In a statement to Billboard, P. Diddy tells them that he can’t do crunk. “I can’t do a crunk record, and I’m not shooting anybody so I can’t do that kind of music. This is a vulnerable album meant to make you feel good,” Diddy says referring to his latest album “Press Play.”

In regards to Diddy’s Press Play, Diddy and Snoop Dogg will be joining together for a three week European tour in Nottingham, England coming next spring from March 12, 2007 until April 2, 2007 to support the album, which was his first album in five years under his name.

The album gracefully debuted at No. 1 on The Billboard 200 in October selling a little over 400,000 copies in the US. Snoop Dogg will be touring to support “The Blue Carpet Treatment” album which crept in at No. 5 on The Billboard Charts and sold over 250,000 copies it’s first week alone. Snoop Dogg is stated to be bringing his band to help compliment him on stage called the Snoopadelics.

P. Diddy & Snoop Dogg Tour dates:

March 12: Oslo (Spektrum)
March 13: Copenhagen (Forum)
March 14: Berlin (Max Schmelling Halle)
March 15: Stuttgart, Germany (Schleyerhalle)
March 16: Hamburg (Sporthalle)
March 17: Frankfurt (Festhalle)
March 18: Munich (Olympiahalle)
March 19: Zurich (Hallenstadion)
March 21-22: Paris (Bercy)
March 23: Dusseldorf, Germany (Philipshalle)
March 24: Brussels (Forest National)
March 25: Amsterdam (Heineken Music Hall)
March 27: London (Wembley Arena)
March 28: Cardiff, Wales (International Arena)
March 29: Manchester, England (Evening News Arena)
March 30: Glasgow (SECC)
March 31, April 1: Dublin (the Point)
April 2: Nottingham, England (Arena)

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The undisputed Death Row Records has relased a double CD compilation album along with a DVD which includes over 20 videos entitled “15 Years On Death Row.” Whether or not if this an effort to put Death Row back on the map, the album features unreleased tracks and released tracks such as top chart songs as “Gin and Juice”, Nuthin’ “But a ‘G’ Thang”, “California Love” and many more. The compilation feature Death Row tracks from the late Tupac, Snoop Dogg, The Dogg Pound, Dr. Dre, Warren G, Lady of Rage and Nate Dogg.

Tracklisting:
CD Audio (Disc 1)
1. Nuthin’ But a ‘G’ Thang – Dr. Dre feat. Snoop Dogg
2. Dogg Pound 4 Life -Dogg Pound feat. Snoop Dogg
3. Afro Puffs (album version) – The Lady of Rage feat. Snoop Dogg
4. Natural Born Killaz – Dr. Dre feat. Ice Cube
5. How Do U Want It (alternate version) – 2Pac feat. K-Ci & Jojo
6. B****** Ain’t S*** – Dr. Dre feat. Snoop Dogg, Daz, Kurupt and Jewell
7. Let Me Ride (extended version) – Dr. Dre feat. Snoop Dogg & Daz
8. Life’s So Hard – 2Pac feat. Snoop Dogg
9. Big Pimpin’ – Dogg Pound feat. Snoop Dogg, Nate Dogg & Big Pimpin’
10. Gin and Juice – Snoop Doggy Dogg feat. Dat N**** Daz
11. G’z Up, H*** Down (unreleased) – Snoop Doggy Dogg
12. California Love (original version) – 2Pac feat. Dr. Dre and
Roger Troutman
13. Made N***** – 2Pac feat. The Outlawz

CD Audio (Disc 2)
1. To Live & Die in L.A. (alternate version) – 2Pac feat. Val Young
2. Initiated – Daz feat. Kurupt, 2Pac & the Outlawz
3. Murder Was The Case (remix) – Snoop Doggy Dogg
4. Ambitionz Az A Ridah – 2Pac
5. All About U – 2Pac feat. Dru Down, Snoop Dogg, Nate Dogg,
Fatal Hussein and Yaki Kadafi
6. Puffin’ On Blunts and Drankin’ Tanqueray – Dr. Dre ft. The Lady of Rage
7. Pain – 2Pac feat. Stretch
8. Doggy Dogg World – Snoop Dogg feat. The Dogg Pound & The Dramatics
9. O.G. – Daz feat. Nate Dogg and Snoop
10. F*** Wit Dre Day (And Everybody’s Celebratin’) -Dr. Dre feat.
Snoop Doggy Dogg, Jewell & RBX
11. Never Had a Friend Like Me – 2Pac
12. Ain’t No Fun (If The Homies Can’t Have None) – Snoop Doggy Dogg feat.
Nate Dogg, Kurupt and Warren G
13. Loyal to the Game – 2Pac feat. Treach & Riddler
14. What Would U Do? – The Dogg Pound feat. Snoop Dogg,
Jewell & Big Pimpin’

Should rappers feel emasculated due to more and more prosecutors are using the lyrics rappers write against them? Recently a 23 year-old young man named Ronell Wilson “Rated R” in New York was arrested on suspected murder of two undercover police officers. During the initial arrest police found his pockets stuffed with lyrics with rhymes telling his counterparts to wear bullet-proof vests if they dare wanted to challenge him as well a line that said that he would leave .45-caliber slugs in their heads.

