DJ Drama
Photo: MTV News

ATLANTA — No stress from anybody trying to sue over his name. No cops shutting down his studio. DJ Drama said making his new album, Gangsta Grillz: The Album II, was way more peaceful than the first time around.

"This one got put together a lot more faster," Dram said, sitting in his brand-new home. "We didn't have to worry about anybody knocking the door down. That was a plus. But we learned a lot from the first album, and we banged it out song-wise. It ain't rocket science. It's quality music. What I'm known for."

ATL's biggest DJ said for part two in his album series, he kept around team members like T.I. and his artists La Da Darkman and Willie the Kid but focused on wrangling some new MCs.

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"That was one of the most exciting things for me, was working with the people I didn't get a chance to work with on the last album," the Philly native said. "Ludacris is on this album. He's home team, he's Atlanta, so it's only right for him to be on the Gangsta Grillz album — if not the first one, then the second one. Scarface is on this album. He's somebody I really wanted on the first album. Nas is on this album. To work with him in itself is special. Busta [Rhymes] is on this album. As big as the original version of 'Cannon' was, it didn't make my first album. I got The-Dream, Fabolous, Gucci Mane is on, like, three times doing what he does. He wasn't on the last album, so I told him to go into overdrive for this album.

"One of the things about this album was to bring a different flavor. Show my fanbase something different," Dram added.

Gangsta Grillz II's first single is "Day Dreaming," featuring Akon, Tip and Snoop Dogg. We'll get a couple of more songs before the LP drops May 19.

"I got two records I'm pushing out," Drama explained. "I got this Dream record with La and Too Short on it [called 'Tipper Love'] that's gonna smash the club and the radio. Dream is on fire right now. I had to go get the O.G. Too Short for this. La is doing his thing in the streets, so that's gonna smash.

"Then I got this one that's ridiculous with Gucci, OJ Da Juiceman and Lonnie Mack that's produced by Zaytoven," he said of "Ridiculous," which also features Yo Gotti. "That's gonna tear the streets up. So I'm gonna do a double drop and hit 'em in the head two times."

Drumma Boy, DJ Khalil, Lil' C and Tricky Stewart are among the producers. Drama is hitting the road to promote his LP and told us he loves that his release date is packed with so many other LPs, such as Fat Joe's Jealous Ones Still Envy 2, Busta Rhymes' Back on My B.S. and Eminem's Relapse.

"Hey, they'll be in the stores, let's do it," he said. "Me and Bus was talking about that the other day. Eminem is the homie. I work for him over at Shade 45 [Radio]. Him and [Em's manager] Paul [Rosenberg] have always shown me a lot of love. I'm glad he's back in the game. I'm used to coming out on legendary days. Last time I came out with Scarface and Ghostface. I'm excited."

As always, expect Drama to continue with his Gangsta Grillz mixtapes as well. The next one is top-secret for now, but he did say that it is with an artist the fans have been asking him to make a tape with.

• It's Atlanta Week!

• DJ Drama
• Ludacris
• Nas
• T.I.
• Scarface

Scarface
Photo: MTV News

HOUSTON — Seems unlikely, but one of the baddest men in all of Texas got his butt whupped by a 14-year-old girl. Even more unlikely, he's grateful for the whupping because it introduced him to one of the new loves of his life.

"I started playing a good year [ago], in September," Scarface said, standing on the greens at Wild Cat Golf Club.

'Face attends the Matt Swanson School of Golf at the club. The golf course used to be a junkyard back when Uncle 'Face was just a young buck. Now he spends just about every day he has free here fine-tuning his stroke. On average, he can hit about 93, but on a good day, his score is in the 80s. (See if he inspired Shaheem Reid to take up golf in the Newsroom blog.)

"My daughter played golf," said 'Face, in full golf attire. "She was taking golf lessons. I bought her some clubs, and I bought me some clubs. I got out there thinking it was all fun and games, and my daughter kicked my ass. Can you imagine getting beat by your 14-year-old daughter? That kinda hurt my pride. So I'm trying to get good so I can play my daughter again."

Training for a rematch with his kid (they still haven't played again) caught 'Face off-guard: He began to love what he was doing.

"Messing with wanting to hit the ball straighter and even straighter and wanting to chip the ball and place the ball got me addicted. So when I wake up in the morning, I'm going to hit some balls. I play every day. Every single day. I look forward to Sunday. That's my favorite day to play, because I play with some old cats that are my buddies.

"It's a beautiful thing, man, to get out here," he added. "It's real quiet. And it's just you and the golf ball. It looks easy, but this is probably the hardest thing you had to do. Golf is like a woman. One day everything is cool. Next day, you be like, 'What happened?' "

'Face and his instructor, Bruce Olson, made a heckuva combination. Olson is the straight man to Scarface's comedian.

"I don't trust you," Olson said to 'Face, who was sitting behind the wheel on their golf cart.

"You don't trust my driving?" asked 'Face, who moved over to sit shotgun.

"I don't trust you as far as I can throw you, and that's not far," Olson replied.

Their rapport is like two friends who've known each other for years.

"Why do my clubs feel so short today? Am I getting taller?" asked 'Face, now on the grass ready to tee off. Olson just shook his head.

"I don't wanna yank up the rug," Scarface would later whine with a smile.

Olson just calmly encouraged the rap legend to keep yanking it up. "Divot after the golf ball," Olson said, explaining what Scarface's made-up phrase "yank up the rug" meant. "In the past, when he's taken divots, they've been pointed to the left. So he's coming in the golf ball too steep. So we're trying to shallow him, so he can get a little more pressure on the golf ball and get the ball first, then grass. When he says it hurts, it's because he's coming in too steep. We wanna get ball first, then rug, so it'll go straight."

