Swizz Beatz
Photo: Peter Kramer/ Getty Images

If you thought DMX was full of bull about doing his gospel album, he's apparently not. The Dog is still working on the project, which will be a double-LP of traditional X and nonsecular tunes called Walk With Me Now, Fly With Me Later. He's barking at two of the most influential producers in the game right now: Pharrell Williams and longtime collaborator Swizz Beatz.

"I'm helping him out with it," Swizz said Tuesday in New York. "I just hooked him up with Pharrell for the gospel joint."

Not even a month into '08, and Swizz already has his hands full with just-released music and tracks that are ready for the next few months. He's most excited about a reunion of the Ruff Ryders for their first family album. It will include himself, X, the LOX and Drag-On — all the originals who first exploded 10 years ago.

"I'm in my zone," Swizz noted. "I'm bringing the Ruff Ryders back real major in '08. It's gonna be a lot of Ruff Ryders sh-- in '08. Not taking away from D-Block, not taking away from Bloodline. It's stamping the brand that started all this sh--. They letting me do whatever I wanna do as the president [of the company]. This is what I wanna do. Do this album, 10 bangers. Trying to get a joint from [Dr.] Dre, Primo [DJ Premier]. We got Dame Grease. All the original producers, everything to make the Ruff Ryder album authentic head-banger hip-hop. I got everybody right now. X just sent me five verses. Trust me. I don't accept just any X [verses]. You'll see. This is the real deal. I'm not gonna do it if it's not the real deal."

Swizz always has his outside work as well. Besides appearing on the remix of Mary J. Blige's "Just Fine" with Lil Wayne (which features the "Dr. Carter" verse that Wayne exclusively rapped a cappella for Mixtape Monday Video), he's worked on Weezy's Tha Carter III LP; 50 Cent's Before I Self Destruct; the G-Unit's Lock and Load group album; Fat Joe's The Elephant in the Room; and is getting ready to go in with N.E.R.D., Macy Gray ("I just politicked with her. She wants me to set the tone for her album") and Usher.

"I'm still finding out what vibes they wanna mess with," Swizz says about Usher's LP. "It's very tricky and confusing. So many people come in. The artist's gotta be in that right frame of mind."

Swizz the rapper is still in full swing as well. He just leaked a record called "Hard Knocks" with Drag-On. It's the first offering from Beatz's upcoming follow-up to One Man Band Man.

"Everybody is expecting 'It's Me Bitches' or 'Money in the Bank,' " he said. "I just want to use my opportunity to get a little more serious in the artist department, as a performer and lyricist. Not giving a f--- about radio and all that. I just want to give hip-hop something that's not on the radio. A lot of the songs I got can blend in on the radio, but 'School of Hard Knocks' don't blend in with nothing on the radio. I'm already in full mode. What they want me to do? Let's get it. I'm busting shots early — bong, bong!

"The title is between Life After the Party and Remember Hip-Hop," he continued. "I'm in between them. I don't even have a date on my joint. I'm just feeling out the scene."

Also still up in the air whether Swizz will release his project on Universal Records again.

• Swizz Beatz
• Usher
• 50 Cent
• Ruff Ryders

DMX (file)
Photo: Evan Agostini

Believe it or not, DMX is in such a good mood that he's dancing. He's in Miami at a photo shoot for his new album, and one of his favorites, Stephanie Mills, is playing in the background. Mills singing "something in the way you make me feel" drowns out almost every voice in the room except for — you guessed it — DMX's.

If you ask anyone around him, despite his legal problems over the past several months (see "DMX Arrested After Triggering Three-Car Collision In New York"), DMX has been in a great mood. He's gone back to the studio and back to his origins. His new album, Here We Go Again, is being mixed in Yonkers, New York, and the Ruff Ryders expect to have their most well-known family member's sixth LP out by June or July.

"We been in the trenches the last month or two," said Waah Dean, who runs the Double R with his brother Dee. "We're trying to tweak it, fine-tune it, make it all make sense. It's going pretty well. We gotta let the Dog loose again."

For Again, X used all the producers he messed with when he first skated onto the scene: Shok, Teflon, Dame Grease and the man who's given him the most hits, Swizz Beatz.

"I did four joints on the album," Swizz said recently in his midtown Manhattan studio. "I just gave him another banger yesterday. He's on his grizzly. I think people need to see where he's at right now. Def Jam's got a lot of good plans for him. Jay-Z has a lot of good plans for him. It's all gravy."

Swizz has the first single off the album, which is the type of up-tempo record you'd expect from the two. After that, Waah said, they want to bring something more heart-wrenching.

