Lil Wayne Forced To Stay With Cash Money If Birdman Pays

Recent reports claim Lil Wayne will be suing Cash Money and Birdman for $51 million and now it has come out that if Wayne does get his money that he is owed, he will have no other choice but to stay with his longtime label.
According to new reports, if Birdman coughs up the $10 million Wayne is owed, the Young Money head will be forced to stay with Cash Money.

“There are 2 payments that have irked Wayne — he says he was owed $8 million when he went into the studio to record “Tha Carter V” in December 2013, and another $2 mil when he completed the album last month.
We’re told the hope is that Universal — which distributes Cash Money Records — will step in and earmark the $10 mil for Wayne. And we’re told Universal is already putting pressure on Cash Money to settle. 
If Cash Money pays Wayne the $10 mil, it would essentially eliminate any breach of contract. That means Wayne would have no legal basis to ask out of the contract. Even though Wayne’s suing for $51 million, most of that is predicated on future lost profits which would not be an issue if they settle.” (TMZ)

Drake Drops New OVO Merchandise

Last month, Drake's October's Very Own (OVO) brand opened up its own boutique in Toronto.
The store carries a variety of previously released tour merch. and fresh in-store exclusives.
Today, the brand has unveiled an assortment of new items that will hit the store's shelves and its online shop.
The new in-store delivery includes an Owl beanie, and a "6 God" sweatshirt. Online, there are owl patch T-shirts and long sleeves.
In the past, OVO has collaborated with French retailer Colette on an entire collection and Canada Goose for a limited edition coat and vest.
The new items are available now at the OVO boutique at 899 Dundas St. W.  Toronto, ON. Visit the online shop to purchase additional apparel.

Vinny Idol Details The Making Of Dipset's "Have My Money"

Following the release of Dipset’s “Have My Money” record earlier this month — that saw the Harlem collective reunite on wax for the first time since 2010 — producer Vinny Idol spoke with HipHopDX to detail the making of the cut.
Idol, who has worked with the likes of 50 Cent and Method Man among others during his career, says the record was laced by Dipset just 24 hours before it debuted on Funkmaster Flex’s Hot 97 radio show on January 5.
“'Have My Money’ came about because I’m doing some work with Un Kasa who is affiliated with Dipset and we’re working on an album,” Idol says. “He called me that Sunday [January 4] saying that they needed something in 24 hours because they’re going to [Funkmaster] Flex on Monday. I sent them about six records; they picked two and [“Have My Money”] was the one that they laid. I remixed it the next morning and it was on the airwaves. It was really a 24-hour process.”
The Bronx, New York producer also revealed the classic sample that he used for the record.
“I already had the loop because it was an old school loop from back in the day so I just cut it and kind of remade it and the rest is history,” he says. “I sampled Hamilton Bohannon’s ‘Singing A Song For My Mother.’ I laid the hook and then I mixed it and sent it over to Cam’ron and they laid it that night. That Sunday night. In the morning they called me, it was mixed that morning [and] then it went to the airwaves that night and they debuted it.”

Vinny Idol Discusses Work With The Lox

Idol also touched upon his extensive work with The Lox and his production efforts on the group’s “Talk About It” record off their The Trinity EP.
“I’m the in-house [producer] for D-Block anyway. I’ve got tons of records with them so that’s the same thing. They went through a catalogue that I sent [them] and they picked the [“Talk About It”] beat, laid it down and that was the first single that came out off The Trinity EP.”
In regards to Jadakiss’ upcoming album Top 5, Dead Or Alive, Idol says "its going to be more lyrical."
“More bars, he’s been sitting on the project for a long time and I know he’s really into it. It’s going to be a good project put it that way. I haven’t really heard the whole album yet because it’s not done, we’re still recording, but from what I’ve heard, it’s going to be a nice album.”

