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Following in the footsteps of Mobb Deep’s Prodigy, the self-proclaimed H.N.I.C., Wiz Khalifa is dubbing himself the O.N.I.F.C., which is also the title of his next album. What does O.N.I.F.C. mean? “Only N*gga In First Class.”

In Wiz’s recent interview with Sway from MTV, he revealed that the album’s title was inspired by the Mobb Deep rapper’s first solo album, 2001′s H.N.I.C. (Head N*gga In Charge). Wiz stated that the album’s title comes from several incidents he was involved in with plane personnel while flying first class during his the enormously  successful 2011 that he had.

“I’m just going to tell you it’s the Only N*gga In First Class. It’s inspired by Prodigy’s H.N.I.C. When he dropped that, I felt like that sounded so strong and it really meant something and it had the n-word in it. I wanted to figure out something [along those lines] that was me, too…I said it on one of my songs, like, ’Ain’t it funny when time pass?/Only nigga in first class,’ and I was just talking about me being a young, rich dude and being black.”

While speaking on his “flying incidents” Wiz said, “It looks crazy when I walk up to them and I show them a ticket, or I’m going to priority seating and they’re like, ’You sure?’ It’s kind of like that feeling – it’s a good feeling, but it’s like it’s a bad feeling, like ’Damn, why y’all even feel like that about me?’ When I look around and I see people in first class and they’re getting they’re dinners a little quicker than mine or they’re looking at me or I don’t get the pillow or extra treatment – or I get more because they know that I’m supposed to be there, so it’s like the positives and the negatives.”

Rumor has it that with this new-found “revelation,” Prodigy is looking to get Wiz on his next album, the appropriately titled H.N.I.C. 3, which is set to drop later this year.

Filed under: Rumors Tagged: H.N.I.C. 3, Havoc, Mobb Deep, Prodigy, Wiz Khalifa

Popularity: unranked [?]

(AllHipHop News) Rap legend MC Lyte is one of 60 African-American stars who are banding together to bring awareness to the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the black community.

MC Lyte joins actors and actresses like Nia Long, Affion Crockett, Samuel L. Jackson, Naturi Naughton, Jill Marie Jones and Tatyana Ali have teamed with organization Greater Than AIDS,

The celebs will use their star power to help shed light on the HIV/AIDS epidemic, which is impacting Black Americans in record numbers.

New data released shows that Black Americans account for half of the approximately 1.1 million people living with HIV/AIDS in United States.

To compound the problem, blacks represent 44 percent of new infections, although they make up just 12 percent of the population.

MC Lyte and the celebrities partnered with Greater Than AIDS and The Black AIDS Institute, to release a special PSA to mark National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, which is today (February 7).

“This is an unprecedented response from the Black Hollywood community to an issue that has touched so many of our lives,” said Phill Wilson, President and CEO, Black AIDS Institute.

Each celebrity in the campaign are all members of the Black AIDS Institute’s Black Hollywood Task Force on AIDS.

They works to engage the Hollywood community in an effort to fight HIV/AIDS.

“The artists and executives who have joined us in this campaign realize that no matter the celebrity, they are also members of the Black community, and they are trying to do their part,” Phill Wilson said.

Filed under: Headlines, News Tagged: African-American, February 7, greater than AIDS, hIV/AIDS, MC Lyte, national AIDS awareness day

Popularity: unranked [?]

(AllHipHop News) Grammy-winning singer Jill Scott has joined up with rapper Pharoahe Monch in the new video for his single “Still Standing” off last year’s Duck Down release, W.A.R. (We Are Renegades).

The Terence Nance-directed clip, which depicts a young Monch getting injured and regaining his strength and power, premiered exclusively on the music page of Red Bull’s website yesterday (February 6).

Scott, who is featured on both the song and in the video, continues to add collaborations with rappers to her resume, after previously working with artists like Lupe Fiasco, Eve, Young Jeezy, and Paul Wall, who she most recently collaborated with on her single “So Gone” off of her 2011 album, The Light of the Sun.

She also leads nominations alongside Beyonce for the 43rd NAACP Image Awards which takes place Sunday, February 17 and airs at 8 PM EST on NBC. Scott, who will also be performing at the awards show, is nominated for the following four awards:”Outstanding Female Artist,” “Outstanding Music Video,” “Outstanding Song,” and “Outstanding Album.”

Filed under: News Tagged: Eve, Jill Scott, Lupe Fiasco, Paul Wall, Pharoahe Monch, Young Jeezy

Popularity: unranked [?]

(AllHipHop News) Jay-Z’s hold on music may be secure, but the Rocawear clothing brand the rap mogul aligned with over the years is on shaky ground.

Rocawear is faltering so much so that Jay-Z is taking the bull by the horns and leading the effort to put the brand back on top with its first-ever television commercial.