"We got this love/hate relationship," 'Face joked. "If I hit a good shot, I love him. If I mess up, all hell is gonna break loose."

It was all love that day, though. Scarface's stroke has improved drastically since fall of 2007. But he's not pumped up — well, not too pumped.

"Vijay Singh would kick my ass. Tiger Woods, on the other hand, I might kick Tiger's ass. ... Nah. God sent Tiger Woods here to play golf for real," 'Face said.

He does think he could take Lil Jon or Will Smith. "I call him the Fresh Prince," he said of his blockbuster-making friend. The two go way back to tours in the '80s.

Don't look for Scarface to be performing for too many more years. He released his "last" album, Emeritus, last week and has ruled out a comeback.

"I quit. I'm done. I'mma do a farewell U.S. tour, then a farewell European tour," he promised. "Then I'm heading for the hills. This is my last run, man. I had a real good time. I enjoyed it."

So does he love golf more than rapping? That is yet to be determined, but he does admit that swinging clubs is tougher than slangin' rhymes.

"Waaayyyy harder," he said. "When I was doing the Made album, I was just learning how to play. When I was doing the Emeritus album, I was playing my ass off. That's all we had to do — come out here and hit balls and go to the studio."

• Golfing With Scarface

• Scarface

Britney Spears
Photo: Jive

Well, there's really no denying it now: Britney Spears really is back! Back to selling tons of records, at least.

Her Circus album will debut at #1 on next week's Billboard albums chart, selling just under 505,100 copies. It's Spears' fifth album to debut at #1 on the chart, and it sold nearly twice as many copies as last year's Blackout album, which was denied the top spot on the chart by the Eagles' Long Road Out of Eden.

Circus' first-week sales total is certainly big, but it's only the sixth biggest opening of 2008, behind albums like Lil Wayne's Tha Carter III, AC/DC's Black Ice, Coldplay's Viva la Vida, Taylor Swift's Fearless and T.I.'s Paper Trail. Still, it outpaced the first-week numbers of some of Brit's pop peers, including Beyoncé's I Am ... Sasha Fierce, Mariah Carey's E = MC² and Miley Cyrus' Breakout.

Interestingly enough, the Brit-sanity was so high among album buyers that Blackout also managed to return to the charts, selling more than 4,600 copies to land at #198.

Spears' manager, Larry Rudolph, told The Associated Press that the success of Circus really does signify Brit's triumphant return. "At the end of the day, I think she is America's pop princess, and the world's pop princess, and this just reconfirms it to everyone who doubted it," he said. "Professionally, she's feeling great. ... It's great for her to hear that she's got a #1 album again."

Those sentiments were seconded by in a statement from Jive Records, Britney's label. "We're absolutely thrilled for Britney," the statement reads. "The response to Circus is a testament to how great the album is, and to how connected and supportive Britney's fans are to her and her music."

Swift's Fearless lands in the #2 spot on the albums chart for the second-straight week, selling 193,500 copies. Beyoncé's Sasha Fierce is at #3, with sales of more than 152,800 copies. Last week's chart champ, Kanye West's 808s & Heartbreak, drops to #4, with sales of close to 141,700 copies. Nickelback's Dark Horse rounds out the top five, selling 133,400 copies.

The rest of the top 10 features the "Twilight" soundtrack at #6; the week's other big-name debut, Akon's Freedom at #7; the soundtrack to "High School Musical 3" at #8; the ubiquitous hits collection Now That's What I Call Music! 29 at #9; and David Cook's self-titled effort at #10.

Aside from Circus and Freedom (which sold 110,600 copies), other notable debuts on next week's chart include Scarface's Emeritus (#24, with 42,000 copies sold), Neil Young's Sugar Mountain: Live at Canterbury House 1968 (#40, with 26,400 copies sold) and the soundtrack to Beyoncé's new movie, "Cadillac Records" (#66, with 15,600 copies sold).

• Today's Headlines: Britney, T.I. & More
• Britney Spears Is #1

• Britney Spears
• Taylor Swift
• Kanye West
• Nickelback
• Akon

Chamillionaire at the "Best of Texas" concert in Houston Sunday
Photo: MTV News

Houston hip-hop artists have a history of being very talented but, unfortunately, very divided at times. In the '90s, there were rivalries based on what part of the city you lived in. Several years ago, that philosophy was put aside, and the guys from H-Town started collaborating regardless of geography. When the city reemerged and exploded less than a handful of years ago, the scene caught fire with a bevy of pairings: Slim Thug and Chamillionaire. Lil' Flip and Chamillionaire. Slim Thug, Mike Jones and Paul Wall. Bun B and everybody.

Then everybody started doing their own thing again.

"In every argument, both sides are going to feel they are right," said Chamillionaire, who has had issues with Paul Wall and Mike Jones over the past few years. "In hip-hop, it's very competitive — the competitive nature of the music. ... Any little thing can make somebody mad."

At the recent Ozone Awards — supposedly a shining moment for the city — the division screamed when Trae tha Truth laid hands on Mike Jones, punching the MC. To make matters worse, the night ended early without a planned cipher of the city's MCs closing the show. Tsk-tsk.

On Sunday, Houston radio station the Box pulled off what some called the impossible, assembling just about every hip-hop artist in the city — old and new — for what they called the "Best of Texas" concert. It all took place during the Los Magnificos Car Show at the Reliant Center, and it lasted more than seven hours.

"This is home," Lil' Flip said after he got offstage early in the afternoon. "The biggest car show we ever had. Twenty-thousand [people]! Usually we have, like, 12,000."