"We gonna follow up and let the Dog hit them with some pain," he said. "He's spitting. He's got a little bit more depth in what he's doing. He's got about a good seven or eight classics on this joint. We gonna have some fun with it."

Waah and his nephew Swizz haven't been too worried about X's problems with the police. In fact, Waah said his longtime friend has been building on some of the experiences and putting them on his records.

"X is X," Waah said. "He's used to dealing with different situations. We're just happy he ain't in a major situation we can't shake. He's in the studio working, doing what he do. He's a true artist. He can take a negative and turn it into a song."

"That's the regular X," Swizz said of the recent headlines. "X has been going through the same thing for 12 years already. He lives what he says. I don't care whatever million he's getting a movie, he's still gonna be X. He's still gonna walk through the 'hoods, doing his thing. The trouble ain't gonna stop now. It ain't gonna never stop with X. He don't care straight up."

Although Waah didn't disclose too many of the records the veteran MC/actor has in store, he did reveal one title, "Baby Mutha Be Buggin." Some of DMX's lyrics will include "You know I love her, but I can't [be] with her/ Just 'cause we got a kid together, she thinks I'm stuck with her." (Perhaps not coincidentally, X is being sued by a woman who claims he fathered her 3-year-old daughter.)

Guests on Here We Go Again will include new Ruff Ryders Kartoon and Flashy, and there's also a collaboration with producer Scott Storch. This week in Miami, DMX is shooting the video for his first single. Last week he was also in the land of sand and tan, shooting a video for the first single off the Ruff Ryders compilation Ryde or Die Vol. 4: The Redemption. That album should come out sometime this summer, as will solo LPs from Ruff Ryders staples Styles P (Time Is Money) and Sheek Louch (After Taxes) of the LOX.

There are tentative plans for all the Ruff Ryders to go on a 20-city tour sometime after X drops. Waah said he wouldn't mind hitting the road with the Roc-A-Fella camp or making it a sequel to the Ruff Ryder/ Cash Money tour that was a success several years back.

• DMX
• Ruff Ryders

Jennifer Lopez (file)
Photo: Columbia

Some people might think Jennifer Lopez is so yummy they just want to eat her up — and now they can. Cadbury and Madame Tussauds teamed up to make a chocolate likeness of the singer, which was introduced earlier this week at Madame Tussauds Wax Museum in London. ...

Queens of the Stone Age will kick off a North American tour in the spring. The trek will start on March 15 in Austin, Texas, and hit cities across the U.S. and Canada through April 18, when the tour wraps up in Los Angeles. ... In a move to protect digital music and video against piracy, Sony, Panasonic-brand owner Matsushita Electric Industrial, Samsung, and Dutch Philips Electronics have reached an agreement to use the same method of defense. This will also allow songs purchased in each company's online stores to be played on portable music devices manufactured by the others. The first version of this technology will be in use by summer. ...

Snoop Dogg is offering a chance to meet him in person, via a series of charity auctions where fans can bid on packages that include two premium tickets and two passes to hang with him backstage on his tour. The auctions are online at www.stubhub.com, and proceeds benefit Snoop's Youth Football League. ... All your Wu-Tang Clan questions will be answered in the upcoming "Wu-Tang Manual," a comprehensive book laying out the history and philosophy of the legendary New York hip-hop crew. Due in February, the book, written by RZA, explains the stories behind the members' pseudonyms, the major themes in their music, sampling philosophy, and fascination with martial arts and comic books. It also features a Wu-slang dictionary, annotated explanations of nine key songs and a number of rare pictures and original illustrations. ...

Tatiana Thumbtzen, the featured dancer in Michael Jackson's 1988 video for "The Way You Make Me Feel" and the first woman to kiss him in public, admits in her forthcoming book, "The Way He Made Me Feel," that she lied to Howard Stern and Maury Povich about having a romantic relationship with the singer back in 1993 when he first faced allegations of child molestation. She also describes Jackson's obsession with child actors like Macaulay Culkin and Ricky Schroder. Her co-author, Tonia Ryan, said in a statement, "You do the math." The book is due out February 14. ... One of dancehall music's leading choreographers, Gerald "Bogle" Levy, was killed on Thursday in a drive-by shooting in Kingston, Jamaica, according to The Jamaica Observer. Levy and four other people were reportedly sitting at an Esso gas station in Levy's car when two armed men on a motorbike rode up and proceeded to shoot at the vehicle. Levy and his passengers were all hospitalized, but only Levy was fatally wounded. Beenie Man posted a $1 million reward for the apprehension of the men who killed Levy and told the Observer that the reward will increase in the coming weeks until the murderers are captured. ...

