Eminem
Photo: Scott Gries/ Getty Images

With Eminem's presence sorely missed in the hip-hop scene, the least bit of news about him makes fans and media alike go crazy. The latest rumor surrounding the Detroit MC was that he had ballooned to more than 200 pounds. Word on the street is that Slim Fast even came out and publicly offered him an endless supply of its dietary drink — and a spokesman position!

One of Em's friends and frequent collaborators, Trick Trick, says all the joking about Slim Shady not being slim anymore is just ridiculous.

"Em just picked up some weight, that's it," Trick, a fellow Detroit native, downplayed Thursday afternoon. He's nowhere [near] 250 pounds or anything like that. He picked up a little weight. He ain't walkin' around obese or some sh-- though. He can still run two miles if you want him to and still out-box the majority of them. My man still gets down."

Trick says Em getting down isn't just a physical thing — Slim Shady is still lyrically sound and ready to knock off heads. In fact, he is just one of the guests on Trick's upcoming independent LP, The Villain.

"He's still the coldest that ever did it," Trick said. "The game needs his album. He's rapping on [my album track] 'Who Want It.' He's like, 'Who want it?' [In the song] he's hanging out and these f---ing idiots are always at it. If you want it, come get it. He ain't trying to do nothing but be Em. I'm being me. If you want it, I got ya. He's Em on there. He's going for it. Whoever wants some can come get it. Em produced and rapped on it."

Marshall Mathers isn't the only one onboard Trick's LP, though. Em's pal Dr. Dre produced a record called "Hold On."

"The [rhymes] I did over Dre's track, I had to come hard," Trick added. "You can't just rap on a Dr. Dre track, you have to come with it. It has a message, but it's a street message. ... Street cats have to deal with a lot. A lot of people in the music business overlook the streets. You gonna encounter adversity. You can't fall off. You gotta hold on."

According to Trick, however, the most special cut on The Villain — the first single to which, "Let's Work," was just released — is a song called "Together Forever." He says it features the last-ever verse recorded by his friend Proof from D12.

"He did the verse in the studio [here in Detroit]," Trick began. "We went to a [strip] bar, then went to the casino. The next night, we met at a club called [the] Good Life [Lounge,] and he was trying to get me to drink this Patrón. I was like, 'N---a no!' Then we went back to the casino. Then the next night was the night he passed away."

Trick continued, saying that the song, "Together Forever," also features Kid Rock and Esham: "[It's] like the old Run-DMC song [of the same name]. Proof [sounds] old-school [on the song]. Everybody went old-school on it. Kid Rock is rapping too. Proof and E-Sham didn't used to get along, but they made peace. We're all going eight [bars], eight [bars] eight [bars]."

As for the title of his new album, The Villain, Trick said it's pretty self-explanatory.

"I ain't knocking nobody on how they do their music," he said. "But the artists, sometime we tend to sway with the time. It's ok to test the water a little bit, but you gotta give them you. I'm back on that gangster sh---, cuz. I'm not gonna front. I'm talking about that's straight hardcore, raw Detroit gangsta sh--. My album ain't negative, but I got a point of how I do things. People think I'm just wigging out doing this and that, getting in trouble. That ain't the case. I'm breaking down situations; 'if you do this to somebody, this is gonna happen to you.' "

• Eminem
• Dr. Dre
• Trick Trick
• Proof Of D-12
• Kid Rock

Ying Yang Twins' <I>U.S.A. (Still United)</I>
Photo: TVT

United They Stand: U.S.A. (United State of Atlanta) has racked up a platinum award and potential Grammy gold for the Ying Yang Twins, who are feeding off the success of their burgeoning hometown. Now they're spreading their pride with U.S.A. (Still United), an audio/visual combo package that lumps together 13 rare and remixed tracks with the videos for "Shake" and "Wait (The Whisper Song)," which will compete at the Grammys for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group. Tracks include "Ms. New Booty" (Bubba Sparxxx featuring Ying Yang Twins and Mr. Collipark), "4 Oz" (featuring Three 6 Mafia) and a remix of "Shake" (featuring Pitbull and Elephant Man).

