T.I.
Photo: Getty Images/ Evan Agostini

Artists: Tha Dogg Pound

Representing: LBC and the whole West Coast

Mixtape: Gangsta Grillz: Dogg Pound Edition

411: He wouldn't be DJ Drama if he took breaks. Mr. Thanksgiving's latest Gangsta Grillz is not the G-Unit jump-off, but one from another legendary crew, Tha Dogg Pound. Snoop, Daz Dillinger and Kurupt are gearing up to mash through the second half of 2008.

"It's Dogg Pound Gangsta Grizz-ills that we're doing with my boy Drama," Kurupt said, sitting in Snoop's L.A. offices. "We put it together real proper. Me and Daz just got in the studio and started smashing out on some of the records that we liked. Really a lot from the new records that came out [and] records from a couple years ago. Me and Daz were just talking about it. We went and got Drama. So, you know, we're just really trying to touch on a certain circuit here to show 'em that Tha Dogg Pound, we're still fire, ya heard?"

"Working with DPG was the truth," said Drama, who's also working on mixtapes for Snoop Dogg and DPG affiliate Terrence Martin. "[They're] pure veterans in the game! I grew up watching Kurupt, Daz and Snoop destroy the game so it was an honor to have them part of the legendary Gangsta Grillz brand. It's about time the series came to the West."

"Feds can't stop this!" Daz offered. "I learned a lot from Jermaine Dupri. He does a lot of the mixtapes. Me, I'm an observer. I take the formula, switch it up, crumble it, make it my way, ship it to the next person."

The DPGC's next LP, 100 Wayz, is coming out later this year. Swizz Beatz, Krayzie Bone, Hi-Tek and Daz's 10-year-old daughter, Dazmine, all contributed to it.

"We've got another album, West Coast Aftershock, that's just hard-core," Daz said. "You know, we just keep dropping albums. We might make songs, we might make 12 or 13 albums' worth of songs. It's just hard trying to put them together. You got to make album-cover pictures. ... Digitally, I'll be dropping records. I got a digital distribution company for all young artists, so y'all just hit me up on the computer. Y'all know what time it is. I'll be in your city cooking grits and eating bacon."

Kurupt is also planning a solo LP called N----race Presents: Kurupt the Kingpin, which will be executive-produced by Snoop Dogg, Teddy Riley and DJ Quik. Kurupt co-stars in the independent film "Vice," starring Daryl Hannah and Michael Madsen, which just premiered in Hollywood. Meanwhile, Daz is producing a straight-to-DVD film called "Make It Rain," as well as putting a soundtrack out with it.

Joints To Check For

» "D.O. Double G. P.O.U.N.D." "That was real groovy," Daz said about using Shawty Lo's "Dey Know" instrumental. "That's banging."

"That's basically what it's like," Kurupt added. "How we flip the whole course on him, and then just went real fly. Daz is real fly on those South beats, so I just follow his lead."

» "I Don't Care." "That be knocking on some hard-core MC bass, produced by yours truly," Daz said. "I took it back to the old-school hip-hop. It was just marinating, going to the crates and taking it back to hip-hop. Shout out to MC Lyte and Audio Two for the sample. Giving back to hip-hop."

» "My Hood" with Capone-N-Noreaga and the Clipse. "It's the first real CNN and Dogg Pound record," Kurupt said. "It's for Nore and Capone's album, so they let us give a little feature on there, give a little piece of it. Dogg Pound, CNN and the Clipse, wow! You did that, Nore, you heard me! What! What!"

'Hood's Heavy Rotation: Bubbling Below The Radar

» LL Cool J (featuring Lil' Mo) - "I Cry"
» Plies (featuring Janet Jackson and Ne-Yo) - "Bust It Baby (Part 3)"
» Plies (featuring Jamie Foxx and The-Dream) - "Please Excuse My Hands"
» Nas - "N.I.G.G.E.R. (The Slave and the Master)"
» Robin Thicke - "Magic"
» John Legend (featuring Andre 3000) - "Green Light"
» V.I.C. (featuring Big Kuntry, Polow Da Don, Jermaine Dupri, Bun B, E-40, DJ Unk and Pitbull) - "Get Silly" remix

Celebrity Faves

With groups like the Cool Kids, Pacific Division and even teen favorite Teyana Taylor gaining buzz for their retro style, there's been a '90s hip-hop revival going on lately. While the Kidz in the Hall are flattered by the comparison, they don't necessarily like the label.

"That's kind of where we were influenced to start our own progression into this art form, but the reality is, what we're trying to do is make music for the year 3000," Naledge, one half of the group, told Mixtape Monday.

A couple of weeks ago, Ledge and his partner, Double-O, talked to us about some of their specific influences, such as Gang Starr and Pete Rock & CL Smooth. The Chi-Town twosome, who just dropped their LP The In Crowd, walked us through J&R Music World, rummaging through CD bins, showing off the classics they hold dear to their hearts.

"I grew up on this," Naledge said, holding Common's Resurrection. "This was, like, the album that made me start rapping." They also cited Nas' Illmatic and A Tribe Called Quest's The Low End Theory, which is referenced in their single, "Drivin' Down the Block."

Despite their reverence for early-'90s hip-hop (and let's be serious here, who doesn't love early-'90s hip-hop?), they said they want to make their own mark.

"If a baby starts walking, it might be learning the first few step from watching its father, but at some point in time it's going to have a different step than its mother and father," said Naledge. "After a while, you've got to kind of branch out and do things on your own."

Don't Sleep: Other Notable Selections This Week
» DJ Spinatik and Blood Raw - Street Runnaz: The Hood Edition
» DJ Premier - Rare Play Volume One
» DJ Famous - Bang Bang Boogie Vol .1: The Machine
» DJ L-Gee and DJ Lo - Mary J. Blige: Americas Favorite Singer, Part 1

The Streets Is Talking: News & Notes From The Underground

Speedboats are whizzing through the water in this upper-upscale Atlanta community, but their passengers have to acknowledge the King of the South. Passersby yell, "Heeeeeeeeyyyyyy!" or "T.I., what's up?" as they spot Tip, sitting on his deck overlooking the lake by his house. And you thought T.I. would be the noisy neighbor, not the other way around.

"T.I. ain't making no noise," the calm King said with a smile.