Flip underestimated the turnout; by show's end, there was talk of the spectator tally being somewhere between 28,000 and 30,000.

"This is our biggest event of the year," Slim Thug explained. "Usually we have artists from all over the country come down and perform. This year, it's all Houston and a few Dallas artists, and it's sold out. This is the biggest turnout they ever had."

Houston legends the Botany Boys, Lil' Keke, Scarface and Bun B joined current hometown superstars Paul Wall, Chamillionaire, Slim Thug and Mike Jones. The night's most anticipated and loudly received sets, however, came from two guys who the mainstream don't really know, Trae tha Truth and Z-Ro, who closed the show.

"It's intoxicating, it's like one of them things rolled up burning," said Z-Ro, who was the undeniable crowd favorite of the night. "Z-Ro, Zeeee-rooooo," the crowd started chanting an hour before he came on.

"The kids and the older people, all walks of life — they out there screaming, word for word," the MC said. "I looked out and didn't see any wall, I didn't see any wall. All I saw was people. I felt I had to be all I can. It's like the army now."

It was very surreal hearing 20,000-plus sing Ro's song "I Hate You B----" like it was a Linda Perry power ballad.

Mike Jones got a very different reaction during his set. Maybe they didn't immediately recognize him because of his significant weight loss (he's been dieting and working out), but when he came out, the crowd was just cold. No booing, no cheering, no reaction. That indifference carried through his show for the most part. He did get them to sing along occasionally, though.

Bun B went over heavily with the crowd. They welcomed him like the legend he is. "Draped Up" and "Get Throwed" drove 'em crazy, while "Int'l Players Anthem" and "Big Pimpin' " kept hands in the air.

Paul Wall rolled out hits like "Sittin' Sidewayz" and "Grillz," but his big moment was bringing out Chamillionaire for 'N Luv Wit My Money.' The two buried the hatchet a while back, but they made it official Sunday night. Cham himself brought out Krayzie Bone on "Ridin' " and Lil' Flip for "Turn It Up."

Although songs such as "Mr. Scarface" and "Money and the Power" were probably older than some of the kids in the crowd, Scarface got them to chant his classics. "Smile" and "I Seen a Man Die" were also in his chamber, but the biggest record for him was "My Mind's Playing Tricks on Me." While it had been billed that the Geto Boys would take the stage together to receive a lifetime-achievement award, Bushwick Bill and Willie D were unexplained absentees.

Trae tha Truth clearly went over his allotted time: The house and stage lights were on during most of his performance. But who's gonna tell the imposing street don to stop rapping? Especially when Trae brought out his son and the kids of deceased Houston icons Fat Pat and Big Hawk.

But Slim Thug gets the show's MVP award. Besides his own set, he jumped onstage no less than five other times for various guest appearances. No "Still Tippin' " with Jones and Wall, though.

• Slim Thug, Z-Ro Talk About The 'Best Of Texas'

• Lil' Flip
• Scarface
• Mike Jones
• Paul Wall
• Slim Thug

Maino and Swizz Beatz
Photo: Hustle Hard

Artist: Young Chris

Representing: State Property Chain Gang

Mixtape: Never Die

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

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

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

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

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

Joints To Check For

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

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

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

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

'Hood's Heavy Rotation: Bubbling Below The Radar

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

Celebrity Faves

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

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

The Streets Is Talking: News & Notes From The Underground

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Emeritus is slated for December 2.

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

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

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

Game and Dr. Dre
Photo: Aftermath

• Game
• Dr. Dre
• Prodigy of Mobb Deep
• B.G.
• Scarface

Josh Groban's <i>Noël,</i>
Photo: WEA/ Reprise

The album's robust sales are proof positive of Oprah's influence — and, of course, the season, as sales of Christmas releases increased across the board. Still, it's nonetheless impressive that in the nine weeks since its release, the LP has held the #1 spot the last three. Next week's chart shows that the album's week-three triumph was hardly threatened; the record sold another 581,500 copies, and the closest competitor, Alicia Keys' As I Am, finished at #2, selling 234,400 units.

But perhaps the bigger story is how "American Idol" season-six runner-up Blake Lewis' debut, Audio Day Dream, fared on the top 200 (see " 'American Idol' Runner-Up Blake Lewis Creates Own Genre On A.D.D. Debut"). Entering the chart at #10 with just 97,500 copies scanned, Lewis' disc was the sole chart newcomer to bow in the top 10, but the album generated fewer sales than "Idol" victor Jordin Sparks' self-titled debut did. Sparks' album turned out the lowest first-week numbers for any debut from one of the show's champs, and this week, it sits at #24 with sales reported at 52,500, just three weeks after first landing in stores. It, too, entered at #10 the week after its release, with little more than 119,100 sold (see "Jordin Sparks' Debut Has Weakest-Ever Opening For An 'American Idol' Champ: What Went Wrong?").

The remainder of the top 10 is filled out with some of the biggest-selling albums of the year, enjoying a holiday sales boost. Behind Keys at #3 is the Eagles' Long Road Out of Eden with 204,500 scans, and coming in at #4 with 158,400 sold is the 26th addition to the Now That's What I Call Music! compilation series. The soundtrack to "Hannah Montana 2: Meet Miley Cyrus" climbs two spots to #5, selling 132,200, while the soundtrack to "High School Musical 2" follows at #6 with 128,000 sold.

Carrie Underwood's Carnival Ride rises two positions to #7, having sold 106,800 copies. Garth Brooks' Ultimate Hits follows at #8 with 105,000 scans, and coming in at #9 with 98,800 copies scanned is country crossover Taylor Swift's self-titled debut.

