"there's a difference between knowing the path, and walking the path." - Morpheus

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NAS AND JAY ELECTRONICA:

More than a few people, including Jesse Serwer (who penned URB #152's cover story on the man), have compared this point in Jay Electronica's career to that special time in between "Live at the BBQ" and Illmatic. We caught up with Nas last week for a piece in URB #153 and he was nearly smitten once presented with the Jay Electronica issue. He went on to confirm that Jay Electronica will appear on Nigger, as producer and MC, after thoroughly concurring with Mr. Serwer's statement.

URB: What makes Jay so special?
Nas: "He does him man. I thought that when you get into something you get into it because you want to represent and do it to the fullest, regardless if you getting the credit or not. I hear people that think they not getting the respect they think they deserve, complaining to people because they not on top. Or blamin' record companies or blamin' other rappers they record with. And you know that happens all the time but it's rare that you see someone that’s not asking for a handout, that’s not looking for a lookout. Someone who came into the business like how I came. I didn’t come in with a platinum, multi-platinum act in the middle of the rap world when it was on top. I had a verse in '91 with a fairly underground rap group. And it created my buzz and I had to climb on my own. I would not have accepted me coming into the business any other way. You know? And today people get superstars to endorse them and it got a lot easier and they still complainin'. Somebody like Jay Electronica got their awareness of the same shit, superstars. He's onto his own thing and that is everything to him. It doesn’t matter if people pay attention today. It doesn’t matter when they get it, but they going to get it."

And musically?
"He got that shit where, you know, shit just sound like music. And you can hear what he's saying and when he gets into it he goes all the way into it. He knows there’s an audience out there that can hear what he’s saying and that’s what he's been with me in the studio, like fuck that, they going to know what you mean, they going to know what you saying."

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MOS DEF AND BEYONCE ARE BACK ON THE SILVER SCREEN TOGETHER:

By Chris Richburg

Rapper/actor Mos Def will have some legendary shoes to fill as the newest cast member of the upcoming film Cadillac Man.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, the entertainer will play revered rock artist Chuck Berry in the feature, which is currently being filmed in New Jersey.

Set in Chicago during the 1950s, Cadillac Man centers around the turbulent but exciting lives of Chess Records founder Leonard Chess and the artists signed to the legendary Chicago-based label, which included Muddy Waters, Little Walter and Howlin' Wolf.

Chess Records was started by Chess and his younger brother Phil.

In addition to Mos Def, actress Gabrielle Union will join the Cadillac Records cast as Muddy Waters’ girlfriend Geneva Wade.

The pair will share screen time with R&B songstress Beyonce Knowles, who will play Etta James, as well as Jeffrey Wright , who will portray Waters and Adrien Brody, who will take on the role of Leonard Chess.

Cadillac Man, written and directed by Darnell Martin, marks the second time Mos Def has appeared onscreen with Knowles.

The two acted opposite each other in the 2001 musical Carmen: A Hip Hopera.

For Cadillac Man, Knowles does double duty as the film’s star and executive producer.

Mos Def will next be seen in the William H. Macy directed film Keep Coming Back and Next Day Air.

http://allhiphop.com/stories/news/archive/2008/03/30/19558718.aspx

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DAMN, HOMIE. BEANIE SIGEL GOT IT BAD. LOOK WHAT YOU DID, JAY-Z:

Philadelphia rapper Beanie Sigel will spend the next three months in prison, after he was accused of violating his probation for a third time yesterday (March 28).

Probation officials revealed that Sigel provided a false urine sample and tested positive for Xanax and Percocet five times over the past month.

Sigel, who admitted being addicted to the painkiller and muscle relaxers, was originally sentenced to six months house arrest in January, after a second probation violation.

http://allhiphop.com/stories/news/archive/2008/03/29/19552841.aspx

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PAPOOSE AND REMY MA IN LOVE? IT MAKES SENSE, ACTUALLY. ESPECIALLY CONSIDERING PAPOOSE'S FIGHT WITH FAT JOE LATELY, LOL!

Rappers Remy Ma and Papoose are moving forward to get married, even though Remy Ma now faces up to 25 years in jail.

Papoose denied the story claiming they were merely friends after AllHipHop.com reported the nuptials earlier this month.

“We always wanted to keep out personal lives personal so that's why we never went public with our relationship [until] right now,” Papoose said. “I just feel like she gotta live through me. Yes, we were scheduled to be married on a yacht April 27th but due to circumstances beyond our control we are now making arrangements to be married in prison.”

Fans and supporters are asked to email lettersforremy@gmail.com if Remy had a positive impact on their lives.

Rappers Remy Ma and Papoose are moving forward to get married, even though Remy Ma now faces up to 25 years in jail.