The Anthony Mandler-directed black and white clips, titled From “Marcy to Madison Square,” will chronicle Jay-Z’s rise from selling CDs from his car in the Marcy Projects of Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn to headlining Madison Square Garden with Kanye West on the “Watch The Throne” tour in November 2011.

The Rocawear commercial arrives amid troubling times for the apparel line, which experienced a global sales dip of $500 million. As a result, “Roc Apparel Group LLC laid off 28 of its 56 employees at its Manhattan headquarters,” Women’s Wear Daily reported.

Speaking with the publication, Iconix Brand Group president and chief executive officer Neil Cole revealed that things are looking up for Rocawear, despite a “rocky winter.” Iconix bought Rocawear for $204 million in 2007.

This winter has been especially hard for Rocawear. In November, the company came under scrutiny for allegedly selling “Occupy All Streets” T-shirts without giving any of the profits to the Occupy Wall Street movement which inspired the clothing. In addition, rumors swirled that Jay-Z was about to leave Rocawear. As it stands now, sales of Rocawear’s men’s clothing account for just over 15 percent of their overall intake.

Talk of Jay-Z’s departure has since been silenced. The entertainer is committed to staying on with Rocawear until 2014, after renewing his contract for another three years. While the rap star has a lot on his plate, Cole maintains that Jay-Z is still in control and doing his part to ensure that Rocawear continues to thrive.

“Of course, he’s a busy guy between his tour and his new baby and his music,” the executive said. “Are there times when he’s not on tour and not in the studio where we get more time with him? Yes. And are there times when we have to work via e-mail and through other channels? Yes. But we are lucky enough to get a lot of his time and caring.”

In addition to the new commercial, Rocawear plans to rebound by focusing on children’s and international sales, which have proven to be more successful. The Jay-Z-featured Rocawear ad is set to hit the small screen this spring and air on MTV, BET, and TNT during NBA basketball games and online.

Filed under: Headlines, News Tagged: Iconix, Jay-Z, Rocawear, Rocawear brand sales down

Popularity: 1% [?]

(AllHipHop News) U.S. rap star 50 Cent will get major exposure this weekend during the Super Bowl, thanks to a new commercial by American Suzuki Motor Corp.

50′s track “Movin’ On Up” is being featured in Suzuki’s “Sled” Super Bowl ad, promoting the new all-wheel-drive 2012 Kizashi sports sedan.

The commercial features an Eskimo, who upgrades his sled to the new Kizashi sedan by Suzuki.

“We are thrilled to show off the Kizashi’s fun-to-drive capabilities during the most-watched sporting event of the year,” said Jeff Holland, director of social media, American Suzuki. “We feel that 50 Cent’s upbeat music brings the Kizashi to life in a way that viewers will relate to.”

The Suzuki 2012 Super Bowl ad will continue to air both in 60-second and 30-second formats, as part of a new Suzuki advertising campaign that is scheduled to debut in March.

Tonight (February 4), 50 Cent will join Lil Jon and Pitbull as the headliners of the Bud Light Hotel Super Bowl XLVI party in Indianapolis.

Check out the Suzuki Kizashi commercial below:

Filed under: Headlines, News Tagged: 50 Cent, Kizashi, Super Bowl, Suzuki

Popularity: 1% [?]

(AllHipHop News) Cleveland, Ohio rapper Kid Cudi has officially disconnected from social networking site Twitter.

The rapper made the announcement to his 389,000 followers yesterday evening (February 3), along with a message about his new album, WZRD.

“Going away for awhile,” Kid Cudi tweeted from his official account. “For WZRD updates follow @DotDaGenius or visit http://wzrd.co.uk/v1.html.”

According to Kid Cudi, his new album WZRD will be out at the end of February.

In his last message, Kid Cudi no indication on when he plans to return, or why he was stepping away from Twitter.

“Since y’all won’t hear from me, I hope you all like the album when it comes out Feb 28th,” the rapper tweeted. “I really worked hard to do my best. Thank You.”

In 2009, Kid Cudi deleted his official account and stayed offline for over two years before his return in January of 2011.

According to the rapper, after the release of WZRD, he will release a project with fellow Cleveland native Chip Tha Ripper as The Almighty Gloryus.

Following that album, Kid Cudi said he will drop another, untitled solo project.

Filed under: Headlines, News Tagged: disconnects, Kid Cudi, Twitter, update

Popularity: 1% [?]

(AllHipHop News) Rap star Lil Kim was recently hit with an $86,347 tax bill, from the year 2009.

TMZ.com reports that the $86,000 bill from 2009 was recently tacked on to an already swollen tax bill.

The Queen Bee owes the government taxes for every year, from 2002 – 2009.

According to documents filed with the Los Angeles County Recorder’s Office, Lil Kim owes a total of $1,026,862.42.