T.I. gave us a preview of some of the tracks from his Paper Trail album last week, and without exaggeration, we can tell you the material was excellent. The project really has the potential to be his best since Urban Legend. Look out for a heater he has called "I'm Illy."

Last week, while Tip was celebrating the birth of his sixth son, Major, his nemesis Shawty Lo was getting at him on the Internet. Shawty showed the world Tip's high school picture from what he claimed to be a place of learning outside of Bankhead, Georgia. But the CEO of Grand Hustle Entertainment continues to laugh off L.O.'s jabs.

"I never looked to gain acknowledgement or recognition by mentioning another person's name," he said, explaining that he sees his and Lo's career paths as being totally different. "If it was an issue between me and another person, it was an issue between me and another person. It wasn't a publicity stunt or marketing tool."

Tip reiterated that a back and forth with another rapper is the last thing on his list of priorities.

"That's nowhere near my train of thought right now," he explained. "Back when that was my train of thought, we didn't have those problems. Since it's well known that that's not what I'm on right now, then it's easy to make those comments or take that approach."

When asked if he considered Shawty competition, Tip laughed loudly.

"I'm sorry," he said. "Compa-who? Man, that was funny! Nah, man. [Lo going at me], it's a cry for attention, dog. At the end of the day, Units in the City in stores right now! Go get it! That's what's that's for. I never felt I was in a position where if this person don't mention my name, I will just die. I went for mine and made people say my name. That's the separation [between me and him]."

Tip is also distancing himself from a lot of other MCs by fostering his talent for making beats. He's been in the lab lately making tracks for the Bawwwssse.

"I was in the Grand Hustle studio. We sat down. [Tip] told me he wanted to produce five records for me," Rick Ross said of his work on his next LP, Deeper Than Rap (due at the end of 2008). "I was like, 'Wow. It's all good.' We sat down, and he played some beats for me. It was one of those special moments, 'cause I got so much respect for him as an artist, as a lyricist, as a CEO. Now he reeled me in as a producer. Real talk. I'm not saying he's gonna sell them [beats] to everybody, but he laced me."

T.I. is humble about his turn as Track Master. "It's absolutely an honor and a pleasure people would even consider allowing me to produce for them," he said. "I take it very seriously. I enjoy it a lot. It brings me outside my comfort zone. It makes me sharper. With rapping, I feel I can do anything. With producing, I'm real meticulous."

Tip and his co-producers like to sit down with his collaborators in the studio, rather than just sending beat CDs. He might also throw a hook on an instrumental as well.

"It kinda depends on the artist," he said of his sound. "We can get real pretty, real clean. I think most of our music, they say, sounds like it has real broad sound to it. When you hear 'T.I.'s making a beat,' and you hear what I do, you don't really get what you're expecting. You don't get the trap music. For some reason, we concentrate real hard on that. The things we do, it sounds like somebody who's been doing music for a minute is supposed to be on there. Not everybody can just pull off the things I do."

Tip has just added onto his Grand Hustle roster with upcoming MCs Young L.A. (Tip and Dro appear on L.A.'s new record "Ain't I") and B.O.B., whom we all know from "Haters" (we see you, T.J.!).

Meanwhile, Rick Ross is getting his Maybach Music Group in line. He has singer Masspike Miles, as well as his group Triple C. He and the Birdman are recording their duet LP, H, and the Boss has a brand-new mixtape called The Victory Lap out right now. (Also, he's been watching people tangle with wild animals on video shoots.)

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

• T.I. Producing Tracks For Rick Ross' Next LP; Tha Dogg Pound Get Gangsta 'Grizz-ills,' In Mixtape Monday
• MTV News RAW: T.I.

• T.I.
• Tha Dogg Pound

India.Arie's <i>Testimony: Vol. 1, Life & Relationship</i>
Photo: Universal

Close, but no cigar.

Chris Carrabba — the man behind Dashboard Confessional — told MTV News last month that debuting at #1 on the Billboard albums chart wasn't a goal, but he did admit that "it would be cool to look back at, as it's something of an accomplishment." It was more important, he added, "to still be on the charts after a year" (see "Secrets? Dashboard Confessional's Chris Carrabba Has A Few About Dusk And Summer").

Still, one can't help but wonder what's going through the songwriter's mind as the new SoundScan totals reveal Dashboard's latest, Dusk and Summer, is the band's second-straight LP to miss that magical mark — bowing at #2 with just over 134,000 first-week sales. Three years ago, A Mark, a Mission, a Brand, a Scar sold 122,000 copies to also debut at #2, behind Alan Jackson's Greatest Hits, Vol. 2.

This time around, it wasn't a country icon who pulled the rug out from under Carrabba's feet, but soul artist India.Arie, who claims the Billboard crown with her third release, Testimony: Vol. 1, Life & Relationship.

India.Arie's latest is also her first chart-topping debut. Voyage to India (2002) debuted at #6 with 110,000 discs sold, and her inaugural offering, Acoustic Soul (2001), bowed at #10 with 76,000-plus scans. Testimony: Vol. 1, Life & Relationship racked up 161,000 in week-one sales — not a runaway victory, but enough to keep Dashboard Confessional at bay.

India.Arie and Dashboard are the only newcomers to crack the top 10 on the latest chart, while a dozen other new releases make the top 200 cut.

Nelly Furtado's Loose, which debuted at #1 the previous week, slips to #3 with 99,000 units sold, followed by the Dixie Chicks' Taking the Long Way at #4 with more than 78,000 scans. Rihanna's A Girl Like Me scored a 14 percent sales boost, moving 62,000 copies and climbing seven spots to #5.

Gnarls Barkley's St. Elsewhere rises two to #6 with sales of more than 60,000, while Rascal Flatts' Me & My Gang claims the #7 spot with 59,000 scans. Busta Rhymes' The Big Bang slips three to #8 with 58,000 copies sold, and the soundtrack to the Disney Channel original movie "High School Musical" comes in at #9 with nearly 58,000 sales. Rounding out the top 10 is the soundtrack to the animated feature "Cars," which sold over 50,000 copies its fourth week in stores.

Shawnna, an MC from the south side of Chicago who calls blues guitarist Buddy Guy "Dad," notches the third-highest opening on the chart. Her Block Music takes the #13 slot with 47,000 scans, followed at #16 by Hank Williams Jr.'s That's How They Do It in Dixie: The Essential Collection, which netted week-one sales nearing 39,000.

