andPOP - Pop Culture With Substance

Rappers Lil Wayne and Birdman are being sued by Thomas Marasciullo, who claims they used his voice on several tracks without permission, reports CBC.

Marasciullo recorded some spoken word recordings for Birdman’s label Cash Money Records in 2006. He claims they were used without his knowledge on four tracks on the pair’s joint album Like Father, Like Son and five tracks on Birdman’s 5 (Star) Stunna. He claims when he asked for compensation, he was fired as a recording engineer at the record company.

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The music video for Chris Brown’s new track “I Can Transform Ya” was released on MTV this morning. The song features two versus form Lil Wayne and chorus and beat contributions from Swizz Beatz. The track will appear on Brown’s new upcoming album ‘Graffiti’.

The original yet still catchy song is a great debut to launch the singer’s comeback after serving community service time for assaulting Rihanna earlier this year.

The video is filled with Brown’s characteristically cool modern dance sequences on a classic white background, and quick, colourful transforming graphics.

“I Can Transorm Ya” coincidentally debuts less than a week after the release of Rihanna’s “Russian Roulette” premiere.

Graffiti is set to release on December 15.

What is this prison place, and why is it stealing all of our rap artists?

This time, the culprit is Lil’ Wayne, the beloved Grammy winner, and unfortunately, the second major rapper (the first being T.I.), in the span of a year to be faced with weapon charges. According to perezhilton.com, the rapper pleaded guilty to attempted weapon position and is expected to be sentenced to a year in jail. Wayne admitted to having a .40 caliber semi-automatic loaded gun onboard his tour bus back in 2007.

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Last night MTV’s expert panel capped off their top ten “Hottest MC’s” with long-time heavyweight Jay-Z coming out on top. The controversial list was compiled by Hip Hop critics and enthusiasts, and for the first time included the opinion of fans across North America. The criteria: lyrics, flow, impact, buzz, sales and intangibles.

The final list: 1. Jay-Z, 2. Lil Wayne, 3. Drake, 4. Kanye West, 5. Rick Ross, 6. Gucci Mane, 7. Young Jeezy, 8. Fabolous, 9. 50 cent, 10. Raekwon

A few names are mysteriously absent from the list, most notably, Eminem. The rapper should not only have appeared on the list, he should have been in the top five. His recent album wasn’t his best of all time but its popularity continues to grow, and his verse on Drake’s new ‘Forever’ remix was the best on the track.

Kid Cudi’s name has spread like wildfire in the music industry, and TI continues to maintain his popularity; yet neither of them appear on the list.

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Weezer will include a track featuring hip-hop star Lil Wayne on their new album, MTV News reports.

Raditude, scheduled to debut on November 3rd, is the seventh studio album by the rock group, and front man Rivers Cuomo said it was a chance, “to do something totally different.”

If you’re familiar with Weezer’s edgy, upbeat rock sound, urban music is far from characteristic of their style. Cuomo told MTV News that he wrote the song, titled “Can’t Stop Partying,” with music industry dynamo Jermaine Dupri. “It was a real challenge for me, taking his ideas, which are very slick, R&B party [ideas], and giving it some kind of edge, some darkness, making it work with rock, making it work with Weezer,” said Cuomo.

But Lil Wayne is no stranger to Rock. He appeared on Fallout Boy’s last album, and is continuing to pursue his own solo rock-inspired project named Rebirth. Experience, though, doesn’t necessarily imply success. His rock endeavours have been praised for their daring ingenuity, but not necessarily their sound. Ingenuity is one thing that the music pair share though, so it will be interesting to hear the final product of their collaboration.

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This Week On Entourage:

Having relationship woes with jealous girlfriends, Eric and Turtle discuss with Vince how to solve it.

The boys meet up with a stressed out Drama who is afraid he’ll get cut from Five Towns. Although when he runs into a Melrose producer who offers him a part in the new show, Drama strongly considers dropping out of his current show.

He discusses the possibility with the boys about somehow getting out of his contract, and the boys advise him to call his agent.

Lloyd, feeling nervous after leaving Ari, tries to convince Drama to stay with him as his client at the new agency. Drama says if he gets out of the contract, then he’ll consider signing with Lloyd.

Meanwhile, Turtle gives Eric a lift to Ashley’s house, to settle some relationship trust issues. She’s suspicious about the identity of “Rupert Pupkin” (the name she saw on his cell phone), which happened to be Vince’s alias name. Ashley suggests that she have access to all his e-mails- this has Eric a bit sketched out.

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In life (and in the hip-hop industry especially), there’s an unwritten code: as you approach the veteran years of your career, you’re expected to lose a step in your game.

Twista did not get that memo.

In fact, with 18 years of experience in the business so far, the Chicago hip-hop legend doesn’t see a career decline anytime soon. Nope, on the contrary. He says that some of his best work is yet to come.

Think about that for a moment.

This is coming from the guy who’s had two of his past six studio albums go platinum and crack the top ten list on the U.S. Billboard top 200, collaborations with some of the music industry’s finest talent including Kanye West, Snoop Dogg, Mariah Carey, T-Pain, Lil Wayne, T.I, and Akon, and not to mention, this is also the former Guinness World Record holder for the fastest rapper in the world.

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Fans of Lil Wayne will have to wait a little longer for the rapper’s rock-influenced album, “Rebirth.”

The record, which was originally slated for release in early April before being moved to May and then to June, has now been pushed back to July 21.

The latest delay is reportedly to give Universal Records more time to get permission for the samples used on the album, Lil Wayne’s seventh solo effort. Confirmed guest stars on “Rebirth” include Avril Lavigne, Aubrey “Drake” Graham, Fall Out Boy and Lenny Kravitz.

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Soulja Boy’s sophomore and latest album “iSouljaBoyTellem” was a test.

Justin Timberlake isn’t the only one who plans to shift his musical style and take a shot at alternative rock. Lil’ Wayne, who once set out to be the best rapper alive, is now transitioning away from the hip hop genre and into the spotlight of rock and roll.

“Honestly? I don’t want to be the best rapper in the world,” Wayne told Rolling Stone in an upcoming cover story arriving on newsstands Friday. “If I have a rap album I’m dropping, then I want it to be the best rap album. But I want to be the best. Period.”

Lil’ Wayne explains that this extreme shift is taking place because the music that he needs to create in order to express himself and his lifestyle simply can’t be channeled through rap music any longer.

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