Prosecutors feel they have struck gold with his lyrics and if the jury convicts Ronell Wilson on Wednesday he would face a possible death sentence.

According to CNN prosecutors have used rap lyrics to help establish motives and shed light on defendants’ characters. Some have brought up the lyrics only during sentencing. Does being a rapper and writer suspense raps reflect who you are as a person? Are rappers the characters that they portray when they rap or is it just as if he was an author of a thriller book or a movie director? Will prosecutors begin to prosecute movie directors. Movies, television, dvd’s and cable promote and profit off of drug, sex and violence daily, yet if an actor was to be arrested he’s not judge over the movie role that he plays. What is it such a trend to judge a music entertainer this way? Some consider this as a prejudice and discrimination.

Reports go on to state that a Philadelphia defense attorney Michael Coard, who also teaches a class on hip hop at Temple University, stated that attempting to use rap as a window into a defendant’s mind is especially problematic, given rap’s tradition of overtly ridiculous braggadocio.

“It’s about boasting. It’s about exaggerating. … It’s about acting,” he said. “If Robert De Niro, or Al Pacino or Marlon Brando are charged with shooting somebody, are they going to be playing clips from `The Godfather’ in court?”

When rapper Project Pat was convicted on carrying a concealed weapon in his car, his lyrics where thrown at him. Rapper Beanie Sigel was also sentenced on gun charges in Philadelphia when a federal prosecutor used his lyrics against him.

Some defense attorneys fear that prosecutors will begin to use lyrics against rappers making a trend that could grow in order to make a defendant look bad in front of a middle-class jury and prosecutors could introduce role-playing violent, curse-filled verses against any entertainer. This could lead to unfairness against any who play a role in the music/entertainment business thereby affecting the Industry.

According to ABC News more than 8,500 of James Brown’s fans filled an arena bearing his name Saturday to farewell the Godfather of Soul off to his resting place. James Brown, 73 passed on December 25, 2006 of heart failure in Atlanta while being hospitalized for the treatment of pneumonia.

The service for James Brown’s funeral lasted approximately 90-minutes with prayers, gospel music, a dedication dance from MC Hammer, songs from his band and James Brown’s favourite hymn, “His eye is on the sparrow” by Cynthia Moore.

James Brown’s body laid lifeless in front of the bandstand in a gold casket dressed in a black jacket with white studs on the lapels, white gloves, a red shirt and sequined shoes. Fans lines up early to beat the rain so they could witness the furneral.

After the James Brown Arena was full, the remaining mourners and onlookers gathered on the streets to listen to the service over the PSA.

Those who paid tribute to the Godfather of Soul included Rev. Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson, the tearful Michael Jackson and others who took turns at the podium which overlooked the casket.

Fans didn’t expect Michael Jackson who bowed to James Brown’s casket who then shared a hug with Rev. Al Sharpton as James Brown’s most recent backup band the “Soul Generals” began to play.

At the podium, pop star Michael Jackson told the mourners, “James Brown is my greatest inspiration,” adding that when he was a child, his mother would wake him, regardless of the hour, whenever Brown was on TV.

“When I saw him move, I was mesmerized,” Jackson said. “I knew that’s what I wanted to do for the rest of my life because of James Brown.”

In related news, James Brown’s lawyer has said the late singer and his 36-year-old partner weren’t legally married and so she was locked out of his South Carolina home for legal reasons involving his estate. The partner, one of Brown’s backup singers, told media that the couple was married and she can prove it. The funeral program reportedly listed Tomi Rae Hynie as a “companion” who has a 5 year-old child with Brown. The program also listed James Brown was survived by seven children, though his publicist referred to only four.

James Brown was born in Barnwell, S.C., but mostly stayed in Augusta, GA as a child. He considered Augusta, who named a street in his honor a decade ago and last year erected a statue of him in a downtown park, his home. Earlier this year, the community’s main auditorium was also named after James Brown.