The Snoop Dogg-produced Cali Iz Active — the latest from Tha Dogg Pound, featuring Snoop, Daz Dillinger and Kurupt — debuts at #28, with more than 30,000 units scanned. Lostprophets follow at #33 with Liberation Transmission, racking up 27,000 sales. Ray Cash's debut LP, Cash on Delivery, opens at #41 with 24,000 scans while II, the new one from punk quartet Billy Talent, pops up at #134 with 7,000-plus copies sold. The soundtrack to the Broadway musical "Tarzan," which features music by Phil Collins, opens at #170 with over 5,000 copies sold.

• India.Arie
• Dashboard Confessional
• Shawnna
• Tha Dogg Pound
• Lostprophets

Dashboard Confessional's <I>Dusk and Summer</I>
Photo: Vagrant Records

A Dash of Heartbreak: "Reason to Believe," "Secret's in the Telling," "Rooftops and Invitations" ... yep, sounds like a new Dashboard Confessional album all right. Dusk and Summer took Chris Carrabba three years to create, with help from producers Daniel Lanois (U2, Bob Dylan) and Don Gilmore (Avril Lavigne, Duran Duran), so make sure you've got extra Kleenex. If you're in DC's demo, show your student ID at a nearby Best Buy and the disc will only cost you $6.99.

Let's Get Active: Kurupt and Daz Dillinger threw a collar on Snoop Dogg and yanked him onto Cali Iz Active, Tha Dogg Pound's first full-fledged LP since 2001's, er, 2002. While Snoop is considered an official member this time around and has an executive-producer credit, he only crops up on a couple of tracks. Still, spots by Diddy, Ice Cube, Paul Wall, David Banner, Lady of Rage and Nate Dogg should make up for it.

Block Party: Shawnna's got a pretty impressive guest list of her own, especially for a sophomore artist. The Def Jam singer and "You Hear It First" alum coaxed Ludacris, Lil Wayne, Too Short, Syleena Johnson, Bobby Valentino and even her father, blues king Buddy Guy, onto Block Music. Tracks include "Candy Coated," "Lil Daddy What's Good" and the remix of "Gettin' Some," featuring Luda, Wayne and Short.

How to Sum It Up?: Welsh rockers Lostprophets have been around for almost 10 years, but they still seem to have a hard time speaking succinctly. Their third offering, the Bob Rock (Metallica, Mötley Crüe)-produced Liberation Transmission — which has already spawned numerous import versions — features such longwinded titles as "Can't Catch Tomorrow (Good Shoes Won't Save You This Time)," "Broken Hearts, Torn Up Letters and the Story of a Lonely Girl" and "Always All Ways (Apologies, Glances and Messed Up Chances)."

Björk'd: The Icelandic queen has a handful of box sets already out there, and she's keeping her fans Surrounded with a seven-DualDisc chest. Each one is a 5.1 surround-sound update of one studio record — and her recent soundtrack to husband Matthew Barney's "Restraint 9" — plus respective videos for that effort. The brick package is a work of art in and of itself.

Cases of Mistaken Identity: No, that's not Sammie making a comeback this week, even though we recently reported that the R&B crooner is in fact on the rebound. Rather, it's the Sammies, North Carolina's latest rock hopefuls, whose self-titled debut arrives shortly after one of the group's songs was used on ABC Family's "Wildfire." And no, that's not actress Julia Roberts singing on Men & Mascara — it's country/pop artist Julie Roberts, who mulls if she's "Too Damn Young" but finds room to "Smile" on her second effort. Nor is that U.K. luminaries the Coral dishing up Volcano and Heart this week. It's actually Santa Barbara, California's the Coral Sea whose "Look at Her Face" you may have heard on "Grey's Anatomy."

But that is '80s mainstays Warrant getting Born Again with their first full-fledged set of original studio recordings since 1995's Ultraphobic, albeit without Jani Lane singing. And that is Afroman still enjoying the aftereffects of his 2001 hit "Because I Got High" with yet another similarly titled record, Drunk 'n' High.

Getting Saucy: St. Patrick's Day, Mardi Gras and Cinco de Mayo may be behind us, but that's not stopping this week's roster from getting its drink on. Afroman's already buzzing with his aforementioned Drunk 'n' High, and Julie Roberts is "Chasin' Whiskey" on Men & Mascara, but not to be overlooked are the Moonshine Bandits tossing back a few with Bubba Sparxxx, Celly Cel, Jay Tee and others on Prohibition. And needless to say, there's more than a few cocktails being tipped back on Dr. Dre's Chronicles: Death Row Classics, the two-part "Reggae Spring Break" DVD series and, presumably, Rendezvous in Rio by folk-pop singer Michael Franks.

A Docking of the Docs: Three music documentaries of note this week, beginning with "Let's Rock Again," a snapshot of fallen Clash frontman Joe Strummer taken by friend Dick Rude. The set captures Strummer in the 18 months leading up to his death and features interviews and more. "We Jam Econo: The Story of the Minutemen" is a portrait of the influential San Pedro, California, punks and features interviews with Flea, Ian MacKaye, Thurston Moore, Henry Rollins and tons more. "Look at All the Love We Found: Live - A Tribute to Sublime," on the other hand, isn't a documentary of the '90s stalwarts but a chronicle of a tribute gig staged in Los Angeles last year that featured Unwritten Law, Blackalicious, Los Lobos and other amigos. The bonus CD chips in a handful of tracks that didn't appear on last year's audio comp of the same name.

Song Title of the Week:

"Divine Birthrite (Maiden Voyage of the Grape Ape)" from An Albatross' Blessphemy (of the Peace-Beast Feastgiver and the Bear-Warp Kumite)

Other Notables:

Jonah Smith's Jonah Smith: The buzz is strong with this new New Yorker, who's drawing raves for his rich blend of soul and Americana. His eponymous effort was produced by Lee Townsend (Bill Frisell, John Scofield) and boasts "Little Black Angels," "My Morning Scene" and "Dressed in White."

An Albatross' Blessphemy (of the Peace-Beast Feastgiver and the Bear-Warp Kumite): Much fun to be had on the latest opus by the herky-jerky spazz-outs. In addition to the Song Title of the Week, be on the lookout for "Lysergically Yours, My Psychadelic Bride," "Ballad of the Electric Coyote" and a speedy, three-part "epic."