Has the Dust Really Settled?: Sevendust tried to put their acrimonious split with longtime label TVT behind them with the October release of Next, which reigned atop the Billboard Top Independent Albums chart for two weeks. But it looks like TVT is trying to have the last word with Best of Sevendust (Chapter One: 1997-2004), hitting stores just three months after the new studio record. "Bender" (featuring Deftones' Chino Moreno), "Follow" (featuring Staind's Aaron Lewis) and the Tom Lord-Alge mix of "Waffle" all make their way onto Chapter One, as do four hard-to-find tracks, including covers of Marvin Gaye's "Inner City Blues" and Alice Cooper's "School's Out."

Mo' Better Motown: Detroit's unsung hip-hop hero Trick Trick has already sold 4 million records on the indie circuit — that's right, 4 million. Now he's finally making the jump to a major with The People Vs. Trick Trick, which gets endorsements by Motown's not-so-unsung hero, Eminem ("Welcome 2 Detroit" and "No More to Say," also featuring Proof), Jazze Pha ("Attitude Adjustment") and Obie Trice ("War").

The Revolution Will Be Remixed: People-power post-punks From Monument to Masses are committed to getting their listeners to commit to social activism. A flurry of artists have signed on for the cause as well, culminating in the remix record Schools of Thought Contend. The album revisits tracks from FMTM's first two records, including "The Quiet Before (Thunderbirds Are Now! Remix)," "Comrades & Friends (Loquat Remix)" and "To Z (Repeat) (Last Defender of the One True Waveform Remix)." Schools of Thought Contend actually won't drop until New Year's Eve, so you lefties won't be able to ché-ck it out until then.

Getting Krafty: Kraftwerk didn't truly represent their visually intensive concerts with this summer's two-CD Minimum-Maximum, so the pioneering blip band issued a double-DVD set of the same name earlier this month. Fans who held out from buying either will be filled with glitch glee over a limited release housing both. The Minimum-Maximum box is also bolstered by an 88-page booklet with unreleased photos and techie instrument data, plus the notebook-style packaging has a "lenticular" image on the flipside of the lid, giving the box a laptop look. What will they come up with next?

Song Title of the Week: "Head Bussa" (From Trick Trick's The People Vs. Trick Trick)

New Releases:

• The Anti-Nowhere League - Kings and Queen (Captain Oi!)
• Chronic Generation - Chronic Generation (Captain Oi!)
• Delirious? - The Mission Bell (Sparrow)
• Plácido Domingo - From My Latin Soul, Vol. 2 (ANG)
• Dr. Strangely Strange - Heavy Petting (Repertoire)
• The Dynotones! - Beach Party a Go-Go (Split Seven)
• Felt - Goldmine Trash (Cherry Red)
• From Monument to Masses - Schools of Thought Contend (Dim Mak)
• Glaxo Babies - Dreams Interrupted (Cherry Red)
• Goapele - Change It All (Skyblaze/Columbia)
• Infa-Riot - The Best of Infa-Riot (Captain Oi!)
• John Howard - As I Was Saying (Cherry Red)
• Jonah33 - The Strangest Day (S/R/E/ Columbia)
• King's College Choir - Christmas From King's College Choir (three CDs; ANG)
• Mob Figaz - Animal Planet (Mob Figaz)
• Nucleus - Elastic Rock (Repertoire)
• Ruts - Grin and Bear It (Captain Oi!)
• Sevendust - Best of Sevendust (Chapter One: 1997-2004) (TVT)
  Buy Now: Best of Sevendust (Chapter One: 1997-2004) (TVT)
  