Lil Kim is currently working on an untitled EP that has no release date attached to it.

Filed under: News Tagged: Lil Kim, Rapper, tax bill

Popularity: 1% [?]

(AllHipHop News) The late Don Cornelius was remembered in grand fashion on Saturday (February 4) with one of the staples of his iconic dance show, “Soul Train”.

About 100 dancers invaded New York’s Times Square in a “flash mob” organized through the Internet, the Associated Press reported. The group united to recreate one of the weekly show’s “Soul Train lines.” The segment, which became a popular fixture on “Soul Train”, featured people taking turns as they danced toward a TV camera while showing off their most outrageous moves. The gathering went down Broadway for about 45 minutes until police arrived to tell the crowd to disperse.

In addition to the outdoor tribute, Cornelius was remembered during the weekly community meeting at the National Action Network headquarters in the borough of Harlem. The Rev. Al Sharpton led the tribute, which was attended by singer Roberta Flack.

The vocalist praised Cornelius for inspiring other Black performers and entrepreneurs, saying, “He didn’t have a great big light telling him, `Go over here, don’t go over there, watch where you step, there’s a hole right there.’ He stepped.”

[Watch a video of the Soul Train flash mob HERE:]

Cornelius died on February 1 of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. In the years prior to his death, the 75-year-old TV personality was plagued with health problems, as well as a difficult divorce and legal problems that included pleading no contest to a misdemeanor spousal battery charge in 2009.

Despite his personal trials and tribulations, Cornelius was viewed as a trailblazer for creating, hosting, and selling “Soul Train” to television stations that were initially doubtful about programming targeting Black viewers. Cornelius hosted the show – the longest, continuously running first-run syndicated program in television history – from 1971 to 1993. Comedian Mystro Clark and actors Shemar Moore and Dorian Gregory served as hosts during the “Soul Train’s” final years from 1993 until 2006.

News of Cornelius’ death sent shockwaves with entertainers and fans voicing their shock and sadness via Facebook and Twitter.

As he spoke to those attending the tribute, Sharpton noted Cornelius’ death as a reminder for people to look at themselves to avoid Cornelius’ tragic fate. The activist’s connection to Soul Train dates back to 1974 when he appeared on the show to present an award to soul music legend James Brown.

“One of the things that Don’s death brought us to is that we’ve got to look in the mirror before we end up in this kind of situation,” Sharpton said.

Filed under: Headlines, News Tagged: Don Cornelius, Don Cornelius tribute, Soul Train, Soul Train flash mob in Times Square

Popularity: unranked [?]

Diddy is hosting a huge post-Grammy party on February 12 at the Playboy Mansion, and The Insider is reporting that Jay-Z and Beyonce are expected to attend! This will be their first public appearance together since the birth of Blue Ivy Carter. I’m anxious to see if Beyonce’s body is bouncing back like her little sis Solange’s did, or if she’s going to be even curvier than before.

Last week, rumors were circulating that a ticket to the party came with a $50,000 price tag! Those with that type of money to burn will party in the ‘Monster Cabana’ which comes with “security, privacy, and exclusivity at this event.”  The ticket also comes with 20 VIP admissions and the cabana can hold up to 30 people. And, to top it off, those who buy the package also receive dinner, open bar, free bottle service all night long, and “fifteen dedicated female promotional models.” Snazzy!

In Touch Weekly is reporting that Diddy is trying to make the party more accessible for the masses by offering lower-priced tickets, which retail for $1,500 and cover general admission. Other tickets are available for $2,500, $7,500, $15,000, and $25,000.

Don’t worry, not all of this money is going into Diddy’s pockets! The party is being billed as a fundraiser for the AngelWish.org and will be honoring  Hugh Hefner as “Humanitarian of the Year.”

This party is sure to be star-studded. And thankfully, it’s all for a good cause. Would you shell out 50K to party with Diddy, Jay-Z, and Beyonce?

Source: The Insider & Fox Business News.com

Filed under: Headlines, Rumors Tagged: Beyonce, diddy’s grammy part, Jay-Z, jay-z and beyonce post baby appearance

Popularity: 1% [?]

I know this rumor has been circulating for a while, but there looks to be some evidence that Diddy has proposed to his longtime side-piece Cassie. The R&B cutie was spotted wearing a huge rock on her ring finger with Diddy by her side at Rick Ross’ birthday bash last week in Miami. Check out the photos below.

Back in September, Diddy openly tweeted ‘Will You Marry Me.’ But, since he dates so many woman at the same time, no one knew who he was talking to, or even if they should take him seriously. Cassie also tweeted this photo of the ring below.

Did you think Diddy finally put a ring on it?

Source: Rhymes with Snitch.com

Filed under: Rumors Tagged: Cassie, Diddy

Popularity: 1% [?]