DJ Spooky's DJ Spooky Presents: In Fine Style - 50,000 Volts of Trojan Records!!!: Not so much a new Spooky record as an effort to show how vintage reggae tunes are largely responsible for much of today's club music, the DJ goes overboard with a two-disc set that culls tunes by Lee Perry, Desmond Dekker, Sly and Robbie and many more. A jolt indeed.

New Releases:

• 7L & Esoteric - A New Dope (Babygrande)
  
• A Life Once Lost - Hunter (Ferret)
  
• Afroman - Drunk 'n' High (Siccness)
  
• An Albatross - Blessphemy (of the Peace-Beast Feastgiver and the Bear-Warp Kumite) (Ace Fu)
  
• India.Arie - Testimony: Vol. 1, Life & Relationship (Universal)
  Buy Now: Testimony: Vol. 1, Life & Relationship (Universal)
  
• Authority Zero - Rhythm and Booze (Suburban Noize)
  
• Baby Ray - Low Rises (Dren)
  
• Balun - Something Comes Our Way (live; Brilliante)
  
• Hector Bambino - Roc la Familia & Hector Bambino "El Father" Present Los Rompe Discotekas (Roc-A-Fella)
  
• David Benoit - Full Circle (Peak)
  
• Big Mike - Keep It Playa (BCD)
  
• Billy Talent - II (Atlantic)
  Buy Now: II (Atlantic)
  
• Bittersweets - The Life You Always Wanted (Virt)
  
• Brand New Heavies - Get Used to It (Delicious Vinyl)
  
• John Brannen - Twilight Tattoo (Sly Dog)
  
• Héctor Buitrago - Conector (Nacional)
  
• Carpathian Forest - F--- You All!!!! (limited edition; Season Mist)
  
• Ray Cash - Cash on Delivery (Gheto-O-Vision/ Columbia)
  
• Gilbert Castellanos - Underground (Seedling)
  
• Catch 22 - Permanent Revolution (Victory)
  Buy Now: Permanent Revolution (Victory)
  
• Cellador - Enter Deception (Metal Blade)
  
• Cephas & Wiggins - Shoulder to Shoulder (Alligator)
  
• Chevreuil - Capoeria (Sickroom)
  
• The City Drive - Always Moving Never Stopping (Red Ink)
  
• The Coral Sea - Volcano and Heart (Hidden Agenda)
  
• Dashboard Confessional - Dusk and Summer (Vagrant)
  Read: "Secrets? Dashboard Confessional's Chris Carrabba Has A Few About Dusk And Summer"
  Buy Now: Dusk and Summer (Vagrant)
  
• Dead Celebrity Status - Blood Music (Bodog)
  
• Kris Delmhorst - Strange Conversation (Signature)
  
• Jesse DeNatale - Soul Parade (Jackpine Social Club)
  
• Dirty on Purpose - Hallelujah Sirens (North Street)
  
• Dirty Rig - Rock Did It (limited edition with bonus DVD; New Media Studio)
  
• Dr. Octagon - The Return of Dr. Octagon (OCD)
  
• Dry Kill Logic - The Magellan Complex (Repossession)
  
• George Duke - In a Mellow Tone (Bizarre Planet)
  
• Four Tet - DJ Kicks (!K7)
  
• Michael Franks - Rendezvous in Rio (Koch)
  
• Good Riddance - My Republic (enhanced; Fat Wreck Chords)
  
• Graf Orlock - Destination Time Yesterday (Level Plane)
  
• Hacienda Brothers - What's Wrong With Right (Proper)
  
• John Lee Hooker Jr. - Cold as Ice (Telarc)
  
• Ray Wylie Hubbard - Snake Farm (Sustain)
  
• Glenn Hughes - Music for the Divine (Frontiers)
  
• iiO - Poetica (Made)
  
• The Illuminati - On Borrowed Time (enhanced; Liquor & Poker)
  
• François K - Frequencies (Wave Music)
  
• Mike Keneally Band - Guitar Therapy Live (Exowax)
  
• Sammy Kershaw - Honky Tonk Boots (Category 5)
  
• Chris Thomas King - Rise (21st Century Blues)
  
• Jeff Lang - Prepare Me Well: An Introduction to Jeff Lang (Telarc)
  
• Lord Jamar - The 5% Album (Babygrande)
  
• Lostprophets - Liberation Transmission (Columbia)
  Read: "Lostprophets Enlist Metallica Producer But Leave 'Chugga-Chugga' Metal Behind"
  Buy Now: Liberation Transmission (Columbia)
  
• Bobby Lyle - Hands On (Heads Up)
  
• Brad Mehldau Trio - House on Hill (Nonesuch)
  
• Metal Church - A Light in the Dark (Steamhammer)
  
• Moonshine Bandits - Prohibition (Independent Music Network)
  
• Tim O'Reagan - Tim O'Reagan (Lost Highway)
  
• John Ottman - "Superman Returns" original score (Rhino)
  
• Person - Entitled (Echelon Productions)
  
• Pet Shop Boys - Fundamental (limited two-CD deluxe edition also available; Rhino)
  Buy Now: Fundamental (Rhino)
  
• Grant-Lee Phillips - Nineteeneighties (Zöe/ Rounder)
  
• Julie Roberts - Men & Mascara (Mercury Nashville)
  
• The Sammies - The Sammies (MoRisen)
  
• Roger Sanchez - Come With Me (Ultra)
  
• The Seventh Cross - Scorched by the Flames of Vengeance (Candlelight)
  
• Shawnna - Block Music (enhanced; Def Jam)
  Buy Now: Block Music (Def Jam)
  
• Kierra KiKi Sheard - This Is Me (special edition also available; EMI Gospel)
  
• Slabz R Us - Mike Moe, Beltway 8 Boys (BCD)
  
• Jonah Smith - Jonah Smith (Relix Records/ Image Entertainment)
  
• DJ Spinna - Intergalactic Soul (Shanachie)
  
• DJ Spooky - DJ Spooky Presents: In Fine Style - 50,000 Volts of Trojan Records!!! (Trojan)
  Buy Now: DJ Spooky Presents: In Fine Style - 50,000 Volts of Trojan Records!!! (Trojan)
  