Ruff Ryders Records will hold its inaugural Ruff Ryders Lifestyle Appreciation Weekend in New York from Friday to Sunday. Activities will include a family dinner at Sylvia's Restaurant in Harlem, a visit to the International Motorcycle Show at the Jacob Javits Center, MC battles and an awards dinner. The RR family is also in the studio working on a new Ruff Ryders compilation, Ryde or Die Vol. 4: The Redemption, due this spring. ... Diana Ross has been named MAC's 2005 Beauty Icon, making her the face of this year's Beauty Icon series, available in stores this week. The collection focuses on the pink and bronze/coral color families and luster-filled finishes to mirror the diva's personality. ...

New York publishers started bidding on Friday (January 21) for a new Doors anthology tentatively called "Break on Thru," which promises to be, in effect, the band's autobiography. The book would take the form of a massive oral-history tome, with its contents derived mostly from recorded conversations with drummer John Densmore, keyboardist Ray Manzarek and guitarist Robbie Krieger, and augmented by excerpts from interviews with late frontman Jim Morrison and comments from the group's closest associates. It would also include rare and exclusive photos, letters and memorabilia, as well as a CD/DVD featuring exclusive footage. ... New Order have a new album coming out called Waiting for the Siren's Call, produced by Tore Johansson and John Leckie and due in stores March 28. The first single is called "Krafy," while other song titles include "Jetstream" and "Sugarcane." ...

Jill Scott's Blues Babe Foundation's fund-raiser scheduled for Sunday at Philadelphia's Saks Fifth Avenue has been postponed due to inclement weather. There is no word yet on when the event will take place. ... Damien Rice and Lisa Hannigan have covered three tracks from late bossa nova legend Antonio Carlos Jobim for the soundtrack to "Goldfish Memory," due February 22. The upcoming comedic drama, set in Dublin, also features other Irish acts such as the Frames. ...

01.20.2005

Coming off the one-two punch of "Lose My Breath" and "Soldier," Destiny's Child have picked the ballad "Cater 2 U" as their next single from Destiny Fulfilled. ...

Alicia Keys had already been announced as a performer for this year's Super Bowl, but now the rest of the lineup has been revealed. Under the theme "Bridging Generations," younger acts are paired with older icons, such as Black Eyed Peas with Earth, Wind & Fire, Gretchen Wilson with the Charlie Daniels Band, and Kelly Clarkson with John Fogerty for the NFL tailgate party. Paul McCartney will head up the halftime show. Super Bowl XXXIX takes place February 6 at Alltel Stadium in Jacksonville, Florida, and will be broadcast on FOX. ... On the heels of their performance at the RIAA's Inaugural Bash, 3 Doors Down will take off on a U.S. tour in support of their new album, Seventeen Days, due February 8. The Mississippi rockers have announced 11 dates for their tour — February 12 in Daytona, Florida, through February 27 in Denver. ...

The Beastie Boys are making their first virtual appearance in a video game, starring in the upcoming "NBA Street V3" from EA Sports. The veteran rap trio represent their hometown Knicks in three-on-three street-basketball action. The group's 9-11-themed song, "An Open Letter to NYC," will be featured on the in-game soundtrack, along with tracks from De La Soul, Guerilla Black and others. ... The Rolling Stones' 1969 album, Let It Bleed, Bob Marley's single "No Woman, No Cry" and the late Ray Charles' rendition of "America the Beautiful" were announced on Wednesday as inductees into the Grammy Hall of Fame. Established in 1973, the hall honors recordings of "lasting qualitative or historical significance that are at least 25 years old," according to the Recording Academy. ...

Lamont Bentley, who played Hakeem Campbell in the UPN sitcom "Moesha" and also appeared in the films "The Wash" and "Tales From the Hood," among others, was killed in a car crash on Tuesday night, according to The Associated Press. Bentley, 31, was alone in his car when it spun off the San Diego Freeway. Bentley is survived by his mother and his two daughters. ... Mario, the man behind the blockbuster "Let Me Love You," has signed a management deal with Mathew Knowles' Music World/ Sanctuary Urban Management . He joins a roster that includes Jadakiss, D12, Mary J. Blige and, of course, Mathew's daughter Beyoncé's group, Destiny's Child. ...

