KiD CuDi Throws Shots At His "Weak Ass" Label

For the two of you out there that may have gone out to buy a hard copy of KiD CuDi's newest side project, WZRD, at your local major music store (Best Buy, FYE, etc.), you may have been disappointed to see that there weren't any on the shelves. Here's your answer why.

"Ok so just a heads up, my weak ass label only shipped 55k physicals cuz they treated this like some indie side project tax right off. So i apologize on behalf of my weak ass major label. And I apologize for the lack of promo, again, my weak ass major label. They tried to rush me thru this so i can just give em another MOTM, but guess what? Fuck that, next album is WZRD. MOTM3 on hold til 2014. who mad??? not me and @DotDaGenius :) So its def gonna be tough to find one in the stores guys, I’m sorry about that. I gotta go out and find one too, becuz my weak ass label never even gave us a copy of our own album. FAIL!!! Im lettin Universal Republic have it, fuck it. What they gon’ do, spank me?? hahahaha. Ok let me go out here and try and find my album y’all. Enjoy the jams!! Play them LOUD. Upset your parents and the neighborhood :) peace" - Scott Mescudi

I prefer buying the hard copy myself, but the record can also be purchased today on iTunes for those of you out there that can't bare to wait any longer. You can also hit the jump to check out some behind the scenes footage of CuDi and Dot speaking about making the album.

Previous: Kid Cudi - Dose of Dopeness (prod. Dot Da Genius)

XXL Freshman Class of 2012 Announced

Let the debating begin. You'll have our answer to the cover as soon as we can get it to you. In the meantime, hit the jump to give us your opinion on how XXL did this year with their picks. We're expecting a lot of disappointment from most...

Shakira Signs To Roc Nation Management

Her hips don't lie and neither do we. According to XXL, Shakira has become the newest superstar under the Roc Nation management watch. This is great news for the already worldwide phenom as she takes another path into her music career.

Kendrick Lamar & Danny Brown Cover The Fader Magazine

Two very different, yet equally dope rappers will be blessing the cover of The Fader magazine's upcoming issue. You can go check out Kendrick's and Danny's cover stories right now and be sure to pick up the issue when it hits newsstands.

Tyga's Album Is Rumored To Be Recalled

Just a day before it's scheduled to be released, Tyga's Careless World: Rise Of The Last King album is reportedly being recalled on a count of a Martin Luther King Jr. speech sample that was not properly cleared. Although Tyga has reported no official push back on his Twitter machine, if the rumors prove to be true then the reshipping and processing of the album could take quite some more time. Shouts to The Source.

Previous: Tyga - Rack City (remix) ft. Wale, Fabolous, Young Jeezy, Meek Mill, & T.I.

MTV's 2012 Hottest MCs In The Game

Debate on the Top 2 Spots

Each year, a group of MTV panelists sit down to discuss who they think the hottest MC in the game is and each year the final list of top ten candidates are scrutinized by just about everybody. While the list doesn't always necessarily contain the most talented artists out there, they certainly do a great job of ranking the "hottest" artists. Which I guess is what it's all about, right? After all, this may be the only list we'll ever see again where the names Jay-Z and Meek Mill are placed right next to each other. This year the crown when to Maybach Music Group leader Ricky Ross. "M-M-M-Maybach Music". Need I say more?

Hit the jump to check out the full top ten list and make sure you hit the comments section to let us know who your top ten is.

Introducing Rap Supergroup "M.A.R.S" (Cormega, Action Bronson, Roc Marciano, & Saigon) [Video]

Some of the most raw rappers in the game are coming together to form a powerhouse of a group. M.A.R.S., made up of Mega, Action Roc, and Saigon, are getting ready to drop their first single (produced by Large Professor) and music video very soon. You're not gonna wanna miss this one.

Previous: Saigon - Warning Shots 3: One Foot In The Grave [Mixtape]

Robin Thicke Arrested For Possession

 
The famous Grammy award winning American-Canadian R&B singer has been making it onto posts here for all the wrong reasons. Yesterday, he was cuffed in NYC for possession of marijuana. No details on exactly how much, but he will receive a desk appearance ticket in the upcoming days. We'll keep you updated.

KiD CuDi Announces WZRD EP

Since the full-length WZRD album was pushed back to a February 28th release, we've heard nothing but good news from CuDi and Dot Da Genius including the second single, 'Teleport 2 Me, Jamie'. During Monday night's WZRD LP listening party, Cudi announced that another 5-track EP would be released sometime during the Spring or Summer.

“We are doing an EP already and it’s going to be coming out in a couple months,” Cudi told the crowd. “We just can’t stop making records. I made a new record the other day that’s really, really, really phenomenal. So we’re gonna put out this five-track EP just to fuckin’ put out some jams.” While Dot added, “The EP is gonna be great. Expect greatness.”

 Too soon to say if this is good news or bad news since we haven't heard enough material from the duo's first album, but at least we know that CuDi is serious about this new sound.