• Spores - Imagine the Future (Sidecho)
  
• Takeovers - Turn to Red (Fading Captain)
  
• Tha Dogg Pound - Cali Iz Active (Koch)
  Read: "Snoop, Ice Cube, Xzibit Show 'Cali' Love In DPGC Video"
  Buy Now: Cali Iz Active (Koch)
  
• Theatre of Tragedy - Storm (Candlelight)
  
• Wayman Tisdale - Way Up! (Rendezvous)
  
• Warrant - Born Again (Cleopatra)
  Buy Now: Born Again (Cleopatra)
  
• Peter White - Playin' Favourites (Columbia)
  
• Yip-Yip - In the Reptile House (Saf)
  
• Various artists - A Rough Guide to the Music of Iran (World Music Network)

Notable Reissues and Archival Material:

• Ian Anderson - The Ian Anderson Collection (two CDs; Fuel)
  
• Shirley Bassey - An Introduction to Shirley Bassey (Fuel)
  
• Debashish Bhattacharya - Calcutta Slide Guitar 3 (limited edition with bonus DVD; Riverboat)
  
• Björk - Surrounded (seven-DualDisc box set; Rhino)
  
• The Church - Sometime Anywhere (Lemon)
  
• Alex De Grassi - Pure Alex De Grassi (Windham Hill)
  
• Dissection - The Somberlain and Storm of the Light's Bane (two CDs each; The End)
  
• Dr. Dre - Chronicles: Death Row Classics (Death Row)
  Buy Now: Chronicles: Death Row Classics (Death Row)
  
• Dub Specialist - Version Dread: 18 Dub Hits From Studio One (Heartbeat)
  
• Michael English - Greatest Hits: In Christ Alone (Curb)
  
• The Flying Burrito Brothers - Airborne/ Flying Again (Acadia)
  
• Judy Garland - The Essential Judy Garland (Capitol)
  
• John Gorka - Pure John Gorka (Windham Hill)
  
• Michael Hedges - Pure Michael Hedges (Windham Hill)
  
• John Holt - I Can't Get You Off My Mind: 18 Greatest Hits at Studio One (Heartbeat)
  
• The Hot Doggers - Surfin' USA (Sundazed)
  
• The Kickstands - Black Boots and Bikes (Sundazed)
  
• B.B. King - Gold (two CDs; Geffen)
  
• The Knights - Hot Rod High (Sundazed)
  
• J.B. Lenoir - An Introduction to J.B. Lenoir (Fuel)
  
• Megadeth - Countdown to Extinction (limited-edition gold disc; Mobile Fidelity)
  
• Thelonious Monk with John Coltrane - The Complete 1957 Riverside Recordings (two CDs; Riverboat)
  
• Van Morrison - Pay the Devil (deluxe edition with DVD; Lost Highway)
  
• Nightnoise - Pure Nightnoise (Windham Hill)
  
• Lee "Scratch" Perry - An Introduction to Lee Perry (Fuel)
  
• The Rip Chords - Summer U.S.A.! The Best of the Rip Chords (Sundazed)
  
• Sons of the Pioneers - Classic Cowboy Songs (Varèse Sarabande)
  
• The Specials - Greatest Hits (Big Eye)
  
• Dusty Springfield - Gold (two CDs; Hip-O/ UMe)
  
• Cat Stevens - Chronicles (three CDs; A&M/ UMe)
  
• Liz Story - Pure Liz Story (Windham Hill)
  
• Whitesnake - Gold (two CDs; Geffen)
  Buy Now: Gold (Geffen)
  
• Hank Williams Jr. - That's How They Do It in Dixie - The Essential Collection (Curb)
  
• Various artists - 60's Gold (two CDs; Hip-O/ UMe)
  
• Various artists - The New York Sound: From the East Coast to the Future (BGP)
  
• Various artists - Rockin' Bones: 1950s Punk & Rockabilly (four-CD box set; Rhino)
  
• Various Artists - US Vs. UK Punk (Sanctuary)
  
• Various artists - "Dolemite" soundtrack (Relapse)

DVDs:

• The Afro-Cuban All-Stars - "Afro Cuban Legends" (Kultur)
  
• Paul Anka - "Music Man: The Authorized Biography" (White Star)
  
• Chuck Berry - "Hail! Hail! Rock 'n' Roll" (two DVDs; four-DVD "Ultimate Collector's Edition" also available; Image)
  
• Chamillionaire - "Littles Presents: The East Coast Shakedown" (Best of Block)
  
• Cro-Mags - "Live in the Age of Quarrel (1986-2001)" (Cro-Mags)
  
• Deep Purple - "Music in Review" (Classic Rock Legends)
  
• The Dillinger Escape Plan - Miss Machine: The DVD (Relapse)
  
• Green Day - "The Ultimate Film Review" (Classic Rock Legends)
  
• Jim Jones - "A Day in the Fastlife" (Koch)
  
• Happy Mondays - "Live in Barcelona" (Music Video Distributors)
  
• Led Zeppelin - "Music in Review" (Classic Rock Legends)
  
• The Minutemen - "We Jam Econo: The Story of the Minutemen" (two DVDs; Plexifilm)
  
• My Chemical Romance - "Things That Make You Go Mmmm!: An Unauthorized Documentary" (Music Video Distributors)
  
• Nico - "All Tomorrow's Parties: Nico Live" (Hep Cat)
  
• Omar & the Howlers - "Bamboozled: Live in Germany" (Music Video Distributors)
  
• Marty Robbins - "Music Anthology" (White Star)
  
• The Skeptix - "Live at CBGB's" (Music Video Distributors)
  
• Slade - "Slade Alive!: The Ultimate Critical Review" (Classic Rock Legends)
  
• Slightly Stoopid - "Live in San Diego: November 25 & 26 2005" (Shout! Factory)
  
• The Smiths - "Under Review" (Sexy Intellectual)
  
• Joe Strummer - "Let's Rock Again" (Image)
  
• Richard Thompson - "1000 Years of Popular Music" (one DVD with two CDs; Cooking Vinyl)
  
• Various artists - "Look at All the Love We Found: Live - A Tribute to Sublime" (with CD; Music Video Distributors)
  
• Various artists - "The Montreux Dream - The Story of the Montreux Jazz Festival" (Kultur)
• Various artists - "Reggae Spring Break Pt. 1" and "Pt. 2" (Music Video Distributors)

Coming Attractions:

July 4:

• Johnny Cash - American V: A Hundred Highways (Lost Highway)
  
• Rise Against - The Sufferer & the Witness (Geffen)
  Preorder: The Sufferer & the Witness (Geffen)
  
• Hans Zimmer - "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" soundtrack (Disney)

July 11:

• Muse - Black Holes & Revelations (Warner Bros.)
  Preorder: Black Holes & Revelations (Warner Bros.)
  
