PHOTOS BY JOHNNY NUNEZ FOR WIRE IMAGE

BET’s Stephen Hill and his long standing commitment to fighting AIDS/HIV was honored with “Live Beats.” “Live Beats: A Night of Musical Mayhem and Tonal Terror Fashioned by Fun(k),” took place this past Tuesday at the Highline Ballroom in New York. Mary J. Blige performed, and Diddy, Ashanti, L.A. Reid, and more showed up at the event. Check out lots of photos after the cut!

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T.I. and Nicole Scherzinger are featured on the double cover of Rap-Up’s December 2007/January 2008 issue, on sale now at Barnes & Noble, Borders, Books-A-Million, Safeway, Vons, 7-Eleven, newsstands, and Rap-Up.com. Inside you’ll find:

T.I. IS NO STRANGER TO CONTROVERSY » The rapper who’s currently under house arrest shares how he maintains his fast-paced lifestyle, his plans to marry and start a family with girlfriend Tiny, staying out of trouble, his friendship with Suge Knight and Jay-Z, and retiring from rap.

It’s definitely not the look I’m going for. I’m working diligently, daily, to try to reform, and rectify these things. But until I do, I need everybody to bare with me. If they can’t bare with me one way, they gonna have to bare with me another.

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Thank Guawd “Breakin Dishes” is finally a single, bout damn time! Hehe, that was the first song I loved immegiately after listening to Good Girl Gone Bad (Def Jam) and doing a review. The song, similar to Nelly Furtado’s late-2006 “Maneater” as far as synth, is about a female narrator pissed and wrecking havoc on account of her spouse’s frequent lateness returning home; suspects he’s cheating. Go Rihanna, brekin’ dishes and kickin’ bitches! <3.

Breakin’ Dishes // PROD. BY TRICKY STEWART + THE D R E A M

The D R E A M - Love/Hate » Love Hate (Def Jam), or “Love Me All Summer, Hate Me All Winter,” is the debut album by singer and songwriter The-Dream. The album drops December 11 and will include the singles “Shawty Is Da Shed” and current single “Falsetto.” Most of the production for Love Hate was done by none other than Tricky Stewart and appearances by Fabolous and Rihanna of course. I really enjoyed Love Hate, it’s a vibrant album, I get this whole Prince + Dream + Dark Vadar + house + club vibe; meaning it seems he pulled some Prince inspirations and fused it with his own sound. I can literally play the whole album through and not skip one damn song becos that’s how much I love it! So I might have to go out December 11 and get me a copy!

Fast Car // Nikki // Ditch That… // Livin’ a Lie ft. Rihanna

Mary J. Blige // Growing Pains » Growing Pains (Geffen) is the name of MJB’s new studio album which hits stores December 18 and includes the hit single “Just Fine” produced by The-Dream and Tricky Stewart. The album starts off as this big celebration with the first single “Just Fine” that kind of gave me this Jackson vibe, I still think she shoulda got them on the remix or something, that’s a hot joint right there! Anyway GP continues to mid tempo and then to some real nice downbeat, classic ol’ school joints to say it best, that’s what it sounded like to me. Guest appearances for this LP includes Ne-Yo, Ludacris, and you know Mary had to get Usher on this project — he ripped that shed! Yes you should go get this album, the arrangements and production are pretty solid and Mary delivers as always! Two thumbs up! My favorites are “Roses,” “What Love Is” and “Come To Me (Peace).” AND “WORK THAT!” <3.

Just Fine // Roses // Work That! // What Love Is CONTINUE READING

Surfing Def Jam a while ago, found the video for The-Dream’s new single “Falsetto,” decided to post it. I should have a review up shortly, in the meantime, check out a full preview of the album on KILLED THAT! Thanks Andrew!!

Another tragic loss hit the entertainment industry today when UGK member Pimp C was found dead in an upscale LA apartment. He was 33 years old. Here’s a statement released from Jive Records:

It is with great sadness that Jive Records announces the passing of Chad “Pimp C” Butler, a member of the celebrated rap duo UGK (Underground Kingz). Jive Records’ President and CEO Barry Weiss states: “We mourn the unexpected loss of Chad. He was truly a thoughtful and kind-hearted person. He will be remembered for his talent and profound influence as a pioneer in bringing southern rap to the forefront. He will be missed and our prayers remain with his family and Bun B. I’ve known Chad since he was 18, and we loved him dearly and he was a cherished member of the Jive family.”

Born in Port Arthur, Texas, Butler’s father was a trumpet player who played professionally with Solomon Burke. Outside of his father, the 33-year old rapper’s influences varied, ranging from Bobby Bland, Jimmy McGriff, the 1960’s Motown artists to Run DMC. Butler met his inseparable partner Bernard “Bun B” Freeman in high school where they formed UGK. In 1992, the duo signed to Jive Records and went on release a total of eight albums for the label. They earned their highest achievement earlier this year when their most recent album, UGK (Underground Kingz), debuted in the number one position on the album pop chart. According to the New York Times, UGK “helped inspire a generation of Southern hip-hop stars, from Outkast to Lil Wayne.”

Bun B is not available for comment at this time.

To a mainstream audience, Pimp C was best known for UGK’s cameo on the Jay-Z hit “Big Pimpin’,” and for “Free Pimp C” T-shirts and shout-outs, ubiquitous in rap several years ago while he was jailed on gun charges. On Tuesday, his MySpace page had been changed to read: “C the Pimp is FREE at last.”

Born Chad Butler, Pimp C was found dead in a room at the Mondrian hotel, a longtime music industry hangout not far from the House of Blues on Sunset Strip, where he had performed on Saturday night alongside rap veteran Too $hort. Capt. Ed Winter of the Los Angeles County coroner’s office said Butler had apparently died while in bed in his hotel room. CONTINUE READING

THIS WEEK’S TOPICS » Usher’s birth of his first son - 50 Cent smack talks Jay-Z, Diddy, Def Jam and others - Update on the Sean Taylor care + more!