Generally speaking, album sales were up last week, thanks to the holiday shopping season, and the announcement last week of this year's Grammy contenders. For example, sales of Kanye West's Graduation, which garnered the most nominations, were up 7 percent to close at 25,100; the album surged ahead 10 spots to #58. Meanwhile, sales of Amy Winehouse's Back to Black, which was nominated for six awards, rose 48 percent to end at 17,600-plus, according to the latest SoundScan totals.

One of the week's biggest gainers was Mexican band K-Paz de la Sierra's Capaz de Todo por Ti, which experienced a sales increase of 309 percent, following the death of lead singer Sergio Gomez 10 days ago. (He was kidnapped and later found dead, one of three popular traditional Mexican musicians to be murdered last week.) The album, which wasn't on the chart last week, appeared at #93, selling 15,300 copies — up from 3,700 the previous week.

Just 13 new releases managed to find their way onto next week's top 200, including Lewis' inaugural studio offering. Rapper Scarface's M.A.D.E. enters the chart at #17 with 62,900 scans, while DJ Drama's first aboveground mixtape, Gangsta Grillz: The Album, which features tracks by T.I., Young Jeezy, Lil Jon, Lil Wayne, Yung Joc, Jadakiss, Jim Jones and others, comes in at #26 with 48,800 sold.

Carnival, Vol. 2: Memoirs of an Immigrant, the latest from ex-Fugee Wyclef Jean, opens at #28, having sold 46,400 copies its first week in stores. That's the lowest chart position and weakest sales of any of 'Clef's previous outings. Back in 1997, The Carnival debuted at #16 with 52,000 sold, while 2000's The Ecleftic: 2 Sides II a Book opened at #9 with 95,400 scans; 2002's Masquerade entered the chart at #6 with 81,500, and 2003's The Preacher's Son bowed at #22 with 49,300 sold.

Godsmack's career-spanning Good Times, Bad Times: 10 Years of Godsmack collection sold 40,500 copies to enter the chart at #35, while Wu-Tang Clan associate Ghostface Killah's The Big Doe Rehab follows at #41 with 35,600 sold. Styles P's new one, Super Gangster (Extraordinary Gentleman), comes in at #52 with sales of 28,500.

Late rapper 2Pac has not one, but two posthumous releases making their debuts on next week's chart. The Best of 2Pac, Pt. 1: Thug sits in the #65 spot with 22,500 sold, while The Best of 2Pac, Pt. 2: Life follows at #77 with 18,900 copies snatched up. Meanwhile, Too Short's Get Off the Stage enters at #160 with sales reported at 8,000, and Rufus Wainwright's Rufus Does Judy at Carnegie Hall comes in at #171 with 7,400 sold. Lastly, debuting at #196 with 6,300 sold, it's Crunk Hits: Volume 4, a compilation featuring the likes of T.I., Shop Boyz, Fat Joe, Chris Brown, Chamillionaire and Jim Jones.

• Blake Lewis' Debut LP Lives Up To A.D.D. Title

• Josh Groban
• Scarface
• Wyclef Jean
• DJ Drama
• Blake Lewis

Beanie Sigel
Photo: Roc-A-Fella

Dwight Grant copped his Beanie Sigel moniker, in part, from Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel, a man who became one of the first "celebrity" gangsters in the early 20th century. At age 41, Siegel was killed by a bullet to the face in a mob-style shooting. And over the last couple of years, it seems likely that Sigel may have pondered the wisdom of his choice of monikers.

In May, the rapper was shot in the arm during a botched robbery attempt outside a nightclub in his Philadelphia hometown (see "Beanie Sigel Recuperating After Being Shot During Robbery Attempt"). In August — the same month he was released from prison from a 2004 federal gun charge (see "Beanie Sigel Released From Prison") — police arrested him after finding him riding in a car with a convicted felon. In November, Sigel was hospitalized due to complications from a hernia. And in December, he failed a drug test — though his lawyer was later able to provide the probate judge with a prescription for Sigel's medication, codeine and morphine.

That brings us to last week, when a U.S. district court judge requested a hearing to discuss Sigel's recent activity. The result: The rapper's probation was extended by an additional six months after the judge concluded Sigel violated his probation by not reporting the August arrest to his supervising officer.

All the drama has forced Sigel — amid much larger issues — to retreat and rethink the name of his next album, which was originally set to be called Return of the Bad Guy. Now it's named The Solution and poised to drop in June.

"In the beginning, just coming fresh out my situation when I had to sit down for that year [in jail], when I came home, that was that attitude," Sigel said of his original album title. "But as I started recording, the content for this album became too great for that title. I'm still in limbo, but I've been playing around with a couple titles. I'm gonna stick with The Solution as the working title so far."

Beans wouldn't disclose what label he's signed to nowadays, whether it be Roc-A-Fella or Universal Records, as rumors have indicated. He's leaving that for his "marketing plan," he said, although he did list a number of guests he's currently working on securing for the project.

He cited Mos Def, Scarface — and potentially Eminem and Kid Rock, for a "crazy" posse cut — as artists he has his eyes set on. Sigs also confirmed production is being done by Philadelphia duos Dre & Vidal and newcomers Little Harry and Little Alex, revealing that the latter pair have done half the album so far.

"I said it before: I don't want to make music forever, I just wanna make that forever music," the rapper explained. "So that's just basically the course I been going on. Just making the right music, the right decisions on songs that I do. ... A lot of my music goes off of feeling. If it feels good to me, then I'll do it, I'll complete it. And that's what the world will hear."

After enduring court hearings and an uncertain fate during the recording of his last album, The B.Coming, Sigel said The Solution will be the first LP he's worked on for which there hasn't been an overbearing label pressuring him to finish by a looming deadline.

