Photo: MTV News

• 50 Cent
• Jay-Z
• Beanie Sigel

Beanie Sigel's cover art for "I Go Off" featuring 50 Cent
Photo: Thisis50.com

50 Cent has officially called out Jay-Z. On Thursday night, the much hyped Beanie Sigel/ 50 Cent collaboration, "I Go Off," premiered on Philadelphia's Power 99 and New York's Hot 97, during Kay Slay's "Drama Hour."

50 Cent doesn't have a verse on the record, but for the most part keeps his mic time relegated to the hook. Meanwhile, Sigel — who slammed Jay-Z on Power 99 last week — doesn't call out any names.

"Big Pop of the prop on deck," Beans rap. "Who shot ya?/ Who want beef with Big Poppa?/ ... I earned every buck that was mine/ I know n---as upstate doing life in a box/ I know n---as upstate doin' life with they pops."

As the song ends, 50 talks, mentioning Jay by name and telling the Brooklyn rap legend that he's lost his street edge. "You changed, man. You let the money change you, Jay," 50 says. "You used to be from Marcy, n---a. Now you'se a 'Pass the Grey Poupon n---a.' You don't want the shooters? I'll take 'em. Feed the wolves, or the wolves will feed off you. ... It's your move, n---a."

50 Cent has literally changed his tune. When MTV News recently asked whether he'd like the Jiggaman to respond to him, Fif said, "I could care less whether he replies to me."

50 did note that a battle between him and Hov would thoroughly engage the game.

"Well, it would be great. It would be great for hip-hop," 50 said about a battle between him and Jay. "It would probably be interesting, but I don't think one of us will survive it."

Fif also admitted that despite touring together in the past, appearing in a Reebok commercial, being photographed together at various events over the years and even sharing Madison Square's stage a few years back during a monumental moment with T.I., Diddy and Kanye West, he and Jay-Z have no real friendship.

"I don't have a relationship with Jay-Z," 50 added. "We're just both apart of hip-hop culture. We're not friends. We don't call each other to talk at leisure."

Fif says he doesn't know if Hov will respond to this latest dis, but he would absolutely go at Jay if the shoe were on the other foot.

The two had a back-and-forth around 10 years ago, when Fif jokingly threatened Jay on the song "How to Rob." Jay responded with infamous line, "I'm about a dollar/ What the f--- is 50 Cent?" during a freestyle at the 1999 Summer Jam concert. The lyric later appeared on the track "Some Like It Hot" on Jay's Life and Times of Sean Carter LP.

Since then, the two had quashed the rivalry. A couple of months back, in the song "Flight 187," 50 did say Jay looked like sitcom character Steve Urkel. And responding to 50's statement that he would have blackened Kanye West's eye, if Kanye tried to interupt him onstage like he did Taylor Swift at the 2009 VMAs, Jay told a reporter overseas that no one was afraid of 50 Cent.

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• 50 Cent
• Jay-Z
• Beanie Sigel

Beanie Sigel's cover art for "I Go Off," featuring 50 Cent
Photo: Thisis50.com

Ever since 50 Cent and Beanie Sigel's joint appearance on Philadelphia radio station Power 99 last week, everyone has been buzzing about the new Sigel/G-Unit affiliation. Fif says there is no recording contract for Sigel as of yet, but recent Internet buzz is hyping a song between the two called "I Go Off." According to 50's official Web site, the release date is Friday the 13th.

MTV News obtained a 30-second portion of the song, in which Fif raps on the hook, "I give you something to talk about/ Come 'round me frontin' I'll air you out/ I go off."

While the streets have speculated that the track would be a dis record aimed at Jay-Z, that doesn't necessarily seem to be the case — at least during the 30 seconds we've heard. Sigel's lyrics are ruthless, but don't seem to be referencing anyone in particular.

"I don't shoot sh-- off, I gun it down," Beanie raps. "Walk up on n---as and run 'em down/ Won't stop till your box goeth underground/ Put you in an urn, your bones will burn/ The rap gorilla, the wack rap ringtone killa/ I'm here to find a n---a eating who's realer is rare/ You could meet me the square if you dare to come near."

As far as the G-Unit affiliation, 50 Cent said that he and Sigel had met but talk about a signing was premature.

"I had a meeting with him today," 50 said Thursday. "First we gotta start with the music — where's the music? Then we have to get into what it would take to bring him over to G-Unit as a record company. You can't sign a deal in a conversation — it's a process. We'll see what happens."