Dame Dash Speaks On Presenting Kanye West With BET Honors Award

After reuniting with Kanye West to present the icon with the "Honorary Vision" award at the recently taped 2015 BET Honors ceremony, Dame Dash opened up in an interview with Hip Hop Motivation about being asked to present the award, resolving his personal issues with 'Ye, and feeling like he finally got the credit he deserves for West's success.
The award show was taped on Sunday (January 24) and is scheduled to air on February 23.
"I didn't really get to really hang out with Kanye," Dame said of the experience. "It was really very impromptu."
Addressing the lead-up to the recent award show, Dash admitted to not having spoken with Kanye for many years.
"I haven't really spoke to him in about ten years," he said. "And there's things that I did have issues with with him. But, you know, it's just something that as men we have to speak about. So of course in that conversation it had to be addressed before we went forward. But still, I didn't really understand what was going on so I was like, 'I'll go anyway for the experience.' And also my daughter was like, 'I'll go. Get on the stage with you.'"
As for the speech itself, Dash characterized the opportunity as one of the first times he's been given credit for his part in an artist like West's success.
"When I put him on ten years ago before he got there, I knew he was going there," Dash said of Kanye's rise. "I wasn't expecting for me to be the person to give it to him because it's rare I get the credit on any level for anyone's success as of yet from another man. It was the first time that someone had given me a platform to take some kind of credit to give them platform. When they make it they usually don't give me a shoutout. But honestly Kanye always does give me a shout out. I gotta respect that. He always does so I can't be mad. And he did just then and I thought that was brave of him to do that too. The issues I had with him I spoke about it as a man, we spoke, that's between us. Whatever it is it is. I'm happy that I was a part of making history like I knew I would."
Dash also claimed that former Vibe Magazine writer and cultural critic Dream Hampton asked him to read a speech she wrote.
"Dream Hampton tried to hand me ten pages or something to say like ten seconds before," he said. "She's like, 'Say this.' I was like, 'Why?' 'Because it's beautiful and I wrote it.' I'm like, 'It's my speech. Why would I wanna say what you wrote?' She just stormed off. It is what it is. I thought it was admirable for them to attempt to control what I was saying."

The Notorious B.I.G. & kool Moe Dee Versus Busy Bee Starski Among "Ways New York City Changed The Rap Game" List

Green Label has released its list of “10 Ways New York City Changed The Rap Game,” a piece that highlights ten of the top ways New York City effected and influenced Hip Hop music and culture.
Included in the list was The Notorious B.I.G. among others. “The late, great Notorious B.I.G. had an unprecedented affect on the New York rap scene,” explains the piece. “He is omnipresent and will always be remembered as one of the finest emcees, not just from New York, but across the sphere to touch the mic. Golden Era romanticists will be familiar with the reign of the West Coast during the lucrative Death Row years, but it was the efforts of Christopher Wallace that balanced out the spectrum and brought New York back into the frame.”
The 1981 battle between Kool Moe Dee and Busy Bee Starski also featured on Green Label’s list.
“In 1981, at the industry-famous Harlem World, 129 Lennox Ave. in Manhattan, Kool Moe Dee and Busy Bee Starski created one of the first emcee battles that set the cornerstone for rivalry and the competitive sport we’ve come to love over the decades.” The piece continues: “Busy Bee was the emcee who could rock the party, hype a crowd and was an artist with entertainment at the heart of his manifesto. Kool Moe Dee on the other hand was the emcee infatuated with rhyming and the more likely to prevail on wax. Kool Moe Dee won that battle and subsequently a new sub-genre of Hip Hop emerged. In the words of the great KRS-One, 'If Kool Moe Dee had have lost that battle, nothing we’re saying today would be said… It would not exist.'”
The piece also outlined several other factors that contributed to New York's gargantuan influence on the Rap arena. Of course, Def Jam was included, as the house that Rick Rubin and Russell Simmons built is one of Hip Hop's cultural landmarks. Also included were New York radio stations Hot 97, 98.7, and Kiss FM, which kept the "urban" music pumping in through the wee-hours of the morning. "In the early ’80s, WBLS and Kiss FM were the go-to stations for your dose of Hip Hop music. WBLS introduced “Rap Attack,” hosted by Mr. Magic and Marley Marl, while Kiss FM added DJ Red Alert to their register," the piece stated.