• Sufjan Stevens - The Avalanche: Outtakes and Extras From the Illinois Album! (Asthmatic Kitty)
  Preorder: The Avalanche: Outtakes and Extras From the Illinois Album! (Asthmatic Kitty)
  
• Thom Yorke - The Eraser (XL Recordings)
  Read: "Thom Yorke Records Album Without Radiohead, Rejects 'Solo' Label"
  Preorder: The Eraser (XL Recordings)
  
• Various artists - Now That's What I Call Music! 22 (Sony)

July 18:

• Alien Ant Farm - Up in the Attic (New Door)
  Preorder: Up in the Attic (New Door)
  
• The Bronx - The Bronx (digipak; Island)
  
• The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus - Don't You Fake It (Virgin)
  Read: "The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus: You Can Call Them Sellouts"

• Dashboard Confessional
• Tha Dogg Pound
• Shawnna
• Lostprophets
• Lord Jamar

• Snoop Dogg
• Tha Dogg Pound
• Ice Cube
• DJ Quik
• Too Short

The Clipse
Photo: Jive

The Clipse say they couldn't be in a better place than where they are now: touring with legends Ice Cube and Tha Dogg Pound.

"That sh-- is huge," Malice said from Cali last week. "Everybody is coming out to see Cube. I got a lot of respect for him."

"It's a good thing for us, for [the fans], to see us with them," Pusha T added. "They've been showing us a lot of love out here."

The artists had thrown around the idea of touring together at a Dogg Pound video shoot and decided to make it a reality (see "Snoop, Ice Cube, Xzibit Show 'Cali' Love In DPGC Video").

The tour ends in early June, and the Virginia duo say that's when they plan to shoot the video for "Mr. Me Too." The song, which features Mr. Skateboard P himself, Pharrell Williams, is just one of three tracks that Mal and Push plan to release before their Hell Hath No Fury LP comes out in late August or early September.

"We put everything on the table, everything on it," Pusha said. "The next record is going to be called 'What It Do,' featuring Slim Thug on the hook. It's definitely a banger. I just can't wait to shoot the video."

"Then there's another record called 'Keys Open Doors,' " Malice added. "It's just a testament, to like hip-hop and that whole art of being dope and fresh and creative. Street hip-hop at its finest."

There's a third installment of the mixtape We Got It for Cheap coming, but the Clipse might shoot for something bigger first.

"We're trying to put that together right now, but at the same time, we're working on this Re-Up Gang album," Malice said of the Clipse's side project with Ab-Liva and the Sandman. "The people are ready to hear that true body of work."

• Clipse
• Ice Cube
• Tha Dogg Pound

Daz Dillinger (far left), Snoop Dogg (middle), Ice Cube (far right) and friends on the set of the "Cali Iz Active" video
Photo: MTV News

LOS ANGELES — MTV recently organized the Great Day in Atlanta, Source had its own Great Day in Houston, and on Saturday, it was a veritable Great Day in Los Angeles when Snoop Dogg called just about every artist on the West Coast to appear in Tha Dogg Pound Gangsta Clique's video for "Cali Iz Active."

"Snoop opened his little black book and called everybody up," Snoop's cousin Daz Dillinger said at the clip's Elysian Park set. "I'm asking who's coming up here."

"We're still wondering who's coming," Kurupt offered. "It's a mystery."

Shortly after the waiting and anticipation was over, cars started pulling up with the likes of Ice Cube, Too Short, Warren G, Xzibit and Strong Arm Steady, Evidence, Dilated Peoples, JT the Bigga Figga, WC, and DJ Quik.

"This reminds me of the ['Nuthin' but a] "G" Thang' video," Quik, standing next to Xzibit, said of the camaraderie, "and that video is like 12 years old."

Later, most of the guys in the video filmed a picnic scene together as well as some DPGC performance shots.

"This was how the West was one," Snoop said, surrounded by all his homies, referencing the title of his West Coast unity tour (see "Snoop And Game Beef Up Their How The West Was One Tour"). "We all love each other, we're all one movement. It's beautiful."

"We always had a lot of love for each other, but Los Angeles keeps it spread out," Cube observed. "So we coming together. We realized that it's all one coast, we need to galvanize the West Coast. Show we all need to support each other."

As to what "Cali Iz Active" means, Kurupt said, "The song represents the West Coast as a whole. We're pushing [it] as one positive thing."

"You getting busy, you in trouble, it's a lot of stuff going on," Daz added. "You've got the police situation in Cali, the race issue in California, Congress. It's time for us to step up and show what's really going on. We're letting you know it's active."

The vibe was so great during the video shoot, all the artists were talking about going on tour together. Ice Cube has started his own tour with Daz and Kurupt and the Clipse, and Snoop has been jumping on some dates.

Tha Dogg Pound Gangsta Clique's Cali Iz Active LP is due June 27. Kurupt's next solo LP, Same Day, Different Sh--, comes out June 20, and Daz's first solo LP on Jermaine Dupri's So So Def label, So So Gangsta, drops July 18.

• Snoop, Cube, More On The Set Of The "Cali Iz Active" Video, 04.22.06

• Snoop Dogg
• Ice Cube
• Xzibit
• Kurupt
• Too Short

Daz and Kurupt from Tha Dogg Pound
Photo: MTV News

When Biz Markie and Snoop Dogg rapped about "the vapors," it was about how people change for the worse. Without a doubt, it was something you didn't want your friends to do. But a new group called the Vapors, made up of Tha Liks and Tha Dogg Pound, hopes every rap fan will want to be a part of its musical movement.

The combination of longtime friends and occasional collaborators Tha Liks (J-Ro, E-Swift and Tash), known for their rowdy, party-starting hip-hop, and Tha Dogg Pound (Kurupt and Daz), known for their lyrically inclined gangster parables, marks the first time West Coast crews with different sonic agendas have teamed up to form a single group.