• 50 Cent
• Beanie Sigel

50 Cent
Photo: MTV News

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Not so fast. After Beanie Sigel and 50 Cent sat down for a joint interview with Philadelphia radio station Power 99 earlier this week, the streets thought Sigs signing with G-Unit was already a done deal. According to 50, they did talk about it, but still have a long way to go.

"I had a meeting with him today," 50 said Thursday. "First we gotta start with the music — where's the music? Then we have to get into what it would take to bring him over to G-Unit as a record company. You can't sign a deal in a conversation — it's a process. We'll see what happens."

Fif did note that he thinks Beanie is capable lyrically and looks forward to hearing what he has in his vaults.

"I would listen to what he has," Fif explained. "His skills haven't diminished. Nine times out of 10, he'll have something workable already on deck. When you're dealing with artists who have been established longer than you, it's a process. You have to figure out exactly where they are at before you commit to being a part of those projects, because they have habits and they've been conditioned for something different. You have to figure out exactly what that is before you dive in."

The Broad Street Bully isn't the only established MC Fif is thinking about extending an invitation to.

"I got artists who I'm looking at," he said. "A few of them aren't actively available for me to do different things with them. But I'm looking to sign new artists into the actual company."

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• 50 Cent
• Beanie Sigel

Dame Dash
Photo: MTV News

Dame Dash just laughs off stories about how he is supposedly in dire straits financially. He gets so much of a kick out of it that he doesn't rush to defend himself against the rumors. These days, Dame is back where he started, making music independently along with brokering art and producing television.

Dash has a complex in lower Manhattan, DD172, where he has two music studios and an art gallery, and also publishes a magazine and maintains CreativeControl.tv. Mos Def has dubbed the building the "24/7 karate school" because of all of the artists that come through and work together, including Mos, the Black Keys, Jay Electronica, Jim Jones, the RZA, Raekwon the Chef and producer Ski (Reasonable Doubt) to name a few.

Dash says everyone is welcome, just as long as no one brings negativity.

"I'm not teaching violence. No beef! None of that. I don't have beef with nobody."

Dash's name has popped up in headlines dealing with Beanie Sigel's recent lash-out against Jay-Z. During some recent interviews, Beans accused Dash of shady business dealings when the two were putting out the State Property PRO-Keds sneakers.

"Him and the licensee who licensed Rocawear went behind my back and obtained the license to the company that was licensing PRO-Keds and stopped making the State Property PRO-Keds," Beans said on Philadelphia radio station Power 99. "It was all geared towards Roc-A-Wear."

Dame said he did not want to address any specifics regarding Sigel, but did say he did not want any beef.

"I love Jay, I love Beans — what's the reason for beef?" Dash responded. "That's stupid. What's the reason for beef? People die, people don't feel good — I want people to laugh. What's up, y'all?"

Dame was shocked to hear Beanie on the radio.

"I was surprised. I was hurt for him, more or less, because I know that ain't him," Dash said. "But I don't want to speak on that. Whatever [Beanie's] going through where he's got to do that ... I could understand where he may look at things and feel that way. I can see that. He's probably got a lot of people around him and nobody to really tell him what's going on. It was a different environment for Roc-A-Fella back then. I feel bad for those cats. I love those cats. I hate that they struggle. I hate it. I hate to see anybody struggle. I don't embrace that. I'm not one of those dudes that get happy when I hear something bad about somebody I had a bond with. I really loved those dudes. You see Ski down there, I knew Ski for 20 years. That's my man. Sometimes people have different agendas for why they don't wanna be my friend. But at the end of the day, I'm always there for them."

On November 27, Dash releases the first album from his BlakRoc label — the next LP from the Black Keys, which will also be called BlakRoc. The album features Jim Jones, the RZA, Raekwon the Chef, Mos Def, Q-Tip, Billy Danze and Pharoahe Monch.

• Jay-Z
• Beanie Sigel

Beanie Sigel and Jay-Z
Photo: Getty Images

Beanie Sigel says he's still not getting the reply from Jay-Z that he wants. On Tuesday, the Broad Street Bully appeared on Philadelphia radio station Power 99 as a surprise guest during 50 Cent's interview. The two hinted that Beanie and the G-Unit would be aligning sometime in the future. More overt, however, was the suggestion that Beans would be calling Jay out in public more often.

"He is a crumb. I'm gonna put my foot on his neck until he responds," Beans said as the segment came to a wrap. Beans added that he's ready for a lyrical tangle with his once-close clique member and that he would relish a retort from Jiggaman for the "What You Talkin About (Average Cat)" song.