Rage on the road took its toll on Rapper Styles P “David Styles” after being hit by a 50 year-old truck driver named John Henson last Saturday afternoon on Saw Mill River Road in Greenburgh, N.Y. The rapper suffered a broken leg after a reported road rage incident.

The 32 year-old rapper was reported to have stated, according to WABC-TV, that he was cut off by a truck where he later cut the same truck off, and left his car to throw napkins at the truck window. When he proceeded to get back into his car, John Henson struck him with his truck.

Styles P. was taken to Westchester Medical Center for treatment for his injury.

As for the truck driver, he has been charged with second-degree assault. John Henson told police that he wasn’t aware that he was to blame for cutting off Styles P’s car and that he was “in fear for his safety” when Styles got back into his car after throwing the napkins.

Recently, PETA and the Humane Society called out P. Diddy for the sales of his infamous Sean John Hooded Snorkel Jacket made with raccoon dog fur labeled as faux by retailers which was sold at places such as Macy’s. Yes, raccoon dog fur. The information was posted on the Humane Society of the United States’ website. The HSUS has posted that it was advertised as having an “imitation rabbit fur collar” and materials.

“I was completely unaware of the nature of this material, but as soon as we were alerted, the garments were pulled off the Macy’s floor and Website,” Diddy said in a statement released by publicist Hampton Carney. “I have instructed our outerwear licensee to cease the production of any garments using this material immediately. I appreciate the tireless work that the Humane Society does and would like to thank them for bringing attention to this issue.”

According to HSUS, Sean “P. Diddy” Combs’ couture violated the Fur Products Labeling Act, which prohibits the advertising or sale of any fur product that is falsely or misleadingly labeled and could lead the Federal Trade Commission to impose criminal penalties such as fines of up to $5,000 per violation and the seizure of products.

Macy’s has been stated to have pulled the Sean John garments from its department stores and online shop, but the HSUS is not only calling out Diddy, but other designers and retailers to stop using and selling fur trim altogether.

Other reports state that more than eight other fur-lined garments from the likes of Baby Phat, Calvin Klein and others sold by such retailers as JCPenney, Burlington Coat Factory, Bloomingdale’s and Saks Fifth Avenue were also tested and found to have contained raccoon dog fur.

The President and CEO of HSUS, Wayne Pacell, is blaming not just the retailers, but also the designers for not closely paying attention to what type of fur trim they are selling.

“It’s especially problematic when the fur is sourced from China, where domestic dogs and cats and raccoon dogs are killed in gruesome ways, even skinned alive.”

Since China has no animal welfare laws, animals such as dogs, cats and raccoon dogs are used for whatever means, killed horrificly and usually skinned.

Any viewer of the following video would be stunned in amazement at how much tourture these poor animals are put into for the skinning of their fur. Many of these animals are still alive even after they are skinned and due to shock and pain they die.

Should the US stop any fur-like lined garment from being imported from China or should these designers and retailers be punished for the distribution of these garments?

Video: Footage by Swiss Animal Protection of raccoon dog killing in China. (Warning: Extremely Graphic)

Memphis pop/hip-hop singer Justin Timberlake has been making his rounds including a recent performance of Sexyback for the Victory Secret Fashion Show which aired on Tuesday. Now Justin Timberlake has teamed up with The Recording Academy, CBS and Yahoo! to launch a contest in search of unsigned artists to compete for a chance to perform with him on stage at next year’s 49th Grammy Awards Ceremony in Feburary.

The winning entrant will be selected from a 60 second video clip which they submit. The contestants will be selected based on singing one of nine Grammy Award-winning songs hand-picked by Justin Timberlake himself. Only from December 14 – January 3 video submissions will be accepted. On January 8th, expert panelists will narrow the submissions to 12 talented singers, who will come to LA to meet Justin and vie for a post onstage with him. Then America will watch the remaining video submissions, vote and comment on them on Yahoo! Music. January 8 – 13, the selected will be narrowed down to 5. January 16 – February 3, round 2 voting will decide 3 finalists.

According to Yahoo! on February 4 during the Super Bowl weekend the three finalists will be announced where the final round voting will continue and the three finalists will attend the Grammy Awards Ceremony. Voting will continue until Feburary 11th the night of the Grammy Awards Ceremony where viewers will have the opportunity to vote on Yahoo! or by telephone. The winner will be announced during the Ceremony and he/she will then perform live with Justin Timberlake onstage.

The Grammy Awards Ceremony will air Sunday, February 11th, 8PM ET/PT on CBS.