A New York federal judge has dismissed a July lawsuit against Megadeth and Dave Mustaine brought by bassist Dave Ellefson, who had claimed that he was entitled to a greater share of the band's profits than he had been paid. Last week, the court ruled that Ellefson had entered into a valid settlement agreement with the band in May, and that released all of his claims (Ellefson had argued that the settlement agreement was unenforceable). ... Lisa Marie Presley and her mother, Priscilla, are planning to remember the King in a new book called "Elvis by the Presleys," which would come out this May to coincide with a CBS special by the same name. The program will include interviews with the surviving Presleys as well as never-before-seen television performances and family home movies. The book will also include previously unseen family photographs, handwritten notes, selections from scrapbooks, and previously unseen shots of Graceland from the Elvis archives. ...

Best known for his immaculately timed "Jessica" song about a certain favorite MTV newlywed, ex-Moldy Peaches singer Adam Green will release his third disc of suave crooning, Gemstones, on March 1. While the 15-track album has no thinly veiled jabs at Jessica Simpson, Lindsay Lohan or other pop starlets, the album does include possible soon-to-be classics "Crackhouse Blues," "Chubby Princess" and "Choke on a Co--" ...

• Jennifer Lopez
• Queens of the Stone Age
• Snoop Dogg
• Wu-Tang Clan
• Ruff Ryders

DMX performs on Monday
Photo: Walik Goshorn

NEW YORK — DMX was reunited with his musical family on Monday night when he took center stage at the Hammerstein Ballroom. Celebrating the Tuesday release of his new Grand Champ LP by giving his first Big Apple performance in years, he received assistance from almost his entire Ruff Ryders family, in addition to LL Cool J, Stephanie Mills, Redman, Method Man and Sisqó.

(Click for photos from the show.)

Before the Dog made his entrance to the stage, his Double R crew mate and DJ for the night, Swizz Beatz, made the crowd nervous when he announced that DMX couldn't make it to the show because the police had held him up. It was obvious, however, that Swizz's statement was all part of the act when X came out soon after and was welcomed with cheers.

X informed the audience that he was in the place to be, shouting, "Bring it!" for his first selection, "We Right Here."

Then, to the dismay of his fans, X got serious when he told them that, in fact, he actually wouldn't be there for much longer, reiterating that Grand Champ is his last album. He asked the fans if they'd still have the same love for him when he stops rapping. They responded by clapping loudly.

Legendary vocalist Stephanie Mills then came out to perform "When I'm Nothing" from X's The Great Depression LP. Mills, who came to prominence in the '80s with a string of timeless R&B cuts before delving into gospel music, showed no signs of rust as she danced along with X and belted out the chorus with her renowned pipes.

"What you gonna do when I'm nothing?" X shouted. "You're crazy about my styyyllle/ What you gonna do when I'm nothing?/ Tell me nowww ... Tell me, tell me!"

X briefly brought the show to a halt when he walked over to the left side of the stage after noticing something on the floor. He picked it up with the tips of his fingers and revealed to the onlookers that it was a thong somebody threw at him. With half a smile, he threw it back at the spectators.

The King of Thongs, Sisqó, fresh from his recent run-in with the law (see "Sisqo Accused Of Shooting At Car, Resisting Arrest") and sporting black and blond cornrows, almost ran into DMX when he did his slide onto the stage at the start of "What These Bitches Want." "What these bitches want from a n---a?" X asked as Sisqó did the monastery dance and crooned the hook.

The LOX's Jadakiss will never be mistaken for a crooner, but he too had the whole ballroom singing along with him. Later in the show, he and his group added to the list of surprise guests (they included Drag-On on "No Love 4 Me" and performed their posse cut "Mighty D-Block (2 Guns Up)" with their protégé J-Hood).

"Everywhere we go-oh," Kiss sang, kicking off the underground scorcher. "People wanna know-oh/ Whooo we arrre/ So we tell them/ This is D-Block/ Mighty, mighty D-Block." Before their new clique's anthem, the LOX joined X to perform the Double R classic collaboration, "Money, Power, Respect."

X's joint ventures proved to be the highlights of the night as he jumped on the "4,3,2,1" track with Redman, Method Man and LL Cool J. J momentarily stole the spotlight as he received the loudest roar of the whole night. The building actually seemed to shake a little as the "G.O.A.T." began rapping his famous Canibus dis verse.

Of course DMX had more than enough solo cuts — "Get at Me Dog," the "Ruff Ryders Anthem" and "It's All Good" — to keep his following pleased. And at the end of "Party Up (Up in Here)," the Hammerstein crowd gave him a hearty send-off, for what might very well be his last New York show. They shouted "DMX! DMX! DMX!" as if he were Roman gladiator who had just slain a ferocious lion.