Earl Sweatshirt - Home

For the non-believers that didn't think the rumors were true (like myself), the young Odd Future member known as Earl Sweatshirt is back and already dropping new music. Earl had been spending quite some time at the Coral Reef Academy in Samoa where his mother had sent him due to his behavior and affiliation with Odd Future. Now, after an extensive "Free Earl" campaign, the soon-to-be 18 year old is back in the United States and already making noise. After dropping this viral video with a snippet of what sounded like a new song, Earl asked for 50k Twitter followers before he released the full version. Many claimed this to be a hoax, but 50k+ and counting followers later he followed through with his promise and voila: the link to Earl Sweatshirt's new track.

As of now, the only place it exists is on that site in which I can't seem to embed from. So, we'll have an update with a download as soon as possible.

Update: Somebody got their rip game proper. Shouts to illroots.

Previous: Tony Hawk Speaks With Tyler, The Creator [Interview]

Nickelback Responds To Black Keys' Drummer Diss

We're all used to hearing about "beef" on the regular between hip-hop artists, but now when we find out about two alternative rock groups throwing shots at each other there's no telling what to think of it. In their cover story with Rolling Stone, The Black Keys' drummer Patrick Carney unexpectedly stated that  "Rock & roll is dying because people became OK with Nickelback being the biggest band in the world."

P-Willi will agree with me when I say that although the radio hits that Nickelback creates can kinda make them seem like sell-outs, the rest of their albums for the most part really rock hard (except for maybe their most recent one). However, you can tell that Nickelback is new at this whole "beef" thing, because I believe rule number three is never say "Hehe" at the end of a statement when trying to rebuttal a diss. They may want to take some lessons from Robin Thicke.

Round One winner: The Black Keys.

Previous: The Black Keys - Lonely Boy x Nickelback - Here And Now

Statik Selektah Talks Project With Bun B And An Eminem Collaboration [Video]

Very few producers/DJs went as HAM as Statik did in 2011. That's not stopping him from going even harder in 2012. Already in the works is a project with Reks, Bun B, the sequel EP to 1982 and an Eminem collabo. Hip hop music can always use a little more Statik Selektah.

Previous: Reks & Statik Selektah - Autograph

Happy 38th Birthday Pimp C

Damian Marley Speaks On The Possibility Of Another "Distant Relatives" Album [Video]

50 Candidates for XXL's 2012 Freshman Class

One of the most controversial and anticipated moments in hip-hop news every year is the release of XXL's "Freshman Class". Each year, the hip-hop powerhouse lets go of a list of artists that they believe are the next big thing in the game. However, this year they decided to do things a bit differently. XXL picked 50 artists that they believe are "Freshman Class" worthy. After a group of professionals choose their nine Freshmen, they are letting the fans decide the tenth and final spot. So, before the voting ends on January 1st, head on over to XXL to cast your vote for your favorite artists. Hit the jump for the full list.

Also, be on the lookout for our own "Freshman Class" list to be dropping before the voting ends.

Robin Thicke's Response To Daniel Merriweather's Diss

It's sad to see that Twitter has become the newest medium for sending "disses" between artists. Smh. At least this new episode of R&Beef took a comical turn when Robin Thicke proclaimed he had no idea who Daniel Merriweather even was. Genius, or just plain arrogant? You be the judge.

Lil Wayne Introduces Newest Young Money Artist [Video]

World, say hello to the new Chris Brown. This 14-year-old singer/dancer goes by the name of Torion and he is the newest member of the Young Money family. Check out this video for a glimpse of some of his talents and watch as his dances on Wayne's command. *sigh* He's already a corporate puppet at his young age.

Happy 30th Birthday Michael "Eyedea" Larsen

Today would have been the 30th birthday of Rhymesayers' artist Eyedea, who passed away in October of last year. The world lost one hell of a talent that day. In memory, we've posted up this classic video of him and Slug (of Atmosphere) doing a little cypher on the Wake Up Show with Sway.

R.I.P. Heavy D

Sad news in the music world today as yet another great artist has passed at far too young of an age.

5:12 PM: An associate of Heavy D's just told us the rapper had pneumonia.


4:28 PM: Law enforcement tell TMZ ... Heavy D had just returned from shopping and walked up some stairs when he began having trouble breathing. Adam Mills, a designer who was in the building and knew Heavy D, found him leaning against a railing and clearly in distress. Adam tells us he cradled Heavy D in his lap as others called 911. Adam says Heavy D was conscious and said to him, "I can't breathe, I can't breathe." When paramedics took Heavy D to the hospital he had a pulse. People in the building are saying he died of a heart attack, but we have not been able to confirm that. Law enforcement sources tell us ... no foul play was involved and so far they only know the cause of death was "medical." - TMZ

Exile Gives Update On Upcoming Projects

In an interview with exclaim.ca, Exile says that the follow-up to his and Blu's Below The Heavens album (yeah, we're big fans of it) is nearly completed. He also continues to talk about another new album that he's working on with Aloe Blacc, in which Aloe is back to his rapping roots. No word on when these projects will be released.