Sigel said he's always been satisfied by the outcome of his albums but added that he's looking forward to being able to put together The Solution at his own pace.

As for his former Roc-A-Fella and State Property mates, Sigel said his status with all of them is fine.

"I will always do music with them," Sigel said. Though he admitted he said certain things out of anger in the past toward them, mostly his fellow Philly rappers, Sigs is looking forward to working with them again. He even said a State Property reunion is possible.

"If everybody get together and we on the same page like we once was," he said, "then I'm ready to ride."

• Beanie Sigel
• Eminem
• Kid Rock
• Scarface
• Mos Def

Juvenile
Photo: Jason Campbell

Veteran New Orleans rapper Juvenile has been working his hip-hop game for well over a decade, and in all that time he hasn't known what it's like to top Billboard's albums chart. He'd come close once — 2001's Project English racked up more than 213,000 week-one sales to open at #2 — but it's his latest LP, Reality Check, that finally did the trick.

Juve's chart-topping campaign came dangerously close to collapse thanks not to a musician, but to Oprah. According to the latest SoundScan figures, Reality Check — which features collaborations with Ludacris, Mike Jones, Fat Joe, Bun B, Paul Wall and a host of others — sold more than 174,000 copies during its initial week of release, which was enough to secure Billboard's high seat. But had just 14,000 more viewers tuned in to "The Oprah Winfrey Show" on March 8, things could've ended differently.

British crooner James Blunt was Oprah's guest that afternoon, and performed the infectious first single from his Back to Bedlam LP, "You're Beautiful." The booking helped score a 142 percent boon to album sales, with Blunt's disc moving more than 161,000 units and climbing seven spots to #2, the highest spot the album has reached since it landed on U.S. shores 23 weeks ago. Blunt didn't pull off the upset, but there had to have been moments last week when Juvenile needed a little extra antiperspirant.

The soundtrack to the Disney Channel original movie "High School Musical" continues to give chart newcomers trouble, dropping just one spot with more than 138,000 copies sold in its ninth week of retail availability. The singing teens robbed Hasidic dancehall rapper Matisyahu of a top-three debut. The reggae artist's Youth lands at #4 with an opening-week showing of close to 119,000 scans. His 2005 album, Live at Stubb's, drops six to #36 with 25,000-plus units disappearing from store shelves. More than 483,000 copies of the disc have been sold since its release last April.

Billboard's previous champ, Ne-Yo, slips to #5 with sales of his debut offering, In My Own Words, coming in at more than 113,000. Right behind Yo is Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour's third solo outing (and first in more than 20 years), On an Island. The album is the third and last newbie to make the top 10, after earning sales of nearly 96,000.

Carrie Underwood's Some Hearts climbs one spot to #7 with 74,000 scans, followed by two heaping helpings of Johnny Cash: the retrospective collection The Legend of Johnny Cash, which finishes at #8 with 70,000 copies sold, and the soundtrack to the Cash biopic "Walk the Line," which sold more than 63,000 units to climb two to #9. Sing-A-Longs and Lullabies for the Film "Curious George" from Jack Johnson and Friends rounds out the top 10, finishing with sales nearing 60,000.

The latest from ex-Geto Boy Scarface, My Homies Part 2, bows at #12 with close to 58,000 in week-one sales, leading several Billboard debuts of note, including Van Morrison's newest, Pay the Devil, which claims the #26 spot with just under 32,000 copies sold. Noteworthy in its absence is Lil Wayne's Tha Carter II: Chopped & Screwed. The disc failed to crack the top 200, with sales coming in at just over 2,000. Tha Carter II opened at #2 with 238,000 copies sold when it was released in December.

The self-titled, inaugural offering from the Little Willies, the rock-imbued side project of Norah Jones and folk singer Richard Julian, pops up at #48 with 20,000 in sales, while Neko Case's Fox Confessor Brings the Flood checks in at #54 with close to 18,000 copies sold. Mogwai's Mr. Beast claims the #128 slot with 8,000 scans, and Goldfrapp's Supernature follows at #138, having sold more than 7,000 copies. The latest from Public Enemy, Rebirth of a Nation, opens at #180 with close to 6,000 units scanned, bagged, and carried out of record stores.

Watch Matisyahu and Gideon Yago shop for Hasidic hats and search for truth in a Jewish deli in New York's Crown Heights district on "MTV News RAW: Matisyahu," only on Overdrive.

• Juvenile
• Matisyahu
• David Gilmour
• Scarface
• James Blunt

Juvenile's <I>Reality Check</I>
Photo: Atlantic / Wea

Tone Def: Juvenile has no shortage of friends on his latest effort, Reality Check — Ludacris, Paul Wall, Mike Jones, 8Ball, Fat Joe, Bun B, Trey Songz and, more surprisingly, Brian McKnight all make appearances. But the real story behind the New Orleans rapper's release might not be the tracks themselves but what you can do with them: A special feature lets you create ring tones from any part of any song on the record. Which means, in theory, you can have a little piece of "Loose Booty" with you at all times.

Welcome Back, Carter: While Juve is letting his listeners cut up his songs, Lil Wayne has let some producers chop and screw his. Don't get these remixes confused with the chopped-and-screwed ones that came with the deluxe edition of Tha Carter, Vol. 2; those were alternate takes of songs released before that album, while these all pertain to Carter 2 and run in the same order as the LP.

New Matis? Yahoo!: Youth, the latest effort by Hasidic rapper Matthew Miller (a.k.a. Matisyahu), comes in three shapes and sizes: the standard release, produced by NYC avant-garde guru Bill Laswell and containing 13 tracks; Youth Dub, a limited disc that came with preorders of the album and features eight dub mixes plus two new songs; and the DualDisc version, with videos and behind-the-scenes treats, due at a later date.