X is headed overseas for a European tour that starts on September 26 and when he returns to the States, his representatives say he'll launch a U.S. tour. The lineup for his domestic tour is yet to be determined.

For more sights and stories from concerts around the country, check out MTV News Tour Reports.

• DMX
• LL Cool J
• Stephanie Mills
• The Lox
• Sisqó

DMX
Photo: Def Jam

A little after Bad Boy and Death Row started to fall off in 1998, way before Cam'ron had the streets yelling "Dip Set, Dip Set" and before the G-Unit were completely formed, the Ruff Ryders were rap's #1 family in the streets and on the charts.

The team was unstoppable, DMX and the LOX had already established themselves as ferocious lyricists, Swizz Beatz's helter-skelter, gruesome productions had everyone from Jay-Z to Nas calling him for tracks, and Eve and Drag-On had hip-hop fans anticipating their debut LPs off the strength of their high-profile cameo appearances.

But lately, the Ruff Ryders are looking like a dysfunctional family. It's been rumored that Eve is leaving the label and going back to Aftermath, DMX says he's retiring and Drag-On hasn’t put out an album in three years. The LOX and Swizz Beatz have been devoting most of their time to starting their own labels, D-Block and Full Surface, respectively.

"It's no beef," scoffed Sheek Louch, who dropped his first solo LP, Walk Witt Me, on Tuesday (September 16). "People may think, 'Damn, it's over for Double R. They ain't doing nothing, Eve left. X doing this. LOX is yelling out D-Block.' I tell them that's not the case. Double R still has the potential to be the top label on earth.

"At the time when Double R had everybody, we were all kids to some extent," Sheek, pulling out his iced-out Ruff Ryders chain from under his shirt, continued. "Now Eve said, 'I wanna get into this acting thing. I wanna get a clothing line too.' X said, 'This movie sh-- is working.' The LOX said, 'We gonna do solo projects. We could get a label.' That’s the only thing that happened. We grew. Nobody's falling apart, nobody hates this person or that person."

It seems Sheek isn't double-talking about the Double R's love factor. Ruff Ryders CEOs Waah and Dee Dean let him out of his contract as a solo artist so he could drop Walk Witt Me on the LOX's D-Block label (The LOX are still signed to Ruff Ryders as a group and Jadakiss and Styles still have solo deals with RR as well). The Deans also let another of their roster's staples venture out as well.

Eve told MTV News last week she had no intentions of "jumping ship," but her next project will be a joint venture between Aftermath and Ruff Ryders that Dr. Dre will executive produce (see "Eve Says Ruff Ryders Still Family, Won't Make New LP If She's Too Burnt").

No matter what she does, Waah said, Eve will always be family. "She's always a pit bull in a skirt," he clarified. "Even if she goes over there, she was born and raised over here. We exposed her to the world. Now if she wants to step it up — she's doing movies and other things — me and my brother got nothing but love for Eve, Interscope and Aftermath. Me and my brother breathe easy.

"A lot of executives, when they have a lot of major artists grow, they like to keep them bonded into deals," Waah added. "We like to see them breathe and do their own thing. There's nothing like seeing your children go out and do their thing because you always gotta come back home. We teach them the formula, they go out and do it and we break bread together."

Waah and Dee have been breaking bread with a few different labels lately. Besides holding down joint venture deals with Def Jam (for DMX and newcomers Infra Red and Cross) and Interscope (for Eve and the LOX), they inked a deal with Virgin to put out Drag-On, new jack MC Jin and a female artist named Asia.

"It's a lot of checks flowing," Waah smiled. "We're just being humble and honest with what we do."

Sheek and DMX both dropped new albums on Tuesday. For Grand Champ, which DMX says will be his last LP (see "DMX Retiring From Hip-Hop, Plans To Read His Bible"), X shed his lone-wolf image and included the whole clique on the record and on a remix of "Where the Hood At," currently on mixtapes.

Jada and Styles' next albums may be right around the corner. Both are in the lab and Kiss says he wants to drop in December. The LOX already have songs in the can for their next group effort, tentatively titled Live, Suffer and Celebrate, and are thinking about a 2004 release date. Drag-On will drop his Hell and Back LP on October 21. Jin is due to debut early next year (see "Ruff Ryders' New Dog: Jin").

Meanwhile, Swizz Beatz is in full swing with his Full Surface Label. His first act, Cassidy, just put out a single called "Take It" and has another cut on deck, "Hotel," with R. Kelly.