The West Coast rap heroes will also feature up-and-coming rhyme friends Merciless Styles (a member of J-Ro's Wolfpack Family) and Roscoe (Kurupt's younger brother) prominently on their debut album, due next year. Snoop Dogg, Xzibit, King T, Defari and others are also likely to make appearances on the album.

"We're about to take over," J-Ro said. "We're taking the most lyrical, livest, gangster element of the West Coast and combining it with the most lyrical, livest, hip-hop element of the West Coast."

The Vapors album will be released on their own DNA label, which stands for either "Dogg Pound 'n' Alkaholiks" or "Drugs 'n' Alcohol," depending on your mood. It also has another meaning for Kurupt. "DNA is the makeup of the body, and we're the makeup of the West Coast," said Kurupt, who appeared on "Promote Violins," a cut from Tha Liks' X.O. Experience (2001).

Although the Vapors have yet to secure distribution for their album, that hasn't kept the crew from recording several songs. While on the Snoop Dogg-headlined Puff, Puff, Pass tour, E-Swift traveled with a portable studio, much as DJ Clue did on 1999's "Hard Knock Life" tour.

This preplanning is intended to show the world that the Vapors are serious. "See, we're a business," Kurupt said. "Before we even go to talk to people about our situation, we're going to make the album, have the album ready, have everything in preparation from merchandising to marketing plans — everything we want. DNA is very real. It's a combination of what we consider to be the greatest to come from the West."

• The Vapors
• Tha Dogg Pound

Photo: Death Row

"Waste not, want not" may as well be Suge Knight's mantra — he, more than any other record executive, knows the importance of making the most of studio time. It may take a few years, but chances are if you're one of Knight's past or present artists, your Death Row recordings are going to see the light of day. Knight has been able to eat off Tupac Shakur's music for years after the acclaimed MC died, and he even put out a couple of Snoop Dogg albums long after the Long Beach, California, native found refuge with Master P down South. Now Knight is geared up to put out an album by former Death Row inmates Tha Dogg Pound.

Featuring music recorded as late as a year and a half ago, Tha Dogg Pound 2002 is set to be released on July 31, two weeks after Pound member Kurupt drops a new solo album and three months after he and his partner Daz released an LP of new material.

"I kinda wanted to put Tha Dogg Pound back on the concrete, so I picked the more grounded records [for the album]," said Gregory "Hutch" Hutchinson, a.k.a. Above the Law's Cold 187um. "For a while, they had been doing more radio-friendly tracks, unlike what they had been doing at the beginning of their career." As head of production for Death Row (a position once held by Dr. Dre), Hutch was responsible for scouring Suge's vaults and choosing songs for the album. Once he selected the cuts, he went through a month and a half of doctoring up the tracks.

"I went back and put a 2001 twist on them," Hutch said. Besides adding verses from current Death Row acts, including Crooked I and SKG, Hutch added his own enhancements — such as bass and synthesizer parts — to about 70 percent of the album's beats, which were primarily produced by Daz.

"[I changed them] not merely for the sake of changing them, but to enhance them, make them sound sweet and rich," he said. "That's an extra twist." The Pound's LP has a distinctive g-funk feel. They team up with Tupac Shakur for "Don't Stop," which sees Daz rhyming about "mashing with the craziest, illest ni---as in town" while Pac lets off shots at Bad Boy Records, claiming to be "a Biggie annihilator" and a "Bad Boy killer." Meanwhile, Kurupt displays his usual battle rap skills.

The opening seconds of "Living Tha Gangsta Life," which features a cameo from Xzibit, includes a newscaster reporting that Snoop Dogg told police that Suge Knight killed Tupac. Then rapper Big C Style comes in and admonishes snitches.

Snoop himself is featured on "Smoke," and Nate Dogg can be found on "Just Doggin." The Row also secured the rights to include the remix of Jay-Z's "Change Tha Game" on the album.

As for how Tha Dogg Pound, who released their LP in May under the moniker Dillinger & Young Gotti, feel about the new album, Daz couldn't be reached for comment, but said in April that he had no beef as long as he can reap some of the financial rewards from its sales. Kurupt said Suge's move is something he would've done himself.

"I'm shocked he ain't been did it," Kurupt said recently. "I'm a fan now. I'm ready to buy it. There's so many songs on there I remember doing back in the days, I know he got. I'm like 'Man, I'd been drop a Dogg Pound record.' People wanna hear that. He got the rights to it so it's about time." Hutch said he hasn't discussed the album with Tha Dogg Pound. "Everyone is kind of at a different level in terms of having different visions of the project, but I think they will be happy with it because it sounds great. Although I'm overseeing their work, my intentions were to make them look good. No matter what the politics are, it's still art." You'll get to hear quite a bit more of Hutch's musical sculpting: He says the Row has banked at least two more albums' worth of Dogg Pound tracks.

Tha Dogg Pound 2002 track listing, according to Death Row:

• "Intro"
• "Roll Wit Us"
• "Just Doggin" (featuring Nate Dogg)
• "Smoke" (featuring Snoop Dogg and the Relativez)
• "Gangsta Rap" (featuring Crooked I)
• "10 Til Midnight" (featuring SKG)
• "Living Tha Gangsta Life" (featuring Xzibit)
• "Don't Stop" (featuring Tupac Shakur)
• "Change the Game (remix)" (featuring Jay-Z, Beanie Sigel and Memphis Bleek)
• "Crip Wit Us"
• "What Cha About"
• "Your Gyrlfriend" (featuring Mac Shawn and Soopafly)
• "Feels Good"
• "Way Too Often" (featuring Soopafly)
• "It'z All About Money"
• "Every Single Day" (featuring Snoop Dogg)

• Tha Dogg Pound
• Tupac
• Snoop Dogg
• Above the Law
• Kurupt

Kurupt
Photo: Mick Rock

Even though Kurupt just dropped the LP Dillinger & Young Gotti with his longtime road dog Daz as the group D.P.G., the Cali-by-way-of-Philadelphia rapper says the more things stay the same, the more things change.

