The object of a New Year is not that we should have a new year. It is that we should have a new soul.

-G.K. Chesterton

Ben Sweetland - "Success is a journey, not a destination."

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KNOW THAT:

A feeling of being at peace and stable on the emotional level comes into prominence at this time. Stability and permanence satisfy a deep emotional need. Music is likely to play a more important role for you than usual, and a period of material acquisition can satisfy a deep yearning to be free from want.

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SOMEONE GRABBING RZA'S DICK!??!



RAP IS OUTTA CONTROL!

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CLASSIC JAY-Z:



EVEN MORE CLASSIC JAY-Z:


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HE'S NOT AS DUMB AS ONE MIGHT THINK, LOL:

Production wunderkind Sha Money XL played a major role in G-Unit's rise to fame. Now with his Money Management Group, the Queens, NY native is helping neophyte producers make big names for themselves. SOHH got Sha to enlighten rising beatmakers on what it takes to get their tracks picked up.

1. Mind Your Approach: You Only Get One First Impression

If you are going to meet someone count on only having three minutes of conversation. The first words out of your mouth better be clear and come from a respectful approach. We're all gonna hear the cocky-'I'm ill'-aggressive talk, but at the end of the day your music speaks better than you. Your whole approach and mannerism needs to be on point when you are trying to sell your product.

2. Tailor Your Tracks: Make Sure The Music Fits The Artist

Tailor your music. Don't come with beats you made for Fergie when you are shopping to Young Buck. Your music needs to be tailored to the artist that you are approaching.

3. Leave Your Name & Number: Don't Miss Out On An Opportunity

Write your name and number on the CD. If your card or number gets lost, forget about it. I have a lot of instances where we just know the name, and it's like, 'Who is this guy?' The beat is hot to death, 50 did a vocal, and you can't find the guy-that's wack.

4. Brand Yourself: Make A Statement With Your Presentation

There are people who have given me engraved iPods, CD's with nice covers on them. When you see that CD it's like 'That's that dude!' When you see it it's like this looks interesting, let me listen to it. There is a kid named Apple Juice Kid and he puts apples on the CD, it's crazy. You got to have different ways to market and brand your work.

5. Networking: Always Keep The Lines Of Communication Open

You need to have a network of friends so you know what's going on. Whether it's chat lines or being a part of MoneyManagement XL.com, you need to be able to go somewhere that will feed information about what is going on and what hip-hop needs. You have to be apart of some kind of a social club.

Mad Skillz's DJ Fusion is a producer, and when I was touring in Virginia he gave me a beat CD. I listened to it and it had the beat that became the track for "Better Ask Somebody" on G-Unit's first album. He didn't do the beat by himself; he introduced me to the person who did the bulk of the beat-Jake One. This guy is from Seattle, no one knew where he was from. Fusion made it so Jake One made his way to me and we formed a relationship. Now he's on every album out there-50s' album twice, Buck's album, Freeway's album, Lil' Scrappy's album.

The Come Up

My interest in music came from... just growing up in Queens walking up Hollis Ave and seeing people like Run DMC chillin. It was inspiring to see one of the biggest rap acts ever, living in my hood. I've been loving music since I was a little kid. I played piano as a kid also, so that helped me understand music a lot more. I was wrapped up in it no matter which way I was going.

My first break was... Meeting Jam Master Jay and him taking the time to listen to me and providing the guidance that led me to being who I am today.

Play-O-Graphy

One Stop Shop Conference

Money Management Group Producers Roster Includes:

Hi-Tek

Jake One

Key Cat

Dangerous LLC

The Bizness

Black Jeruz

Vitamin D

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THIS IS DEL!



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How to Keep the Energy Going
Avoid "resolution backlash" and keep motivated with these two simple steps.
By Winn Claybaugh

I love the beginning of a new year. It's a time when many of us think about instituting positive changes in our lives. It's not as if we can't decide to start all over in July and then reinvent ourselves again in November or any other month of the year, but January seems to be the time when most of us decide to make those necessary shifts.

I used to notice that the gym was always packed on January 2, filled with people who suddenly decided it was time to get fit. But by the end of the month, that was no longer the case. Maybe it's because we sometimes view the process of improving ourselves as a chore. If we make things drudgery, will we stick with them? No. They've got to be fun.
How can we see God in ourselves?

I don't know about you, but if I'm not having fun with something, I'm the type of person who won't do it much longer. I'm not saying I won't do it for another year—if something isn't fun, I won't do it for another day. Fortunately, I've learned two simple steps for making things fun:

* Find mentors for the area in which you want to improve.
* Find people who want to play with you.

None of us would be where we are today, in terms of our happiness or success, if it weren't for role models and examples who have guided us and shown us the way. We can't learn everything through firsthand experience—it takes too long, and the pain and sacrifice to learn every lesson would be too great. A wise person learns from other people's experiences. We call those people mentors.

For the most part, mentors are people who've achieved a bit of success in their own lives, physical, financial, or otherwise. They've usually had to overcome certain obstacles or hardships, and it's because of those hardships—and the fact that they overcame them—that they have something to share and that we want to listen.

I've been inspired by many mentors throughout my life. Last year my good friend Michael Galvin made the commitment to lose 50 pounds. He started exercising daily and following a healthy eating plan. Six months later, he had burned over a million calories, lowered his high blood pressure, lost 42 pounds, and reduced his body fat to 17 percent.

Mary Burlingame, a friend whose job had her traveling three to four weeks a month, noticed that her airplane seat and seatbelt were getting tighter all the time. She lost an incredible 129 pounds over the course of a year by changing her lifestyle. Among the changes: she stopped eating after 7 p.m., started drinking lots of water, and selected a "focus word" to live by. Her word was "discipline," and she posted it everywhere as a constant reminder to take full responsibility for her life and make better choices.