• Ruff Ryders
• DMX
• Swizz Beatz
• The Lox
• Eve

Ruff Ryders
Photo: Ruff Ryders/Interscope

You probably couldn't imagine Richard Simmons walking around the streets of Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn, in those skimpy Daisy Dukes telling some of the dudes from the neighborhood to get pumped. The sight of Jane Fonda holding court on how to tighten up those abs in front of the Underground Mall in Atlanta is undoubtedly as tough to bring to your mind's eye.

Well, for you guys and gals who want to get your body on point this summer but don't have the time for a conventional get-in-shape venue, the Ruff Ryders have your solution. They're bringing the whole "Let's get physical" motif outdoors and into your home.

"We've got a fitness [video], like a 'Tae Bo' type of joint, but it's on a street level," Ruff Ryders' co-CEO Waah said on Wednesday of the camp's tape, titled "The Ruff Ryders' Thug Workout." "We'll have the editions like Tae Bo's got. The instructional [tape], the ultimate total-body joint. It's gonna be real crazy.

"This 'Thug Workout' tape is exercise in the 'hood," he continued. "Anywhere you go, you can work out. You can do a workout in the park, you could work out on the beaches. Work out on the light poles. Anywhere on the street, you can do this exercise."

Waah said the people featured on the tape are not certified trainers, though they've been getting in shape by these means practically all their lives. Some of the routines you'll see on the tape are pull-ups on playground monkey bars, pushups on asphalt and tightening up those triceps by using park picnic tables.

DMX and the LOX are locked in to appear on the release, while Waah and company are trying to work around Eve's schedule so she can get down and dirty on the tape as well. Waah said he'll use music from the camp and possibly outside factions as the theme music on "Thug Workout."

"We're gonna definitely gut it out with the hip-hop joints," he said. "There's definitely gonna be a Ruff Ryders presence and vibe on there. We might show a little love to other people, unless they ain't clearing the songs — then we're just gonna 'ryde or die.' [We'll have] some new songs, some old. We're gonna mix it up."

"The Ruff Ryders' Thug Workout" is slated to hit video stores in July or August.

Meanwhile, the Ruff Ryders' co-produced film "When the Ryde Gets Ruff" starts filming June 12 with director Kirk Wong and star Wesley Snipes (see "Ruff Ryders, Wesley Snipes Join Forces For Film"). The entire Double R camp, including DMX, the LOX and Eve, will appear in that movie.

As for the label's musical releases, Waah said DMX is going into the studio as soon as he finishes filming "Cradle to the Grave" with Jet Li. Styles from the LOX has a solo album ready to go in June, and his groupmates Sheek and Jadakiss are working on their records. Eve, Drag-On, and the group Infa-Red & Cross are all expected to put out projects this year as well.

• Ruff Ryders

Wesley Snipes
Photo: Warner Brothers

Call him Ruffy the Vampire Slayer.

"Blade II" star Wesley Snipes is teaming with Ruff Ryders — and trading in his blade for a motorcycle — for his next movie.

In "When the Ride Is Ruff," which is scheduled to begin shooting in June, Snipes will play a bike-gang leader who is framed for murder. While co-starring roles have been written for the king and queen of Ruff Ryders — DMX and Eve — a producer said their participation is not yet confirmed.

Ruff Ryders trio the LOX, among others, may also appear in the movie. "With the biker gang, there will be room for cameos from all of our artists," Leslie Sabin, the senior vice president of Ruff Ryders' film division, said Monday.

Wink 1100, the motorcyclist who has appeared in several Ruff Ryders videos and whom Sabin called "the black Evel Knievel," is coordinating the stunts and will appear in the movie.

Ruff Ryders will also provide the soundtrack.

Kirk Wong ("The Big Hit") will direct "When the Ride Is Ruff," which will follow Snipes and his gang on the run from a biker rally in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, to New York City.

Ruff Ryders brought the script to Snipes more than two years ago and will co-produce the film along with Snipes' Amen Ra Films. Sabin said she is talking with several studios interested in distributing the movie.

DMX is currently filming "Cradle to the Grave" with Jet Li (see "DMX Sets Sights On Bloodline Tour, Jet Li Flick, PSAs"), Eve just finished shooting "Barbershop" with Ice Cube (see "Eve Cast In Ice Cube Comedy, Wraps Up Vin Diesel Action Flick") and the LOX's Jadakiss appears in an as-yet-untitled movie with Vivica Fox, according to Sabin.

• Ruff Ryders

Jadakiss
Photo: Christina Lantry

The Ruff Ryder kin are heading down to Atlanta to extend some family love to Bubba Sparxxx.