Not-So-Public Enemy: Public Enemy have been doing the indie thing for a little while, but with their new one, they're delving even deeper into obscurity. Rebirth of a Nation is coming out on Guerrilla Funk Recordings, a label that "counters the corporate stranglehold of censorship currently plaguing the entertainment industry." Its owner, Paris — the politically conscious rapper behind "Bush Killa" — essentially co-authors the new PE record, producing it and appearing on songs like "Make It Hardcore," "Hannibal Lecture" and "Hard Truth Soldiers." MC Ren, Sister Souljah and Dead Prez also help with the Rebirth.

Making The Rounds: Do you smell a hippie? You must be near a record store, then, because they're hitting them in droves this week. Five Grateful Dead albums are getting deluxe-reissue treatment, gifting fans with bonus tracks, splendid packaging and more. Also on the bohemian front, Dead amigo David Grisman has produced Mike Compton and David Long's Stomp, while jam master John Medeski has written the liner notes for 70-year-old pianist Ran Blake's All That Is Tied.

His troupe Medeski, Martin & Wood, in the meantime, take part on the Herb Alpert mash-up record Whipped Cream & Other Delights Rewhipped, also featuring Ozomatli and Thievery Corporation. There's only one stranger mash-up due this week, and that's "Rapture Riders," a collision of Blondie's "Rapture:" and the Doors' "Riders on the Storm," which surfaces on Blondie's Greatest Hits: Sound & Vision collection.

Another MMW agent, bassist Chris Wood, has his hands full with the Wood Brothers, a project pairing him with brother Oliver Wood. Oh, and speaking of brothers, they're a topic of conversation this week too: Ted Leo's brother Chris is trotting out the second effort by his Vague Angels, Let's Duke It Out at Kilkenny Katz; and Ray Davies, the Kinks leader who put out a new album a couple of weeks ago, is seeing his long-running feud with brother Dave Davies reignited this week when Dave releases his Kinked collection.

Song Titles of the Week:

"Too-Rai-Skippery-Dappery Day" and "Just Blow, Don Quixote! Blow!" from Vague Angels' Let's Duke It Out at Kilkenny Katz

Other Notables:

Bad Religion's "Live at the Palladium" and the Casualties' "Can't Stop Us" DVDs: Cobbling together live footage from Hollywood's historic punk venue as well as rare performances, TV appearances, interviews and the like, Bad Religion had every reason to promote their new visual item with a special screening and autograph session at Virgin Records in Tinsel Town. Unlike BR, the Casualties haven't been around for 20 years, but they've got plenty of punk spirit, as shown in their gritty disc, which proudly advertises footage of "riots, riots and more riots." The footage is derived from gigs in Mexico and Japan and has 20 leather-clad clips.

Mogwai's Mr. Beast and Goldfrapp's Supernature: Glasgow's Mogwai are celebrating their 10th anniversary this year, and maybe not coincidentally they're breathing some new life into their younger, louder selves with Mr. Beast. Limited copies are bundled in hard-book deluxe package and come with a bonus DVD. Another Brit, singer/composer Allison Goldfrapp, has a similar game plan: The deluxe version of her latest has a DVD bristling with videos, documentary footage, a performance film and more. As the first track on her album says, "Ooh La La."

I Love You But I've Chosen Darkness' Fear Is on Our Side and Revolting Cocks' Cocked and Loaded: You've heard the name, now finally you can hear the album. Instead of Spoon's Britt Daniel, who produced the band's initial EP, ILYBICD went instead with Paul Barker, who's worked with Ministry and the Revolting Cocks. Speaking of which (see where this is going?), the latest by the Cocks (led by Ministry's Al Jourgensen) attracted two Gibbies — ZZ Top guitarist Billy Gibbons and Gibby Haynes of the Butthole Surfers — plus Jello Biafra and members of Cheap Trick. Leave it to Al to do it up right.

New Releases:

