- Hip-hop super producer Timbaland has landed his own beat-making video game after partnering with the team behind the "Grand Theft Auto," series.

Also, Timbaland is suing Blackground Records claiming they're jealous of his success as a producer and performer and is accusing them of contacting other labels to tell them not to hire him and stiffing him out of money; he wants out of his contract plus monetary damages.

-Female rap pioneer Yo-Yo is set to release her first album in 13 years.

The Grammy-nominated star has been largely absent from the hip-hop scene since the 1996 release of her disc "Total Control"

She's making her return with "My Journey To Fearless: The Black Butterfly," and she's brought in pal Missy Elliot and singer Keri Hilson to help her comeback appeal to younger audiences.

-Mos Def is delving into the fashion game.

The Brooklyn MC has teamed up with street wear label UNDRCRWN for its Spring 2009 campaign, set to drop on the company’s website, UNDRCRWN.com.

According to WoooHa.com, the designs are heavily inspired by the cover artwork of the 2004 Dead Prez album, Revolutionary But Gangsta.

Mos Def news, the rapper-actor will also be releasing his fourth solo, The Ecstatic, on June 9th

-SYLVESTER STALLONE has defended his decision to cast rapper 50 CENT in his forthcoming movie THE EXPENDABLES - after fans slammed the casting call in an online forum.

The Rocky veteran is currently shooting the all-star action film The Expendables in Brazil, which sees some of Tinsletown’s most notorious action stars team up, including Jet Li, Mickey Rourke and Jason Statham.

Forest Whitaker was also slated to appear in the movie as Agent Will Sands, but was forced to drop out due to scheduling conflicts after shooting on the Stallone’s film was pushed back. Stallone approached 50 Cent to take on the role, but the decision has come under fire from film fans who suggest the star isn’t a credible actor.
The anger of the casting of 50 Cent is understandable, but not fair.

-update: 50cent lost his role in Sylvester Stallone's new film The Expendebles. The part will be played by 'Everybody Hates Chris' dad Terry Crews instead.

-Mary J Blige has signed on to do Tyler Perry's next movie "I Can Do Bad All By My Self". She will be starring opposite Oscar nominee Taraji P. Henson.

Tam's Butter Chicken Recipe

Step 1: Marinade & Ingredients

-3 chicken breasts, cut into bite sized strips/pieces

- dilute the juice of one lemon in enough water to rinse the chicken strips, then drain

Add the following ingredients:

-1 tsp paprika

-1/2 tsp cinnamon

-1/2 tsp black pepper

-1/2 tsp kosher salt

-1/2 tsp chilli powder

-1 clove garlic, finely chopped

-1 tsp fresh ginger, finely chopped

-4 tsp yogurt – plain or vanilla

-4 tsp coconut milk or ½ & ½ cream

-1 tsp olive oil

Mix all the above in a bowl, cover and let sit (in or out of refrigerator) for 20 – 30 minutes.

Step 2: Preparation

-1 onion, diced or finely chopped

-1 clove garlic, finely chopped

-3 tsp margarine

-2 tbsp butter chicken curry paste

-1 can of diced tomato (preferably tomato without any added salt or special flavors)

-fresh parsley, oregano and basil – a pinch or dash of each

Add margarine, garlic and onion to sauce pan or pot and sauté for 2 – 3 minutes, then stir in the curry paste and sauté for 2 more minutes. Add the chicken, stirring constantly until all the pieces are cooked. Add the diced tomato and stir in evenly. Add the fresh parsley, oregano and basil to taste. Cover and simmer for 10 – 15 minutes on low heat.

Enjoy with basmati rice and/or naan bread

Word on the Street

-A screenplay written by rapper Tupac Shakur during a 1995 prison stint is to hit cinemas in 2010. Shakur penned "Live 2 Tell," as a starring vehicle for himself, according to Vibe magazine, but he never lived to see out his dream.

The film, which chronicles an ex-drug dealer's battle to beat his problems, was discovered by the late rapper's mother, Afeni Shakur, and sold to Insomnia Productions. Producers will start casting the film in April 2009




-Rap legends N.W.A. are to be immortalized on the big screen, a major biopic is in the works.

N.W.A, the Compton supergroup, comprised of Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, Eazy-E, MC Ren and DJ Yella, shot to fame in the late 1980s after signing to Death Row Records, and drew attention with controversial hits like Straight Outta Compton, F**k tha Police and Gangsta Gangsta.

Ice Cube quit the band in 1989 after a dispute over royalties, and the remaining N.W.A. members parted ways in 1991.

The rappers each went on to achieve solo success, with Ice Cube and Dr. Dre garnering critical acclaim for their own projects, while Eazy-E enjoyed some popularity with his numerous discs before dying from AIDS in 1995.

Now their West Coast legacy is heading to cinemas, a project tentatively titled "Straight Outta Compton," is being developed with Dre, Ice Cube and Eazy-E's widow all on board as producers, according to Entertainment Weekly.

They are reportedly seeking a director to helm the project in a style similar to Curtis Hanson's take on Eminem's 2002 movie, "8 Mile."

-Chris Rock is assembling an all-star comedy cast for his forthcoming movie "Death At A Funeral." Both Martin Lawrence and Tracy Morgan have signed on to the project.

-Rapper Nas made a terminally ill child's dreams come true this weekend when he flew the fan out to Los Angeles to attend his concert and meet the star backstage.

(source: panachereport)

...just a thought

Let no man pull you low enough to hate him.

-Martin Luther King

Science & Technology

NASA on, Friday March 6, 2009, prepared to launch a telescope that will search our corner of the Milky Way galaxy for Earth-like planets.

The Kepler spacecraft is scheduled to blast into space on top of a Delta II rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida just before 11 p.m. ET.

Kepler contains a special telescope that will stare at 100,000 stars in the Cygnus-Lyra region of the Milky Way for more than three years as it trails Earth's orbit around the Sun.

The spacecraft will look for tiny dips in a star's brightness, which can mean an orbiting planet is passing in front of it - an event called a Transit.

The instrument is so precise that it can register changes in brightness of 20 parts per million in stars that are thousands of light years away.

Once Kepler spots a planet, scientists will be able to calculate its size, mass, orbital period, distance from star and surface temperature; scientists should know by 2013 - the end of Kepler's mission - whether life in the universe could be widespread.

are we now on track to become the aliens we've always 'worried' about? I am curious to see where this leads.

Word on the Street

-Comedian Eddie Murphy has landed his dream role, portraying late, great funnyman Richard Pryor in a new biopic.

The film will be directed by Bill Condon. Fox Searchlight is reportedly picking up this $25 million project.

-Michael Jackson has recorded more than 100 songs in secret, but is refusing to release the tracks until after his death, according to a biographer.

Jackson has amassed a stack of tunes but only wants them to be heard by his children - Prince, 11, Paris Katherine, 10, and five-year-old Prince Michael II-after he dies.

-Actor/director Tyler Perry is gearing up for his best birthday ever; he plans to celebrate turning 40 by buying his own private island.

-So, Coolio had a gig in Stoke-on-Trent, England when he decided stage dive into the crowd. Too bad the audience parted, sending Coolio crashing to the floor. The crowd then reportedly mobbed the rapper, stealing his bandana, jewellery and shoes before he could be rescued by the venue's security team.

lmao @ the visual of coolio free-falling