Nas is the latest rapper to have his lyrics spelled out and pieced back together in the form of a book. Writers Michael Eric Dyson and Sohail Daulatzai have collaborated in presenting the words of a young (age nineteen!) Nas in their upcoming book, Born To Use Mics. His 1994 album, Illmatic, will be the focus of the literary work. The album is one of the smartest debuts to be released in that era and it has remained one of the most critically acclaimed bodies of work in the hip hop culture, as a whole. The book itself will feature commentary on each track from contributors such as: Adilifu Nama, Guthrie P. Ramsey, Jr., James Peterson, Marc Lamont Hill, Mark Anthony Neal, Kyra Gaunt, Eddie S. Gladue, Jr., Imani Perry and others.

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After all the bickering, interviews, songs and rumors one Usher and Tameka are officially divorced. Straightfromthea.com unearthed the official paperwork from Fulton County Superior Court confirming that as of November 4th, 2009 Usher and Cougar Tameka are no longer man and wife.

Hopefully this means that all the drama is over too. Tameka can move on to her next victim and Usher can make another great album. Remember what stellar music the Usher and Chili break up produced.

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During Tuesday’s taping of the Soul Train Awards Trey Songz and Toni Braxton shared a staged kiss. Many thought nothing of it due to Toni’s husband of eight years former Mind Condition member Keri Lewis was in the audience. Braxton and Lewis were even seen out and about after the show.

In a complete twist, essence.com is reporting that that Toni and Keri are getting a divorce. Braxton has suffered numerous health and financial problems over the last few years and seemed to be bouncing back with the announcement of a new deal with Atlantic Records.

Can anybody in the business stay together?

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According to nola.com B.G. was arrested in East New Orleans on Tuesday November 3rd on felony gun charges. He was booked for illegal carrying of weapons. The former Cash Money Records rapper appeared in court Thursday morning, but his bond information is still unknown.

NOPD officers stopped the late-model Chevrolet Tahoe carrying B.G. and two other men after watching it commit a traffic violation, police said. They seized the three weapons, along with loaded magazines and two extended magazine clips, according to a police news release.

This is just one of several times this year that B.G. has been arrested. First Turk gets locked up, Wayne gets convicted in New York and now possibly B.G., Juvenile better watch his back. Law enforcement has no love for the Hot Boys.

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Beyonce cleaned up at the 2009 MTV Europe Awards last night in Berlin, Germany. The pop icon took home three of the biggest awards; Best Female Artist, Best Song for “Halo” and Best Video for “Single Ladies.” During her acceptance speech Beyonce thanked her husband Jay-Z for “putting a ring on it.”

Beyonce also graced the stage for the awards performing her single “Sweet Dreams.” American fans will have a chance to view the awards later this month. mtvU and MTV2, will air a one-hour version of the Awards on Sunday, November 15; 12:00 AM on MTV2 and 8:00 PM on mtvU.

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Yesterday Ludacris gave the students at Clarkdale Elementary School in Austell, GA the surprise of their young lives. At an assembly designed to give winter coats to the students many of whom were affected by the September floods superstar rapper and local resident Ludacris showed up to bring early holiday cheer.

The rapper/actor donated 500 coats care of his LudaCares Foundation. He also made visits to Austell Intermediate and Compton Elementary schools.

“We’re here in Cobb County giving coats for children,” said Luda at the assembly, “giving ‘em an early Thanksgiving and an early Christmas — or a Luda-Christmas, I should say.”

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With nostalgic hip hop t-shirts popping up at various retailers it makes perfect sense that one of the most beloved groups from the 80’s would join the fray. The Fat Boys announced earlier this week that a line of Fat Boys shirts will be distributed through novelty stores nationwide.

“With our clothing line hitting Hot Topics and Urban Outfitters just in time for the holidays, we’re real excited be back and of course, this merchandise line in old school sexy! It’s an exciting time for us, for Uncle Louie and for originalfatboys.com said Prince Markie Dee.

The Fat Boys will also be allowing fans to win prizes by helping the group design shirts. They have created a page through merchdirect.com to rate the potential designs that will be appearing. Fans can win an assortment of prizes, from iPods to cell phones.

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Sha Money XL caught up with 50 Cent at the Macy’s event for 50’s new scent Power. He asked Fif about the rumored Beanie Sigel to G-Unit Records deal but and he had this to say:

“I had a meeting with him today. 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…I would listen to what he has. 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.”

Beans better come with some heat and Fif better secure a distribution deal for G-Unit Records.

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Word on the street is that DMX has backed out of his upcoming fight against Eric Martinez. The reasons for X’s alleged sucker move vary. Sources told allhiphop.com that X is backing out because his protection could not be guaranteed (though X was well aware that there is no governing body to sanction fights in the state of Alabama). Another source says that X is ducking the fight because Thunder Promotions refused to fix the fight.

Neither X or Eric Martinez could be reached at press time to confirm or deny the rumored cancellation.

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Come hell or high water, 50 is determined to continue throwing shade in Jay’s direction. His newest approach is taking shots at Beyonce. Recently 50 spoke with Billboard magazine about casting Kelly Rowland as his leading lady in his “Baby By Me” video, and here’s what he had to say:

“I ran into Kelly at the Latin VMAs, which I attended to perform with Wisin and Yandel, and I asked her if she would consider doing it,” he explains. “You can’t forget all the work she did with Destiny’s Child. The difference between Kelly and Beyonce is the extreme focus they put on Beyonce to make sure she was completely right. Kelly wasn’t held in the same regard, so, in order for her to mean anything to America, they’d have to match the marketing dollars spent on Beyonce. She never received the superstar treatment.’

Honesty rears its ugly head once again. Sad to say, but 50 makes a valid argument. From the beginning Beyonce was bred to be the star, and Kelly and Michelle were simply background singers marching to the daddy Knowles’ drum.

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