. ... Every record on here is brand new. Everything was designed totally for this tape. The people are gonna soak this up crazy. Puff is gonna be on there doing what he do, screaming and hollering and banging for the project, because he's married to it. He likes what we're doing. He said 'I wanna be a part of it. I like what you're doing. I'm gonna host your joint for you.'"

Red is hoping to drop his album later this year as well. Between his street album and the official label release, he's worked with Ross, Jada, OJ Da Juiceman, Fabolous, Maino, T-Pain, G-Unit and, of course, Akon.

"The album, I definitely gotta take care of the streets," said Red, a veteran in the rap game. "My core, they've been riding with me for however long, but my core wants to see me take it to the next level. I wanna deliver those next-level records to make sure we stay in the penthouse, not the lobby. I think they wanna see that growth. You spoon-feed them, you don't wanna jump all the way out the there. They might be a little afraid of that. I try to find a nice medium."

Red has rapped along the best of the best throughout his career, but he's never been able to get the right backing to put out the album his following has wanted. Diddy says Red has nothing to worry about anymore.

"I'm like a bully," Diddy said on his video blog. "Y'all know what time it's gonna be when that ink dries. We're gonna go crazy. Nobody does it like us. We're gonna have a good time."

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Red Cafe, DJ Cassidy, Saigon At Harlem's BBQ, 08.22.2009

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Keri Hilson Hosts Her 'In A Perfect World' Album Release Party

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