"Please make a record," Beans yelled on-air. "A week's been out, dog. I'm not taking nothing from Jay as an artist. He ain't no walk in the park as an artist. All I'm saying is I don't gotta jog to keep up to him."

During the interview, Beanie also addressed Jay's recent comments that he did a lot for Sigel, who Jay noted had a record deal and a record label and drove two Bentleys at one point. Sigel said that the label and the cars were earned and that Jay didn't give him anything.

"I think he has good intentions, Jay, but he's using a traditional business corporate model," 50 said calmly. "I think the only place he really went wrong was when he said 'La Familia,' like 'we family.' "

50 added that a few years back, he wanted to offer Beanie at least $800,000 to come to the G-Unit upon his release from prison but that Jay had blocked the deal.

"I said it makes sense right now, I could sell this right now, I could get him out and go right away with the actual music," 50 recalled about the deal that never materialized.

• Beanie Sigel
• Jay-Z
• G-Unit

Jay-Z
Photo: Bryan Bedder/Getty Images

Jay-Z says he did his part when it came to supporting Beanie Sigel. Over the weekend, footage hit the Net of Jay at a press conference that reportedly took place on October 30 in Toronto.

A journalist asked Jay for his reaction to Beanie going public with some grievances against Jay in his new song, "What You Talkin' About (Average Cat)." Beanie apparently feels his material wasn't promoted as heavily by the Roc boss as it could have been.

"He has a lot to complain about, not me," Jay started out in a jovial manner. Then he got a little more serious.

"Well, Beanie Sigel, at the time — and you can look it up if you like, just to be honest — was driving two Bentleys. I don't know how; it's impossible to drive two cars at one time. With his momma in the sticks and selling 800,000 records, I don't know what more you can do for somebody. What people choose to do when they attain of success ... at some point you have to look in the mirror, and look at yourself. Beanie Sigel had a record deal, a record label, and a clothing line — and never went platinum, ever. I don't know in the history of rap has anyone done so much with so little. I don't even know what more can you do for a person at that point. A record deal, that's normal. A record label and a clothing line? If that's not pushing a person, sh-- ..."

On Friday morning, Beans called into Philadelphia radio station 100.3 FM and spoke to DJ Charlamagne Tha God shortly after dropping "Average Cat."

"I'm not really dissing Jay," Sigel explained about the song. "It's certain parts in there where my emotions ... it's an emotional record for me. When I listened to [Jay's latest album] Blueprint 3, I heard a lot of shots directed towards people. I feel he gave out a lot of pairs of shoes on that album. I felt my feet was meant for a couple of them."

Beanie highlighted Jay's line "I heated up the Roc already/ Why can't y'all get hot already?" from "Already Home," as being directed at him.

Toward the end of "What You Talkin' About," Sigel says, " 'F--- you too and f--- Bleek three."

Memphis Bleek chimed in on the matter via Twitter on Friday.

"Just waking up my phone going crazy over this Sigel sh--. I just seen son at Powerhouse, wasn't nothing, now it's something ... I'm lost on that ... Guess that's how the rap game work.

" 'F--- Bleek 3,' haaa that's a good one," he continued. "And for the rec. I can't dis, that's my n---a, we gotta get up an chop it up. That's all ... He know me. That's all I could say."

50 Cent has commented on the situation as well.

• Jay-Z
• Beanie Sigel

Beanie Sigel and Jay-Z
Photo: Getty Images

Hip-hop fans' heartbreak: One of the greatest dynasties in rap history, Roc-A-Fella, is having its dirty laundry thrown onto the street by the Broad Street Bully. Beanie Sigel is giving the world a very sobering take on his split from Jay-Z in a song called "What You Talkin Bout (I Ain't Your Average Cat)."

"I'm a grown-ass man, I don't sit on n---as' laps/ I ain't looking for no gifts out of Santa Claus' sack," he raps. Sig dropped those same lines during the Powerhouse Concert last Friday in Philadelphia when he came out as Jadakiss' guest. The words were obviously a response to Jay's lines on "What We Talkin' About" off of The Blueprint 3.

Still, fans were confused about Bean's intentions. Sigel was quiet until Thursday night, when his new song dropped.

"How it feel to get exposed?" Sigs rhymes. "Don't you feel naked?/ I was a fly on the wall, sh-- I witnessed/ I can say sh-- that will make B look at you different."

Beanie goes on to say that Jay-Z called the police to get him out of the recent Powerhouse concert in Philadelphia.