"Everybody is calling it a D.P.G. album, but it's not a D.P.G. album," Kurupt insisted. "D.P.G. is really ... it's time to go on. Dogg Pound, we had a ball. We always gonna be Dogg Pound Gangstas, but when it comes to dropping these albums, D.P.G. is pretty much on halt. There's only D.P.G.C. (Dogg Pound Gangsta Clique) and the Gang.

"D.P.G.C. is me, Snoop, Daz and Nate Dogg. You could look forward to that album with all of us," Kurupt continued. "Then it's the Gang album, that's what the Dillinger and Gotti album is — the millennium Dogg Pound. Just the way we're coming off, we on fire. We ain't on fire in a negative way, we ain't dissing nobody. We're on fire as far as making these records." A year and a half ago, Kurupt was a virtual four-alarm blaze, spitting flames on half of the industry with "Calling Out Names," off of his second solo LP, Tha Streets Iz a Mutha. Kurupt accused his then-girlfriend Foxy Brown (both now say they have no ill feelings toward each other) of having an affair with DMX, and he retaliated by not only dousing those two with venom, but he also called out members of the Ruff Ryders camp and Ja Rule.

"Everything is on the cool out," Kurupt said. "Snoopy stepped in and had a talk with me and brought me back down to earth. Everybody goes in their own zone where they lose their brain for a minute. The good thing about it is that people didn't respond to it. That was a good thing for hip-hop itself. There could've been a gang of casualties and bullsh-- off of it. I commend certain n---as for the way they handled it and realized what was going on." Kurupt's backlash proved to the industry that gangstas need love too. The MC, who oozed machismo, asserting that "bitches ain't sh--," had fallen in love and had his heart broken.

"Before me and [Foxy Brown] can do anything, we have to become friends first," he said. "We became intimate before we became friends. I'll be real about it, a n---a was hurt. For [me] to call anybody my woman, that's against the house laws. But the problem was that you can't force anybody to be anything. If your woman wants to go do this and that, you just have to let her go.

"Don't get mad at the player, get mad at the game. You can't get mad at the game, so it's a no-win situation. A n---a forgot he's turning 28 with four kids and can't be doing the things you do when you a youngster. My mind was clouded with so many thunderclouds." Kurupt, who's engaged to Natina Reed of Blaque, insists that he's enjoying some of his most blissful days now by dividing his time between family and studio, but he's still somewhat confused about life. He tried to find himself when making his third solo album, Space Boogie: Smoke Oddessey, which drops in late July.

"It's a mind frame for me," Kurupt said. "You ever felt like you ain't got no ground beneath you? You're not too sure about anything? That was the mindset I was in when I was making this particular album. I didn't know where I wanted to go, and I just decided that I'm not going to make an album, I'm going to be just like I'm up in space. No format, just smoke and record, smoke and record. I've been taken off of planet Earth, ya know? Too much bullsh-- on earth." For inspiration, Kurupt made frequent runs to the local chronic spot as well as to Blockbuster Video. "All I been watching for the past year is space movies," said Kurupt, whose muses include "The Matrix," "The Cell" and "Starship Troopers." "I'm watching a gang of that sh-- now. It seems like there's so much cracking out there. It seems so peaceful. That's really where a n---a wanna go. I want to go to a place where you can't be criticized, where you can just relax at, just me and the homies. That's really where I felt like I took it on this album." His wifey helped him out on the album's first single, "It's Over." "I been knowing Tina for a taste," he said. "She's really independent. She ain't all on my back, worrying about what I'm doing. [Recording the song,] we just went in there to have fun. People started to like it, but we was just bullsh--ting, having a ball. 'I'm 'a write your rap, you write my rap.' I was like, 'Cool.' I wrote the verse she said, she wrote my first verse." Also onboard Kurupt's great space coaster are Snoop Dogg, Xzibit, DJ Quik, Daz, Nate Dogg, Butch Cassidy, MC Ren, Jon B., and Limp Bizkit's DJ Lethal and Fred Durst.

"I always wanted to f--- with Fred," Kurupt said of his collaborator on "Lay It on Back." "He's a raw n---a. I wanted to take Fred from the page he's on and take him to gangsta land. The song I did with him, it's like Limp Bizkit and N.W.A." Kurupt brought his G mentality to the movie set when he filmed "The Plague Season" with his onscreen adversaries Kurt Russell and Ving Rhames earlier this year. Due next April to coincide with the 10-year anniversary of the riots that came in the wake of the Rodney King verdict, Kurupt plays a member of a team of thugs hired by crooked police officers to plunder, murder and steal.

"I just did it to test it out," said Kurupt, who will also appear in the film "The Wash" with Dr. Dre and Snoop. "I like that they let me do my thing."

• Kurupt
• Tha Dogg Pound

Snoop Doggy Dogg's cousin and musical collaborator, Daz, who is perhaps better known as one-half of Tha Dogg Pound, will release his first solo album this week under the guise of Daz Dillinger.

The rapper/producer already has one platinum album to his credit with 1995's "Tha Dogg Pound" and has spent a lot of time since then producing tracks for the likes of Snoop and the late Tupac Shakur. Now, he says it's time for him to step out into the musical spotlight on his own with the new album, retributive-ly titled "Retaliation, Revenge and Get Back."

"I'm bringing the gangsta hip hop right back at ya," Daz told MTV Radio Network recently. "I've been working with so many artists making them what they are today and now I'm gonna come to the forefront with my own thing and with me rhyming."

Shakur turns up on "Retaliation" under his Makaveli pseudonym on one track, "Initiated," and the album also features guest spots from Shakur protégés the Outlawz and Daz's Dogg Pound partner Kurupt.

But even as his own album prepares to ship, Daz admits having his hands filled with various other projects, including working with Soopafly, a rapper who also appears on Daz's record, assembling "Suge Knight: Death Row Records," a compilation of old and new songs from the notorious label's roster, and is even putting the finishing touches on another posthumous Shakur album, "Makaveli: One Nation."

"Tupac made enough songs to last us 20 years," Daz said. "I'm doing beats on every track there. This is some stuff that we did. He rhymed and I'm putting the track to it."

No word yet on when these other projects will be completed, but we'll keep you posted.

• Tupac
• Daz
• Tha Dogg Pound
• Kurupt

Snoop, Cube, More On The Set Of The "Cali Iz Active" Video, 04.22.06

• Snoop Dogg
• Xzibit
• Tha Dogg Pound
• Ice Cube
• DJ Quik