Selections the contestants must sing to enter the my Grammy Moment:

Aretha Franklin – “Respect”

Whitney Houston – “I Wanna Dance With Somebody”

Mariah Carey – “Vision of Love”

Alicia Keys – “If I Ain’t Got You”

Melissa Etheridge – “Come to My Window”

Justin Timberlake – “Cry Me A River”

Faith Hill – “Breathe”

Luther Vandross – “Dance With My Father”

Tina Turner – “What’s Love Got To Do With It”

my Grammy Moment https://music.yahoo.com/mygrammymoment/

Justin Timberlake is nominated for 4 Grammys: Album Of The Year, Best Pop Vocal Album , Best Dance Recording and Best Rap/Song Collaboration (“My Love” featuring T.I.).

According to a number of sites actress Halle Berry is supposedly planning a music career. However, in a phone call earlier on December 20th, MemphisRap.com was told by Halle Berry’s management company in LA that they were unaware of Halle Berry’s supposed music CD.

The Golden Globe, Oscar, Academy Award-winning actress, is stated to have been confirmed as finishing her self-titled debut album “Halle”. There are even statements saying that Halle Berry is wanting to be admired for more than her acting talents.

The reports go on to say that she told Ebony magazine: “I’ve always loved to sing and this album will show people that I can do more than act.”

There is even an album cover and release date available. The album was originally due to be released on January 9 according to the reports, but it is said to have been pushed back due to her hectic filming schedule. The album is now stated to be set for a February 6 release. Will this happen and is it true?

Leaks of her supposed new album songs “How You Been?” and “Miss Sexy” have already been reported to be floating on the internet and on P2P programs, but have not been found.

According to AOL’s TMZ, as of December 19, 2006 Scott Storch’s representatives know nothing about the project either, calling into question whether or not the CD is a hoax.

The rumored tracklisting is as follows:

1. “Miss Sexy” (Scott Storch)
2. “No Problem” (Timbaland, S.G. Jarard)
3. “Sunshine” (GiGi Franklin, Harold Jennings)
4. “How You Been?” (featuring Jamie Foxx, G. Thompson)
5. “Like That” (Scott Storch)
6. “Around” (Cee-Lo)
7. “Lazy” (featuring Lupe Fiasco,J. Crew Productions, Kundei Supormorgei)
8. “Your Love Is Always Good” (Timbaland)
9. “Not Today (I’m Not In The Mood)” (Jason Jackson, Jackie Jackson, GiGi Franklin)
10. “Write Me” (Scott Storch)
11. “Love & Emotions” (Robin Thicke)
12. “Singing To You” (G. Thompson)
13. “Go Left” (featuring Bun B, Timbaland)

Unreleased Tracks / Songs Not Included on the Album

Rewind (UK B-Side to “How You Been?”)
Get Down Tonight (featuring Jermaine Dupri) [Japan Release Only]

According to sources 25 year-old R&B singer Beyoncé Knowles can’t wait for Christmas to come because she’s going to get down and dirty with all the festive food.

Beyoncé insisted Christmas food is to delicious to miss out on because of a diet when she blasted Hollywood’s trend for frail actresses.

Britain’s Daily Star states that Beyoncé said, “People are obsessed with skinny girls at the moment. I’m going to be eating for America over Christmas to get some more junk in my trunk. So raise a glass and toast for me, people.”

For her role in “Dreamgirls” the singer/actress lost 13 lbs in less than 10 days on a liquid-only diet consisting of organic maple syrup mixed with water, lemon juice and cayenne pepper.

“OK, I lost a lot of weight for ‘Dreamgirls’. But I sure am enjoying putting it all back on.”

During filming Beyoncé warned other women not to copy the extreme eating plan after being criticized by health experts.

“In ‘Dreamgirls’, my character starts at 16 and then 20 years pass. Normally they’d change your make-up or your clothes but I wanted to go the extra mile. My nutritionist suggested the only way to do that was the fast. As soon as it was over I gained the weight back. I would never recommend it to anyone unless you are doing a movie.”

According to reports hip-hop rapper Eminem (Marshall Mathers), 34, has divorced from wife Kimberley Mathers, 31, for the second time. The couple re-wedded on January 14, 2006 and immediately filed for divorce three months later which has now been finalized.

Eminem made an out-of-court settlement with his ex-wife during a hearing at Detroit’s Macomb County Circuit Court on December 19, 2006.

Chief Judge Antonio P. Viviano said: “They conducted themselves with dignity and respect.”

The couple will be sharing custody of their daughter, Hailie Jade Scott, who will be eleven years-old on Christmas Day, December 25.

No information is known whether or not if Kim was granted the financial support and legal fees she’d been seeking from Eminem.