ENTERTAINMENT THE CIVIL WAY!

Seven days after what would have been his 39th birthday, another chapter was added to Tupac Shakur’s legacy. His song “Dear Mama” is now preserved in the Library of Congress. Tupac is one of only 3 American rappers to have that honor (following Public Enemy and Grandmaster Flash).

“Dear Mama” was chosen for its “moving and eloquent homage to both the murdered rapper’s own mother and all mothers struggling to maintain a family in the face of addiction, poverty and societal indifference.” The song joins 24 others to be added to the National Recording Registry this year.

You can view a complete list of the registry here.

According to New York’s Page Six, Kanye West joined rapper Q-Tip in taking out Sports Illustrated supermodel Jessica White for her 26th birthday.

Apparently, Yeezy  took a break from on-off girlfriend Amber Rose, and he and the former A Tribe Called Quest frontman wined and dined Ms. White  at Tao Restaurant on Monday. They were joined later by Irina Shayk and some other beauties. The crew then went to Avenue in Chelsea, where the girls danced, took photos and chatted with “Gossip Girl” star Ed Westwick. White and her gal pals partied until 3 a.m.

Swizz Beatz and his son, Nasir Dean, attended an art auction at the Nest Event Loft in NYC. The event was held to raise funds for the visual arts program at The Bronx Charter School of the Arts – a school Swizz recently adopted. All of the items in the auction were original collograph prints and photography done by the school’s students. Friends and family of the school came out in numbers to support the event to the tune of $50 a ticket.

Swizz’s son Nasir was so intrigued by the artwork he bought a piece from the auction. Towards the end of the auction Swizz got on the mic and raffled off tickets for the up-coming Jay-Z/Eminem concert this September at Yankee Stadium. Tickets started at $150 and kept skyrocketing. By the end of the night he was able to auction off 8 tickets for a total of $8,500. The night was a success, the school raised over $20,000 in total.

Since the moment Eminem’s latest album, Recovery, leaked, one of the tidbits many focused on was his revelation on the track “Talkin’ 2 Myself.” Here, Marshall admitted that during his days of drug addiction, he damn near dissed Kanye and Lil Wayne. His reasoning being they were the two who were “killing the game” (the good kind) at that point in time. I know the first time I gave the album a spin that this statement caught me by surprise mainly because of the honesty. When it comes to Hip-Hop, I’m a sucker for honest type tracks. It’s also proof of the paranoid drug addiction can subconsciously induce.

Drake’s Better Than Good Enough documentary aired on MTV tonight. Here’s the entire one hour clip which gives a look into the life of Drake

Cory Gunz, the After Platinum/Young Money recording artist celebated his 23rd birthday tuesday night t in New York at the  Bowery Ballroom, where he performed with recording artist Ryan Leslie. Denzel Washington stopped in to wish the young rapper a Happy Birthday.

Download: The Game Ft. Robin Thicke – Phantom (Prod. By Dr. Dre)

Game & Dr. Dre reunite for what is probably the best “R.E.D. Album” single to be released so far. The album will be available in stores on August 24th.

Props Hithiphop

Two things I appreciate in Hip-Hop: great video editing and any new music from Bun B. The two come together for this short clip of “the trillest man alive” at various stops (one at I believe the Tupac Shakur birthday celebration last week) in honor of Lafayette’s 7th year anniversary. What makes it even better is that Pimp C’s partner in rhyme borrowed the timeless “ATLiens” instrumental to drop some bars off. You can find this tape on Lafayette and DJ Clark Kent’s mixtape which also boasts appearances Vado, Q-Tip and more. Definitely a must grab.

Speaking of Bun, look for the new album Trill O.G. to hit stores August 3. I’ll always support anything dude drops mainly because his love for the craft is evident in everything he does. From his ability to remain relevant and his willingness to help younger acts, I notice and respect it all. That type of stuff just shouldn’t go unnoticed. Plus when you have a track featuring Tupac AND Pimp C, that deserves $10 off break.

Also, if anyone who visits this site attends Rice University,