October 2003

Fade to black - Posted by Denz on Thursday, October 23 2003

Holding court with US media yesterday (October 22) Jay-Z shed more light on his final album and revealed that it focuses on his life before stardom. The rapper, who has made public his intention to quit after the release of 'The Black Album', claims that he is leaving the field open for others to take hip-hop to the next level. "Hopefully, if they don't have someone to follow, they'll have to make their own thing, they'll make their songs," he said of the current competition. Jay-Z played eight of the final 12 tracks from the album to the assembled crowd at New York's Baseline Studios and confirmed The Neptunes, Rick Rubin, Kanye West, Just Blaze, Eminem and Timbaland as producers on the album, as well as the little-known Aqua and Bucannons. He also said that his much anticipated reunion with producer DJ Premier will not happen but was tight-lipped on the possible involvement of Dr. Dre, DJ Quik and 9th Wonder. Tracks played included the Just Blaze produced 'December 4th', which features Jay-Z's mother recounting memories of her son's childhood, Rick Rubin's '99 Problems', The Neptunes' 'Change Clothes', Kanye West's 'Encore' and two Eminem-produced tracks, 'A Moment Of Clarity' and 'My First Song'. On the question of what he plans to do with himself after unleashing the record, Jay-Z said: "I wanted to just put the album out but my partners were like...for all that money we gave you..." Promotion for the album will include the Rock The Mic 2 tour.

Warrant for Mathers - Posted by Denz on Thursday, October 23 2003

A warrant has been issued against Eminem's ex-wife Kimberly Mathers, dotmusic can report. Mathers has failed to show for two court appearances in her current cocaine possession case, prompting a Michigan judge to issue the bench warrant on Tuesday. Mathers, who divorced the rap superstar in 2001, was freed on bail in July after being arrested in June by traffic police in Michigan. At the scene, a white powder, later confirmed as around 25 grams of cocaine, was allegedly found. After failing to appear at Macomb County Circuit Court on Monday, the Judge gave Mathers 24 hours to appear, issuing the warrant after she failed to show the next day. As part of her bail, Mathers is supposed to undergo drug testing twice a month. She has been charged with felony cocaine possession, driving with a suspended licence and unsafe driving near a stopped emergency vehicle. A trial on the charges is expected to take place. Mathers faces up to five years in jail if she is convicted.

Eminem Beats Bully - Posted by Denz on Monday, October 20 2003

In tossing out of court a defamation lawsuit against Eminem, the judge got jiggy wit it. Macomb County Circuit Court Judge Deborah Servitto included a rap of her own to explain why she dismissed the suit filed by one of Marshall Mather III's former classmates. In a footnote to the opinion issued Friday, Servitto added a 10-stanza rhyme that states in part, "It is therefore this Courts ultimate position, that Eminem is entitled to summary disposition." (Em's undoubtedly pleased with the decision/But should justice sound like an Idol audition?) DeAngelo Bailey filed a $1 million lawsuit against the rapper in 2001 for damage to his reputation after Em trashed him as an bully in the track "Brain Damage" from his 1999 breakthrough album, The Slim Shady LP. "I was harassed daily by this fat kid named DeAngelo Bailey/An eighth-grader who acted obnoxious, cause his father boxes/So every day he'd shove me into the lockers," Em rhymes on the track. "And he had me in the position to beat me into submission/He banged my head against the urinal until he broke my nose/Soaked my clothes in blood, grabbed me and choked my throat." Arguing that Bailey was merely out to make a quick buck off the rapper, Eminem's attorney petitioned for a dismissal in July. Servitto evidently agreed, saying, "The lyrics are stories no one would take as fact/They're an exaggeration of a childish act/Any reasonable person could clearly see/That the lyrics could only be hyperbole." For their part, Bailey's attorneys have consistently denied that their client picked on the then young Em when the two attended fourth and sixth grade together at Dort Elementary School outside Detroit. Instead, Bailey has accused the Grammy-winning rap superstar of ruining his chances to switch careers from sanitation worker to mega-selling musician. After the rap-minded ruling was handed down Bailey's attorney, Byron Nolen, expressed his surprise and added, "I don't know how the court of appeals would look at something like that."

D-12 Back - Posted by Denz on Monday, October 13 2003

D12 will release their second album, 'Devil's Night II: Halloween', early next year. According to Rolling Stone, the hip-hop collective are back in the studio working on the album that could be released as early as February 2004. Eminem will once again take control of production duties on the LP which sees rappers Kon Artis, Proof, Bizarre, Swift and Kuniva reunited to work on the follow up to 2001's 'Devil's Night'. DMX and Jay-Z producer Kanye West will also be in attendance. You can get a taster of their new material by downloading the MP3s 'Trife Niggas' and 'Raw', featuring guest spots from Mu and Dave The Destroyer, from their official site. D12 Network Exclusive