With director Chris Robinson at the helm, Jadakiss and Bubba Sparxxx will shoot the video for their rhyme exchange, "They Ain't Ready," on November 6 and 7. The clip will feature Jada and Bubba introducing each other to their respective inner circles and lifestyles, according to a source in the Ruff Ryders camp.

Produced by Timbaland, the track is the next single off of the Ruff Ryders compilation Ryde or Die Volume III: In the R We Trust. The album is due out on December 18, the source said.

Early last month, the company contemplated putting out Eve's "You, Me, and She" as the follow-up to the current offering, the remix to Jadakiss' "We Gonna Make It" featuring Eve and Styles (see "Eve Gets Snarky At Two-Timing Ex On New Ruff Ryders Track").

Styles, who's gearing up for the early 2002 release of his solo LP, A Gangster and a Gentleman, will be featured on Ryde or Die Volume III with a solo effort called "Shoot 'Em in the Head" and a collaboration with Tha Eastsidaz entitled "Eastside Ryders."

"It's harder going solo," Styles said, adding that he's learned by observing everything his LOX groupmate Jadakiss has gone through with his solo album, Kiss Tha Game Goodbye (see "Jadakiss, DMX Team Up For Goodbye").

"It's a lot more work," Styles said. "A lot more sh-- is on your back. Now they're just going to say something about you [instead of your whole group]. It's good, because I think we're going to be bigger when we do it as a group again."

Like the remaining third of the LOX, Sheek, Styles has been rampaging with freestyles and a handful of songs on the underground mixtape circuit in hopes to build a buzz for album.

"People always compare us, so you gotta go hard," he said. "We're brothers, so we don't really care. They heard Kiss' album, now they want to scream on me. When they hear my album, they're gonna scream on Sheek. It's a natural thing to do. That's how the game works."

The Yonkers, New York, native, who once rhymed that he was a "positive and negative n---a," said his album will reflect his dual characteristics.

"That's why I named my album A Gangster and a Gentleman," he said. "I feel there's two sides to every coin. I try to be truthful and I'm a good person, but I've also got a negative side. I don't feel guilty about either one. Whatever I do, I feel is justifiable. Maybe not in other peoples' eyes, but within myself, I feel it's justifiable. Maybe I might get a little violent, but that's how it goes sometimes."

Although he's still putting the project together, he said producers such as PK, Swizz Beatz, Rockwilder, and DJ Twins provided beats for songs on his album, including the title cut, "We All Gonna Die" and "The Ghost,' which is getting play on mixtapes now.

"That's basically a joint describing why I call myself 'the Ghost,' " he said. "I just wanted to take the time out to explain why, kind of get in-depth. I'm just a deep, spiritual person. I feel like I'm moving when I'm not moving. I just be vibin'. I just feel out of this world sometimes."

Here on Earth, the LOX are also concentrating on starting their own label, D-Block, with young-gun line-thrower J-Hood as their leadoff hitter.

"It will be in the future," Styles explained. "It really means 'discipline,' 'dedication' and 'determination,' things of that sort. We're keeping it quiet, though. You don't want to say too much sh-- before it happens.

"[J-Hood] is 17 or 18," he continued. "We had him since he was 12. That's what it takes. You've got to get to know a n---a. You don't become family overnight."

• Jadakiss
• Bubba Sparxxx
• The Lox
• Ruff Ryders

Styles and Eve
Photo: Ruff Ryders/Interscope

On her new single, "You, Me, and She," Eve turns a deaf ear to the sentiment shared by John Ritter and his classic sitcom crew that three's company. She strikes back at a boyfriend who, while he was dating her, was still putting in bedroom time with the mother of his kids.

On the track, produced by Murder Inc. Records CEO Irv Gotti, Eve rhymes, "Did it to myself," referring to her naiveté about her boyfriend. She goes on to recount how she confronted her ex's so-called ex and how the two women started "comparing notes," realizing that the guy was giving both of them many of the same empty pledges of devotion.

Eve's label, Ruff Ryders, is leaning toward releasing the song as the next single from its new compilation LP, Ryde or Die Vol. 3, according to a Double R spokesperson. The single would drop in the next few weeks. The remix to Jadakiss' "We Gonna Make It," which features Eve and Kiss' LOX groupmate Styles, is already in rotation as the first offering from the album.

Although Ruff Ryders said the LP — which is scheduled to be released November 20 — is only seven songs into production, the label has confirmed that DMX is going to be on the compilation, as will the rest of the Ruff Ryders camp. As on the previous two volumes in the Ryde or Die series, outsiders will also be making contributions.