• Silverbullit - Arclight (Deaf & Dumb)
• Story Side B - Everything and More (enhanced; Gotee)
• Chris Tomlin - Live From Austin Music Hall (Sparrow)
• Toolshed - Toolshed (Twisted Nerve)
• Trembling Blue Stars - Her Handwriting (LTM/Boutique)
• Trick Trick - The People Vs. Trick Trick (Motown)
• Voltio - Voltio (Epic)
• Derek Webb - Mockingbird (Epic)
• Mark Whitfield - Mark Whitfield (Dirty Soap Entertainment)
• John Williams - "Munich" soundtrack (Decca)
• Doug Wilshire & the Capers - Love in Disguise (Rhythm Bomb)
• Wussy - Funeral Dress (Shake It/Hepcat)
• Ying Yang Twins - U.S.A. (Still United) (with DVD; TVT)
  Buy Now: Ying Yang Twins - U.S.A. (Still United) (with DVD; TVT)
  
• Various artists - Dispense This! (Cheapskate)
• Various artists - "Second Chance" soundtrack (Reunion)

Notable Reissues and Archival Material:

• Ambrosia - How Much I Feel & Other Hits (Collectables)
• Charles Brown - Black Night (Masked Weasel)
• Lori Burton - Breakout (Rev-Ola)
• Denver & The Mile High Orchestra - The Best of Denver & The Mile High Orchestra: Swing! (Reel Loud)
• The Exploited - Complete Punk Singles Collection (Captain Oi!)
• James Griffin - Break and Run (Lemon)
• Highway 101 - Highway 101 (Collectables)
• Albert King - Born Under a Bad Sign (Collectables)
• Kraftwerk - Minimum-Maximum (limited-edition box set with two CDs and two DVDs; Astralwerks)
• The Liverpool Echo - The Liverpool Echo (Rev-Ola)
• Ricky Nelson - Greatest Hits (Capitol)
• Little Richard - Get Rich Quick: The Birth of a Legend 1951-1954 (Rev-Ola)
• Menace - The Punk Singles Collection (Captain Oi!)
• Kenny Rogers & the First Edition - Something's Burnin' (Masked Weasel)
• Spinballs - Phreak-a-Billy (Collector's Choice)
• Spinners - I'll Be Around & Other Hits (Collectables)
• Zoe Girl - With All of My Heart: The Greatest Hits (Sparrow)
• Various artists - The Best of Coed Records (Collectables)
• Various artists - Chart Toppin' Doo Woppin', Vol. 1: Rock Me All Night Long (Rev-Ola)
• Various artists - The Encyclopedia of Doo Wop, Vol. 5 (Collectables)

DVDs:

• Air Supply - "All Out of Love: Ultimate Performance" (Hep Cat)
• Duke Ellington - "Live at the Tivoli Gardens" (Image Entertainment)
• Dean Martin - "Biography: Dean Martin" (A&E Home Video)
• Ricky Nelson - "Ricky Nelson Sings" (Capitol)
• Toyah - "Wild Essence: Live in the 21st Century" (Cherry Red)

Coming Attractions:

January 3:

• Nellie McKay - Pretty Little Head (Columbia)
  Buy Now: Pretty Little Head (Columbia)
  
• The Strokes - First Impressions of Earth (deluxe edition due same day; RCA)
  Read: "Secretive Strokes To Spread Love Over The Airwaves In 'Juicebox' Clip"
  Buy Now: First Impressions of Earth (deluxe edition due same day; RCA)
  
• Various artists - "Grandma's Boy" soundtrack (with Bloc Party, Futureheads and Kool Keith; Epic)

January 10:

• Morningwood - Morningwood (Capitol)
  Buy Now: Morningwood (Capitol)
  
• We Are Scientists - With Love and Squalor (Virgin)
• Bob Geldof - "Geldof in Africa" (two DVDs; Rhino)

January 17:

• Aaron Carter - Come Get It: The Very Best of Aaron Carter (Jive)
  Buy Now: Come Get It: The Very Best of Aaron Carter (Jive)
  
• Say Anything - Say Anything ... Is a Real Boy (J)
• Too Short - Pimpin' Inc. (with DVD; Up All Night)

• Ying Yang Twins
• Sevendust
• Trick Trick
• From Monument To Masses