" 'F' you two and 'F' Bleek three," Beans says. The song ends with the once-loyal Roc-A-Fella sergeant-at-arms saying that he brought the "fellas to Roc-A-Fella." He gave the label street cred. He fought all the battles: Nas, Jadakiss and the Diplomats.

Friday morning (October 30), Sigel called up Philadelphia radio station 100.3 and spoke with Charlamagne Tha God about how hard he used to ride for Jay and how Hov disappointed him.

"I backed all his plays without even asking him. Jadakiss is not no walk in no park. Nas is not no walk in no park. These are dudes that could have ended my career," he said, referring to former Roc-A-Fella rhyme wars that have long since been buried.

Beanie got into the heart of his falling-out with Jay during his interview with Charlamagne, saying that he hasn't spoken to Jay in more than two years.

"I'm not really dissing Jay," Sigel explained."It's certain parts in there where my emotions ... it's an emotional record for me. When I listened to The Blueprint 3, I heard a lot of shots directed towards people.

"I feel he gave out a lot of pairs of shoes on that album," Beanie added. "I felt my feet was meant for a couple of them."

Beanie specifically mentioned the line "I heated up the Roc already, why can't y'all get hot already?" from "Already Home."

"I understand Jay, you at a certain place in your career where everyone can't go," Sigel said. "You don't need Beanie Sigel in the building with a pre-perception that 'this crazy dude might do anything.' ... We taint his image, State Property and the place that he's at."

Sigel also told Charlamagne that neither Jay-Z nor Dame Dash were fair when it came to paying State Property during their time on Roc-A-Fella Records.

"I love the way 50 [Cent] did with his dawgs," he said. "If you look at it, them dudes got more money and more bread than anybody in State Property 'cause 50 made sure of that. 50 went on tour and paid them, not [telling] them 'it was a good look for them to be on the tour' and things like that. True story, I'm sitting on house arrest and the Young Gunz call my phone 'cause Jay-Z is only paying them $1200 a show and they had to split it."

Beans' last official Roc-A-Fella release, The Solution, came out in December 2007.

• Beanie Sigel
• Jay-Z

Beanie Sigel and Freeway
Photo: MTV News

NEW YORK — Beanie Sigel and the Goodfellas are all back together at the table breaking bread — well, except for maybe Beans himself and the man to his left.

"It's a beautiful thing," Freeway said, as he passed on the endless plates of food from Italian restaurant Macelleria in Manhattan's Meatpacking District.

Free and Sigel were fasting due to Ramadan, but most of the State Property crew (save for Oschino and Neef Buck, whom everybody insisted were still down despite their absences) were eating lunch before a late-night performance at S.O.B.'s. The collective has been together making music for the past several months but has only now decided to come up to the surface and speak about it.

Here they are again, world.

"We all been doing this together for a minute," Free said, as he watched Peedi Crakk devour some fries. "When we get together, we make good music. It's strength in numbers. We gonna put something on the streets for y'all real soon."

"This what they been wanting," said Young Chris, who sat at the head of the table. "People been wanting it for a long time. Due to the Roc-A-Fella split, people thought State Property split up. But we been all good. Been like that since day one. Everybody is neutral. We all here, man."

"This is perfect timing," added Omillio Sparks, the most charismatic and slept-on team member. "Even though it's the recession with the economy all twisted, you need music like this back in the streets to make the people feel like it's some sense of hope. Barack the vote, and we're back."

As of now, the State Property soldiers are free agents. They've been making dozens of records — some of which have been intentionally leaked online — out of their own pockets. Beanie is still very much the leader of the organization and said he's weighing his options for the family.

"The plan right now is to make sure ... the State Property project gets finished up," Beanie said. "Find a home for that and make sure everybody's individual projects be set up properly, so we can move forward from there. The State Property album will be good to put things back in perspective and showcase us as artists. At the same time, we got Chris working on his solo project that's long overdue. Peedi's working on his solo project. Sparks, Freeway, me ... we wanna make sure we line up our ducks in order so when this State Property thing pops off, and pops off the way we expect it to, everybody can come right behind it and not miss a beat. We've been sprinkling songs out there and letting people know the best is yet to come, but we're not missing a beat."

"This is gonna be the best State Property album," Peedi promised. "Everybody had time to grow individually. After the last album, we had a good two or three years apart, and we've all been independently putting out mixtapes and trying to create the most we can on our own time. Collectively, we're way more powerful. Nobody is a weak link."

The release-date order as of now goes Young Chris' Now or Never at the top of the year (he just got out of his Def Jam contract but is still signed to Jay-Z's Roc-A-Fella imprint); Peedi Crakk's A Night in the Life on Amalgam Digital probably in March; then everybody else from there. Beanie and Freeway are both signed but are unsure of their status with Roc-A-Fella. They are sure of their disappointment over the way their last solo LPs were promoted.