MCs Ludacris, Xzibit and Bubba Sparxxx have already laid down vocals, and producers Timbaland, Mike City, Scott Storch, Irv Gotti and the Trackmasters have supplied beats for the album.

Ruff Ryders is also gearing up for the releases of debut solo albums by the remaining two-thirds of the LOX. Styles' A Gangster and a Gentleman is due at the top of 2002 and Sheek has been in lockdown working on his album, which the label says is dropping sometime next year.

Their partner, Jadakiss, who released his gold Kiss Tha Game Goodbye in August, is set to begin production on the video for his next single, "Keep Ya Head Up." That begins rolling next week in New York under the direction of J. Jesses Smith.

• Eve
• Ruff Ryders
• Jadakiss
• The Lox
• DMX

Swizz Beatz
Photo: MTV News

DMX isn't the only member of the Ruff Ryders family to recently start his own label -- the Double R's main producer, Swizz Beatz, is set to release new music on his Full Surface imprint soon.

While his label deal is non-exclusive, Swizz has already committed to Clive Davis' J Records to put out albums by his artists, including Yung Wun, Kima (who rhymed on Cam'ron's "What Means the World to You") and reggae superstar Bounty Killer.

Meanwhile, DreamWorks Records will serve as the home for Swizz's new compilation, Swizz Beatz Presents G.E.T.T.O. Stories Vol. 1. In addition to "Mary's Jam," a work in progress that features Mary J. Blige and Jay-Z, Swizz expects the album to feature collaborations between DMX and Papa Roach, Musiq Soulchild and Carl Thomas, Bounty Killer and Shaggy, and Outkast and Ludacris. A cut Swizz described as a West Coast version of A Tribe Called Quest's classic "Scenario," featuring Snoop Dogg, Nate Dogg and Tha Eastsidaz rhyming over a replayed rendition of the track Run-DMC used for 1985's "Rock Box," has also been completed. "I'm happy with all the artists [on G.E.T.T.O. Stories]," Swizz said. "They're all giving me their best." The services of fellow superproducers Dr. Dre and Timbaland also have been enlisted for the record. "I'm going to do a song where I'm going to let Timbaland produce half the beat and let Dre produce the other half," he explained. "I'll be rapping on that one." Quincy Jones, Will Smith, Shyne, Noreaga and Shaquille O'Neal have also made contributions to the LP, and the Yonkers, New York, native's biggest coup could be recruiting reclusive legend Michael Jackson for the comp.

"It's basically a favor-for-a-favor type thing," explained Swizz, who produced three songs that may or may not appear on Jackson's next LP. "He's singing the hook and doing ad-libs. I got him on some gangsta sh--. I wanted him to be like he was from the ghetto. We're making him get braids. I bought him some [Timberland construction boots]. He was like, 'These are so heavy, how do you guys walk in them?'" Having supplied beats for everyone from Limp Bizkit to Mya, the producer lessened his workload to concentrate on his label and album.

"I had to set myself up as a businessman," he explained. "Jay-Z just called me and said, 'Let's do five joints. Let's do it again.' I was like, cool. He called me to work on the ['Dynasty' album] too, but I couldn't do it. I had to get things straight." As for his new business partners, Swizz said the experience has been "gravy." "[Clive Davis] is a gangsta," he said, laughing. "He's so laid back, he don't press me. I feel welcomed. It's definitely all good. DreamWorks has paper, and they know how important I am to them. They don't really have nobody for hip-hop." LL Cool J, who Swizz worked with for G.E.T.T.O. Stories as well as the next Violator compilation, was also impressed by the Ruff Ryder -- so much so that he asked Swizz to oversee his next album. "I didn't know it was like that," Swizz said, seemingly still surprised. "[LL] called me personally and was like, 'I ain't never ask nobody to executive-produce my album." He just felt me. He was feeling the whole vibe. He wants to go to the studio now." Swizz said that he has also been approached to executive-produce the new Busta Rhymes album, but he will probably just work on LL's record.

Next week, Swizz heads into the studio to begin working on DMX's fourth album, which he promises will the MC's roughest yet. He also refuted rumors of friction between X and the Double R camp. "We're all one big family," Swizz said. Swizz also finished seven tracks for Jadakiss' album, plans to work on a third installment of the Ruff Ryders' successful Ryde or Die compilations, and hopes to have singles from G.E.T.T.O. Stories as well as the Yung Wun LP out by summer. Street dates for the albums have yet to be determined.

• Swizz Beatz
• Ruff Ryders

Onstage And Backstage With DMX, Busta, More In New York

• DMX
• Drag-On
• Ruff Ryders
• Busta Rhymes
• LL Cool J