• Agency - Agency (digipak; Aeria)
• Big Al Anderson - After Hours (Sony Legacy)
• Architects - Revenge (SideCho)
• Balli - New Blood - The D.N.A. (Black Five)
• The Bamboos - Step It Up (Ubiquity)
• Warren Barfield - Reach (Reunion)
• Bitter:Sweet - The Mating Game (Quango)
• The Black Dove - The Black Dove (Tompkins Square)
• Ran Blake - All That Is Tied (digipak; Tompkins Square)
• Blush - From the Falls to the Path (Rust)
• Boom Boom Satellites - Full of Elevating Pleasures (Tofu)
• Buzzcocks - Flat-Pack Philosophy (Cooking Vinyl)
• Caedmon's Call - In the Company of Angels II - The World Will Sing (Brentwood)
• Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan - Ballad of the Broken Seas (V2)
  Buy Now: Ballad of the Broken Seas (V2)
• Larry Carlton - Fire Wire (RCA)
• Caroline - Murmurs (Temporary Residence)
• Neko Case - Fox Confessor Brings the Flood (Anti)
• Centro-Matic - Fort Recovery (Misra)
• Exene Cervenka and the Original Sinners - Sev7en (Nitro)
• Mattie Moss Clark - I'm Not Alone: Hands of God Reached Out (Sounds of Gospel)
• Mike Compton and David Long - Stomp (Acoustic Disc)
• Controller.Controller - X-Amounts (Paper Bag)
• Eric Darius - Just Getting Started (Narada)
• David & the Citizens - David & the Citizens (digipak; Friendly Fire)
• Kimya Dawson and Matty Pop Chart - Kimya Dawson and Matty Pop Chart (EP; K)
• Daylight Dies - Dismantling Devotion (Candlelight)
• Jesse Dayton - South Austin Sessions (Stag)
• Desole - Story to Tell (Abacus)
• Deus - Pocket Revolution (V2)
• Dévics - Push the Heart (Reincarnate)
• Dian Diaz - Dian Diaz (Strip City)
• Dir En Grey - Withering to Death (Warcon Enterprises)
• Dismember - The God That Never Was (Candlelight)
• Dogme 95 - The Reagle Beagle (Empyrean)
• Downtown Singapore - Don't Let Your Guard Down (Dcide)
• Dryline - Reach for the Surface (Zero Sum)
• The Duke Spirit - Cuts Across the Land (Star Time)
• Eastern Conference Champions - Southampton Collection (EP; Retone)
• Edubb - Don't Flex (I.M.)
• The Elysian Fields - Suffering G.O.D. Almighty (Black Lotus)
• Mark Erelli - Hope & Other Casualties (Signature)
• Anthony Evans - Letting Go (Sony)
• Jace Everett - Jace Everett (Epic)
• Cesaria Evora - Rogamar (RCA)
• Field Music - Field Music (Memphis Industries)
• Figurines - Skeleton (Control Group)
• Fresh Digress - Fresh Digress (Beatmart)
• Charles Gayle - Time Zones (digipak; Tompkins Square)
• Ghostdigital - In Cod We Trust (Ipecac)
• David Gilmour - On an Island (Columbia)
• Gnarkill - Gnarkill Vs. Unkle Matt & the Sh--birdz (10/90)
• Goldfrapp - Supernature (with DVD; Mute)
• Half-Handed Crowd - Halos & Lassos (Asthmatic Kitty)
• Jeff Hamilton - From Studio 4 (Azica)
• Kieran Hebden and Steve Reid - Exchange Session 1 (Domino)
• Hotel Lights - Hotel Lights (Bar None)
• James Hunter - People Gonna Talk (Rounder)
• I Love You But I've Chosen Darkness - Fear Is on Our Side (Secretly Canadian)
• If Hope Dies - Life in Ruin (Metal Blade)
• The Impossible Shapes - Tum (Secretly Canadian)
• Javier - Left of Center (Capitol)
• Chachi Jones - Dymaxion Daydream (Reincarnate)
• Juvenile - Reality Check (DualDisc; Atlantic)
  Read: "Juvenile Gets Busy At The Holiday Inn — Making An Album "
  Buy Now: Reality Check (Atlantic)
• The Killing Moon - Message Through Your Teeth (Fearless)
• Glenn Kotche - Mobile (Nonesuch)
• Kris Kristofferson - This Old Road (New West)
• Jon Langford - Gold Brick (Roir)
• Ana Laura - Ana Laura (Reunion)
• The Lawrence Arms - Oh Calcutta (Fat Wreck Chords)
• Rolf Lislevand - Nuove Musiche (ECM)
• Lil Wayne - Tha Carter II: Chopped & Screwed (Cash Money)
  Buy Now: Tha Carter II: Chopped & Screwed (Cash Money)
• The Little Willies - The Little Willies (Milking Bull)
• The Lonely Hearts - Paper Tapes (Tooth & Nail)
• Lucky Luciano - Pimps Up Hoez Down (Vista Media)
• Janiva Magness - Do I Move You? (Northern Blues)
• Matisyahu - Youth (Epic)
  Buy Now: Youth (Epic)
• Mellowdrone - Box (3 Records/ Red Ink)
• Mogwai - Mr. Beast (Matador)
  Buy Now: Mr. Beast (Matador)
• Van Morrison - Pay the Devil (Lost Highway)
• Most Hi-Fi - Everything's Gonna Be Alright (Slam Jamz)
• Mudhoney - Under a Billion Suns (Sub Pop)
• Munk - Gommagang 3 (Gomma)
• Nathan & the Zydeco Cha Chas - Hang It High, Hang It Low (Rounder)
• Nicolette - I Am Where the Party's At (Early)
• Nightmares on Wax - In a Space Outta Sound (Warp)
• The Ocean - Aeolian (Metal Blade)
• Outlawz - Against All Oddz (Real Talk Entertainment)
• Lee Roy Parnell - Back to the Well (Universal South)
• Patrizio - The Italian (Universal)
• Pinetop Seven - Beneath Confederate Lake (Empyrean)
• Pink Mountaintops - Axis of Evol (Jagjaguwar)
• Pinmonkey - Big Shiny Cars (Back Porch)
• Planeside - Milk (Exotic)
• Lucas Prata - Let's Get It On (Ultra)
• Presence - Presence (Curb)
• Public Enemy - Rebirth of a Nation (Guerrilla Funk)
• Raising The Fawn - The Maginot Line (Sonic Unyon)
• Revolting Cocks - Cocked and Loaded (Megaforce)
• The Rogers Sisters - The Invisible Deck (Too Pure/ Beggars)
• Gonzalo Rubalcaba - Solo (Blue Note)
• Scarface - My Homies, Vol. 2 (Asylum/Rap-a-Lot)
• Terry Smith - Fall Out (Sunbeam)
• Soldier Ink - The Newest and the Strongest (enhanced; Thump)
• Sparks - Hello Young Lovers (In the Red)
• Stereolab - Fab Four Suture (with DVD; Too Pure/ Beggars)
  Buy Now: Fab Four Suture (Too Pure)
• The Story - Tale Spin (Sunbeam)
• Streetlight Manifesto - Keasbey Nights, Vol. 2 (Victory)
• Television Personalities - My Dark Places (Domino)
• Ten Falls Forth - Excuse Me I Believe That's My Ride (Rise)
• The Tennessee Boltsmokers - Hydro Radio (Madjack)
• Terrestrial Tones - Dead Drunk (Paw Tracks)
• Trent Tomlinson - Country Is My Rock (Lyric Street)
• Tres Chicas - Bloom Red & the Ordinary Girl (Yep Roc)
• Ralph Tresvant - Rizz Wa Faire (Xzault Media Group)
• Turbulence - Born for This (Charm)
• Gecko Turner - Guapapasea! (Quango)
• The Vacation - The Vacation (American)
• Vague Angels - Let's Duke It out at Kilkenny Katz (Pretty Activity)
• Voodoo Blue - Smile N Nod (Dcide)
• The Weepies - Say I Am You (Nettwerk)
• Witch - Witch (Tee Pee)
• The Wood Brothers - Ways Not To Lose (Blue Note)
• Mike Younger - Every Stone You Throw (Bare Bones)
• Nadine Zahr - Underneath the Every Day (Chirality)
• Various artists - Paris Presents: Hard Truth Soldiers (Guerilla Funk)
• Various artists - Tunnel Trance Force America 2 (Water)
• Various artists - "Dark Kingdom: The Dragon King" soundtrack (Dancing Ferret)
• Various artists - "Date Movie" soundtrack (Lakeshore)
• Various artists - "That's So Raven Too" soundtrack (Disney)
• Various artists - "Zoey 101 Music Mix" soundtrack (Nick)