"It's like being on a team with Jordan and you don't get a chance to make it to the championship, you don't even get a chance to play in the game," Sig said about the commercial failures of his The Solution and Freeway's Free at Last under the watch of former Def Jam President and CEO Jay-Z. "That's how I feel. It's like we're mechanics that helped get a car started up and pushing, somebody gets in the car and just pulls off on you, leaves you on the side of the road. That's how it feels."

Still, Sig harbors no harsh feelings for Jay-Z and even dreams of a Roc reunion.

"Its no fault to nobody, I guess, but it's just frustrating," he continued. "You got that within yourself, those expectations. We love Jay. We love him. Jay don't owe nobody anything, but it's frustrating because the public got questions, and they want answers. When they start asking questions, you can't answer or you don't wanna answer honestly. What can you say?"

• Beanie Sigel
• Freeway
• Young Gunz
• Peedi Crakk

Fall Out Boy's Pete Wentz
Photo: Steve Granitz/ WireImage

In the wake of Friday's plane crash, which killed four people and critically injured Travis Barker and DJ AM, reactions from the artists' families and musical colleagues began to arrive at MTV News. Barker's assistant, Chris "Little Chris" Baker, 29 (who appeared on MTV's reality show "Meet the Barkers"), and his security guard, Charles Still, 25, were among the people who died in the crash.

The unusual combination of friends and colleagues — Fall Out Boy, Beanie Sigel, Lindsay Lohan, Samantha Ronson, Cobra Starship's Gabe Saporta and even MTV News' Tim Kash -- is a telling reflection of Barker and AM's wide circle of friends.

Fall Out Boy, who toured with Barker's +44 in 2007, said in a statement that they reacted to news of the crash with "deep sadness," and extended their sympathies to the families of those who were in the crash.

"Our band would like to reach out and put those who were a part of this tragedy and their families in our prayers, and as well our continued support for the recovery of those who survived," the statement reads. "It's times like these that we are reminded -- in the worst possible way -- to honor life. Chris [Baker] was a rad guy. He always had a way to get us to smile on tour, no matter what situation we were in, and he was truly beloved.

"In the next few days, more information will emerge and we will more fully understand the extent of this terrible tragedy," the statement continues. "In the meantime, we want to encourage anyone reading this to simply tell the people you love how you feel."

Philadelphia rapper Beanie Siegel, who recently collaborated with Barker on a few songs, told MTV News that he learned of the crash from his manager.

"I was just with Travis and the whole squad in Vegas," he said. "Man, that [news of the tragedy] took me like, 'Wow.' It's just a blessing he survived. It got me thinking, like, 'Is it all worth it?' This lifestyle and all the traveling we do.

"It was cool working with [Barker]," Sig added. "We didn't sit in the studio together, but I laid [down] my vocals and sent it to him. He called back and said he loved the record. He said he wanted to do the music over and make the record we did have an even bigger sound."

Lindsay Lohan and DJ Samantha Ronson, friends of Barker and AM, posted messages of support on their blogs.

Writing on her MySpace celebrity blog, Lohan led by saying "horrible news" and went on to write, "please send your prayers out to adam goldstein and travis barker -- along with the others lost in the plane crash ... it's so scary to think that life can end so fast ... we must all treasure each and every moment -- and be thankful for what we have. all my love ... xoxo L."

On her MySpace blog, Ronson led with a sad emoticon and then said: "my good friend adam (dj am) was in a plane crash last night, he was lucky to survive but is still in the hospital being treated for burns (so i read). i don't really know what to say, it's such horrifying news, but i was hoping you guys would please send him your best wishes/ prayers because I don't really know what else to do. also for travis barker, who was on the plane. four other people were on the plane and did not survive, i can't even imagine the pain their families must be in. soooooo sad and i'm so sorry. take good care of yourselves, samantha xo."

(MTV News' Tim Kash wrote about his friendship with Barker and DJ AM on the Newsroom Blog.)

Several of the artists MTV News contacted on Saturday were too stunned by the news to comment right away. Gabe Saporta of Cobra Starship, who also toured with +44, reflected those feelings by saying, "Chris was an awesome dude and I'm shocked and saddened that this happened. I just don't know what else to say beyond that."

If you'd like more information on the memorial funds set up to benefit Chris Baker's and Charles Still's families, visit the Famous Stars and Straps Web site.

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