BET held their showcase last night in Brazos Hall and one of the highlights of the night was T.I.‘s set in which he surprised the crowd with two guest. He brought out Pharrell first and then followed that up by bringing out the hottest MC in the game, Kendrick Lamar. Kendrick performs “Backseat Freestyle” above and after the jump you can view T.I. performing “What you Know” with Skateboard P.

King of the south T.I. (who was actually granted permission by most ATL rappers to call himself that) is talking money now and days and we mean big money. After dropping his 7th studio album “Trouble Man: Heavy Is The Head”, the boss is no longer with his former 10 year record label, Atlantic Records. The rumor mill is spinning that T.I has been seen chatting it up with the likes of Dr.Dre over at Interscope/Aftermath, and some accusations of looking at Sony. However, the labels aren’t the shocker; as T.I. is reportedly looking for a 75$ Million dollar signing! Read more on this story after the jump…

T.I. made an appearance on HOT97′s Funkmaster Flex show last night. T.I. discussed speculation on his case and broke down his prison time. For all those who are still in confusion as to how he actually served “a year and a day,” follow this equation:

• 56 days of “good time” knocked him down to roughly 10 months of prison time
• Three weeks in jail when he was initially arrested in October of 2007 (knocks him down to about 9 months and a week)
• Approximately seven months in a Arkansas correctional facility
• And the last two months were served in a halfway house (normal for sentences similar to his)

There you have it – The King’s exile in a nutshell. He also taught a class in prison, too.

 

It is a beautiful thing when celebrities give back and Tameka “Tiny” Cottle demonstrates this with poise. On Monday February 22, Tiny held a fundrasier for Alzheimer’s disease, a illness which plagues her elderly father. During the event which was held at The Atlanta Opera, Tiny’s fiance rapper Clifford “T.I.” Harris came out and showed support for his love with his first public apperance. During the gathering the recently released convict seemed to be in good spirits and was quoted as saying ” I am very well, very happy to be seen.”

In other T.I. news, his manager Jason Geter recently told MTV that  his next album is anticipated to be released by the end of the summer. Some producers to be featured are  DJ Toomp, Danja and The Runners as well as features from The-Dream and Trey Songz already locked in.

Not to worry internets, Drama’s new tape with Gucci Mane La Flair should be here later today. In this clip, Mr. Thanksgiving speaks on the night T.I.’s best friend, Philant Johnson, was murdered in Cincinnati three years ago. Hindsight is always 20/20 and in this case, a lost cell phone may have spared the mixtape legend his life.

**Since I’m new around here, let’s get right to the point. The name’s Justin Tinsley and, in essence, you can call me Karen’s wingman. Get used to the name cause you’ll be seeing it around here quite often. Combining with Karen’s nack for all thing exclusive, I’ll be bringing forth in-depth (often times inciting a debate) topics, artist spotlights and the occasional album review. If by slim chance my name sounds familiar, you’ve probably seen me over at CollegeRadioMusic. Yup, I’m pulling double duty. All for the love of hip-hop.**

One is the “King of New York” and arguably the G.O.A.T., and the other is one of the premiere names in hip-hop today and the “King of the South”. But how do they fare when matched on the same record together?

The title of “greatest rapper alive” is merely a subjective one. While fans, experts and rappers alike have always believed they knOw the requirements for such a title, at the end of the day it is all based on opinion, regardless of how many facts are brought forth and agreed upon. However, one of the most accepted artists to hold that crown is Sean Carter. With at least three classic records under his belt, hundreds of legendary songs to his arsenal and a seemingly never-ending amount of business ventures, Jay-Z has been the definition of a hustler for nearly 15 years and the blueprint (pun intended) for success and longevity in an industry which has a shorter lifespan (career-wise) than that of a NFL player.

Throughout his decade (plus) of dominance, the question of “who is the next Jay-Z?” has been lurking around hip-hop almost as much as basketball has been haunted with the “search” for its Jordan. Excluding the “other” Carter, T.I. is arguably the closest comparison to his northern prophyte. He boasts one of the most impressive catalogs in the game today and is one of the few “superstars” the genre has. His non-rap ventures have made the headlines as well including his clothing line, construction company, community service and acting career. Even VIBE magazine once dubbed the Grand Hustle front man as the heir to the elder Carter’s dynasty. The one sharp difference, however, happens to be T.I.’s struggle to sometimes pull away from the street life, something that Jay managed to do rather effortlessly once his musical career took off.

With success, especially in hip-hop, operating on the narrowest of roads, it only makes sense that the two would test their lyrical muscles (pause…if applicable) on the same track more than once. Since comparisons have been a cornerstone of the music since the days of Grandmaster Flash and Kurtis Blow, I’ve decided to analyze each track Hov and Tip have dropped bars on…together.

In a few weeks, I will begin a one-year prison sentence for being in the possession of illegal firearms.  Where I come from, having a gun is just part of everyday life.  But, through this painful process of going to court and being convicted, I realized that I had to make a change.  I made some bad decisions.  I broke the law and will accept my punishment.  With deep reflection about where my life was headed, I have begun the process of redemption, and decided that before I go to prison, I want to speak to young people about responsibility as a lifestyle.  I hope that through my mistakes, young people can begin to learn, as I did, that we have to put our guns down and start to give our guns back.  It pains me inside to hear about so many of our people dying because of gun violence.  Just in the past weeks, a 13-year old boy was shot in the head in Harlem, a 17 and 19-year old were murdered in a double homicide in Queens and a 15 year old was chased, beaten, shot and burned in Chicago.

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