Notable Reissues And Archival Material:

• Agnostic Front - Live at CBGB (with DVD; Nuclear Blast)
• Herb Alpert's Tijuana Brass - Whipped Cream & Other Delights Rewhipped (Shout! Factory)
• Blondie - Greatest Hits: Sound & Vision (with DVD; Capitol)
• Peabo Bryson - The Very Best of Peabo Bryson (Time Life)
• Cheap Trick - Dream Police and All Shook Up (with bonus tracks; Epic/Legacy)
• Joe Cocker - Gold (two CDs; Hip-O)
• The Czars - Goodbye (Bella Union)
• Darkest Hour - So Sedated So Secure (Victory)
• Dave Davies - Kinked (Koch)
• Martin Denny - The Best of Martin Denny's Exotica (Capitol)
• Grateful Dead - Blues for Allah, From the Mars Hotel (two CDs), Shakedown Street, Terrapin Station and Wake of the Flood (digipaks with bonus tracks; Rhino)
• Jethro Tull - Aqualung Live (Fuel 2000)
• Little Feat - Barnstormin' Live Box (Hot Tomato)
• Loretta Lynn - Gold (two CDs; MCA Nashville)
• Simon Joyner - Beautiful Losers: Singles & Compilation Tracks 1994-1999 (Jagjaguwar)
• Willy Mason - Where the Humans Eat (enhanced; with bonus tracks; Astralwerks)
• Gwen McCrae - Rockin' Chair/Let's Straighten It Out (Koch)
• Liza Minnelli - Liza With a "Z" (Columbia/Legacy)
• Moondog - Moondog (Astralwerks)
• Fred Neil - Fred Neil (Water)
• Pentagram - First Daze Here Too (two CDs; Relapse)
• Martha Reeves & the Vandellas - Gold (two CDs; Motown)
• Snoop Dogg - Death Row's Snoop Doggy Dogg Greatest Hits (digipak; Death Row)
• Sun Dial - Return Journey (Relapse)
• Glenn Tipton - Baptizm of Fire (Rhino)
• Glenn Tipton, John Entwistle and Cozy Powell - Edge of the World (Rhino)
• Conway Twitty - Gold (two CDs; MCA Nashville)
• Various artists - Hip Hop Essentials, Vol. 9, Vol. 10, Vol. 11 and Vol. 12

DVDs:

• Bad Religion - Live at the Palladium (Epitaph)
• The Casualties - Can't Stop Us (Side One Dummy)
• Bing Crosby - A Little Bit of Irish: Bing Crosby in Dublin (Varèse)
• Deicide - When London Burns (Earache)
• Luke Kelly - The Performer (Dark Peak)
• Various artists - Assemblage, Vol. 1 (Grey Two-Eleven)

Coming Attractions:

March 14:

• E-40 - My Ghetto Report Card (Warner Bros.)
  Buy Now: My Ghetto Report Card (Warner Bros.)
• Fall Out Boy - From Under the Cork Tree: Limited Black Clouds and Underdogs Tour Edition (Island)
  Read: "Fall Out Boy Promise An 'Event' Video For 'Sixteen Candles' "
  Buy Now: From Under the Cork Tree: Limited Black Clouds and Underdogs Tour Edition (Island)
• Hard-Fi - Stars of CCTV (Atlantic)
  Read: "You Hear It First: Hard-Fi"

March 21:

• Teddy Geiger - Underage Thinking (Columbia)
• My Chemical Romance - Life on the Murder Scene (with DVD; Reprise)
  Read: "My Chemical Romance's 'Murder' DVD Just Got Bigger"
• Prince - 3121 (Universal)

March 28:

• Ghostface Killah - Fishscale (Def Jam)
  Read: "Ghostface Killah Spins Tales From The 'Hood On Fishscale"
  Buy Now: Fishscale (Def Jam)
• T.I. - King (limited-edition re-release with bonus DVD; Atlantic)
• Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Show Your Bones (Interscope)

Read: "Are The Yeah Yeah Yeahs Anxious About Bones? No No No"

• Juvenile
• Matisyahu
• Lil Wayne
• Bad Religion
• Stereolab

Scarface: "On My Block" Photos

• Scarface

• Scarface