Future's DJ Esco Spent 56 Days In A Dubai Jail

What began as a last-minute stop in Dubai for a Future performance in Abu Dhabi ultimately turned into a 56-day jail stint for the Atlanta rapper’s deejay, DJ Esco.
On January 13, Esco returned to America.
He shared the story of his ordeal in the United Arab Emirates with The Fader Magazine.
According to Esco, it all began when he was in Amsterdam, as part of Future’s European tour.  The deejay was also there to celebrate his own birthday, when the "Honest" rapper was tapped for a performance at the 2014 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Esco says that he purchased marijuana, while in Amsterdam, and accidentally left it in his luggage.
“We're at the end of the Europe tour, and it's my birthday, and we're in Amsterdam, so we're gonna celebrate! I got the weed,” Esco recalls. “But I'm not trying to walk around with all this weed, you feel me? I was not intentionally trying to bring weed to Abu Dhabi. And if I would have known the rules and laws they got over there, I would have quadruple checked my bag and made sure there wasn't a piece of weed. I swear I would have.”
After being accosted by a police officer for filming in the Abu Dhabi airport, Esco explained that the officer then demanded that he check all of the group’s luggage (20 to 30 bags). Upon checking the luggage, he says the officer came across about 15 grams of marijuana.
“The officer gets down to the last two bags, and that's when he finds a bag with some weed in it,” the deejay said. “It was a good little amount, probably 15 grams or something like that. At this point I'm thinking, first of all, What the fuck? I didn't know the weed was there. And second, I didn't know what the hell they was gonna do. Cause once they seen some weed they went crazy. You would have thought I had a bomb and there was ten seconds left and the world is about to end if they didn't get every officer up there. But I'm not scared yet, because I'm still thinking that worst case scenario, they're just gonna send me back on the plane.”
Esco wasn’t placed back on a plane.
Instead, he was taken to a police station and then placed into a jail cell. From there, he encountered few people who spoke English and experienced little help once he was able to have a one-on-one with representatives from the United States embassy.
According to Esco, his break came when he developed a friendship with a warden at the jail who assisted with getting in touch with his prosecutor.
“I cuss out both people from the U.S. Embassy, and then I walked back devastated 'cause that's when it hit me—I'm not getting out of here…To make a long story short, the warden blessed me,” he said. “He took a liking to me, taught me some things about Islam and we ended up growing our own relationship. He's the one who ended up helping me when my lawyer told me it might be six months, a year, or four years. I was sitting there in a daze after my lawyer left, thinking bout what I'm gonna do for the next year or whatever in here, and the warden came in and he was like, ‘It's not in my job description and I really don't care about your case, but I've come to like you as a person. I'm not suppose to do this, but I'm going to call your prosecutor.’ I couldn't even get the U.S. Embassy to call the prosecutor!”

Rihanna, Kanye West & Paul McCartney Will Reportedly Perform "FourFiveSeconds" At The Grammys

After releasing her “FourFiveSeconds” single this past weekend, Rihanna is set to perform the record with Kanye West and Paul McCartney at the 57^th Annual Grammy Awards this February.
According to The Sun, the ROC Nation artist will grace the stage with the iconic Beatles star and the Chicago-born rapper at the ceremony.
A source told The Sun that, “Rihanna's seriously pleased to have bagged a big slot at The Grammys and two huge names to kick off her comeback.”
The Grammy Awards are scheduled to take place at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California and will be hosted, for the fourth year-in-a-row, by LL Cool J.
Others set to perform at the awards include, Madonna, Ariana Grande, Ed Sheeran and AC/DC, among others.
The 57^th annual Grammy Awards will air on February 8 at 8PM EST on CBS.