These two people have inspired me enormously. They lift my spirits and give me hope: If they can overcome those challenges, what's my excuse for not taking care of my health, exercising, or going to the gym?

The second step in making things fun is to find people who want to "play" with us in the area in which we're trying to improve. Having partners and friends who also want to improve themselves in the same area helps us stay focused and motivated, and makes the process fun.

How? Well, find one or two people who want to exercise with you—the more the merrier—and turn gym time into social time as well. On those days when one of you is not motivated to go, the other person will drag you along.

I remember once after an exercise-recruiting session among my co-workers ("Wanna go? Wanna go?"), three of them said yes, so off we went. A few of us were off in a corner lifting weights, while our other companion, a 60-year-old woman who bought a new pink leotard in honor of the event, planted herself right in the middle of the workout room and unself-consciously began doing pushups, just to make us laugh and make our workout more fun. While the fitness instructors whispered to each other, "What's with that big pink woman over there?" the three of us were laughing hysterically with our friend. What happened? We had a great workout, and it was fun.

As you're looking to make positive changes in your life this year, just remember those two simple rules: Find mentors to keep you on track, and find people who want to play with you. You'll be surprised at how much fun it is to keep your resolutions as you head down the path toward the next happy new year!

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WHOA BWOY!

The attorney representing the family of Tamara "Strawberry" Greene (one of the slain strippers from the now Infamous Manoogian Mansion party) went to U.S. District Court Friday afternoon to subpeona the messaging records.

Kwame, 30 members of his staff, a couple of his best friends, and his wife... all of their messaging records are being subpeonaed. The officer (Bowman) who was originally investigating the case was fired when he got to close to discovering what happened ... he too sued the Mayor and City for wrongful termination and won. It has long been rumored and covered up in the City that:

1) The Mayor's Wife came home early to discover the Mayor having a stripper party and she broke one of the strippers arms (the broken arm was fact [the stripper was rushed by Detroit Police to Receiving Hospital for immediate treatment after which she immediately left with the Mayor's Security detail] the rumor was Carlita broke her arm.

2) One of the strippers at the part named Tamara Greene was shot more than a dozen times in what people say was a "deliberate hit" by a member of the Detroit Police Department. The bullet removed from Tamara Greene was from a Detroit Police weapon

The case was originally squashed by Mike Cox (now the state's Attorney General) who refused to grant subpoenas.

Tamara's attorney felt he'd never get anywhere until last week's text messaging scandal... now another door has opened.

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BEST CANADIAN RAP SONG EVER? MAYBE:



THIS IS UP THERE TOO:



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WE GOT IT FOR CHEAP VOL. 3 - THE CLIPSE LICK SHOTS AT YA BUMBARAAS:

http://www.zshare.net/download/71725387a07db3/

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WEEZY. DROP IT LIKE ITS HOT BEFORE IT GOES COLD:

Lil Wayne: New Album 'Will Stick With You Forever'
February 01, 2008, 10:45 AM ET

Mariel Concepcion, N.Y.
Lil Wayne's "Tha Carter III" has been delayed numerous times in the past six months, but in his first interview since his recent arrest on felony drugs and weapons charges in Arizona, the rapper promises the new album will be worth the wait.

"It's one of those albums people are really waiting on, so I made it so that whatever is on it will stick with you forever," he tells Billboard of the project, which has been plagued with leaks. "I'm taking my time with it. And I'm giving artists I respect and people I want to do songs with -- not songs the label fixed -- an opportunity to collaborate."

"I think this album is going to be one of my best albums," he continues. "I'm a true perfectionist. I might have to work out a deal with Universal to shoot a video to for all these songs, that's how crazy they all are. Every one of them is a movie."

Although Wayne was happy to discuss "Tha Carter III," which is expected in March or April via Cash Money/Universal, he didn't want to talk about what went down in Arizona, where he's been ordered to return for a Feb. 12 hearing. "I've got nothing to say about that," he replied when asked about the arrest.

The new album's official single, the Deezle-produced "Lollipop," features Static and will be serviced to radio shortly. A video for it was recently shot in Las Vegas. Other guests on the set include Hurricane Chris, Corey Gunz, Tyga, Jibbs, Shanell, Kidd Kidd, Mack Maine and Lil Mama. Jim Jonsin, the Alchemist and Cool and Dre contributed production.


Wayne has released six albums and made more than 40 guest appearances since 1999 -- 17 of those collaborations in the last two years -- not to mention the massive amount of mixtapes and leaked tracks that routinely appear online.

"I've found out that I love doing music for others," he says. "You're making history when you're making music with somebody else, for somebody else. Plus, I find that when I do that, it doesn't get leaked. And when it does, it doesn't do what it does when it's one of my songs. I get a real joy. And it's another reason why I was able to wait so long to put another album out -- because these features keep me eating and making money."

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OBAMA INSPIRES US ALL:



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Gracie, thanks for spending the time with me here. I needed to be with someone who understands.
Diane, thanks for your kindness. We learn more with every moment we are true and open with each other.
Hip hop, thank you for being there fore me and not letting me fuck around.
World, thank you for making me who I am.
Time to be a man.

Parting words:

"Any real change implies the breakup of the world as one has always known it, the loss of all that gave one an identity, the end of safety. And at such a moment, unable to see and not daring to imagine what the future will now bring forth, one clings to what one knew, or dreamed that one possessed. Yet, it is only when a man is able, without bitterness or self-pity, to surrender a dream he has long cherished or a privilege he has long possessed that he is set free — he has set himself free — for higher dreams, for greater privileges." - James Baldwin

free yourself,
Mindbender Supreme