Papoose denied the story claiming they were merely friends after AllHipHop.com reported the nuptials earlier this month.

Now, the rappers have confessed they lied to the press simply to protect their privacy during the turbulent trial, which ended in a conviction on four counts of assault associated with a firearm.

Initially, Remy Ma shared her wedding plans with Egypt and Papoose has followed suit sending a statement to the BET personality, which was then sent to AllHipHop.com.

“We always wanted to keep out personal lives personal so that's why we never went public with our relationship [until] right now,” Papoose said. “I just feel like she gotta live through me. Yes, we were scheduled to be married on a yacht April 27th but due to circumstances beyond our control we are now making arrangements to be married in prison.”

The couple intends to fight the conviction voraciously. Remy Ma’s attorney has already revealed plans to appeal the conviction.

approach to fighting the guilty verdict, which was levied on March 27.

Papoose requested people that feel that Remy Ma had a “positive influence on their life” to ask the judge to give the Bronx-bred rapper “the least sentence possible.”

Fans and supporters are asked to send these requests to lettersforremy@gmail.com.

Remy Ma, born Remy Smith, was accused of shooting her friend Makeda Barnes-Joseph in a July 2007 dispute over $3000.

She was convicted on Thursday, March 27 of two counts of first-degree assault, attempted coercion, and criminal possession of a weapon.

She was found not guilty of gang assault and witness tampering.

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GOD BLESS DAVID BANNER!
www.allhiphop.com

From the deep trenches of Mississippi, David Banner is known for fire-breathing, gladiator style rhyming that commands excitement. These days you’ll find David Banner definitely looking stronger too.

He now walks with brick for a chest, roadblocks for abs and an air of confidence comparable to a General.

For years now the stocky 6’2” rapper has been in a personal war, battling to keep his diagnosed high blood pressure and sleep apnea in check. Recently he was nearly hit with a one, two combination of being diabetic.

He had to drastically alter his daily health habits by changing his diet to vegan and committing to exercise. Within six months, David Banner resurrected a new life by transforming his focus and body by losing 40 pounds.

He has successfully taken his blood pressure (hypertension) down to normal, and diabetes is down for the 10 count. We spoke with David Banner about his new lifestyle, and what it means to him to become greater on every level.

AllHipHop.com: The world has seen a complete change in your physique. How long have you been working out, and how many times a week do you work out?

David Banner: Seriously, about a year or so. I work out about 4-5 times week - exercise is my drug of choice!

AllHipHop.com: Are you planning to leave some footprints on health in the music community, like 50 Cent or Diddy?

David Banner: I wasn’t talking to Puffy about fitness… my life is more serious now, but the reality is I need to get “Fit or Die” literally. I had to get my life together, man. I have high blood pressure and I was damn near diabetic a year ago.

I always thought I would die a violent death - it got to the point where I had to get make a serious change. Becoming healthier wasn’t about selling records or getting more women, but the supermodels are calling a lot more now.

AllHipHop.com: So drop me the stats. What type of weight are you working with? Bench press, squats, calisthenics or just jogging?

David Banner: The surprising thing is we didn’t do heavy weights. I thought I was going lift heavy, but we did a lot of crazy high intensity speed training. I’m running from set to set, and every three days I walk a mountain.

I learned the rules of exercise, like technique. I’m able to go in the gym now and see people pushing heavy a** weight - I can tell if it’s right for them or not. They’re not doing the right things. They may be doing the right exercise, but not the right weight. Their form is wrong, so they’re not catching the right muscle groups. They’re pushing and pulling on the back. That’s not good for you!

[My trainer] showed me my position with light weight, and how it is better for you. That’s how I became so cut up. My stamina game is crazy! I have endurance for days. Ask the ladies!

AllHipHop.com: What steps did you take to become fit?

David Banner: It’s funny how God works, because I happened to move L.A. and just the culture and environment is just so much healthier out here. You have whole grocery stores that are dedicated to eating healthy.

I started to study, and I learned so much about body. I found out that most people have been dehydrated their entire life, and that’s where the problems usually start.

I hired a trainer, Scott Parker, who taught me how to pay attention and how to treat my body. He learned [my needs] so well he could look at me and see if slipped up and didn’t eat my yams, or if I have been drinking. He knew me so well, it was crazy!

I like to drink. If you are truly doing your job, whether you’re an actor or rapper, whatever you are, you just don’t have time for bullsh*t. I love to drink homie, but I just don’t have time for it anymore. If I drink tonight it’ll take me three hours to recover the next day. Now with getting up early working out and my workday starting, I don’t have time to waste.

But the amazing thing is, as I started to cut out not only bad food and drinking, I realized that certain great people in my life just weren’t benefiting me also. The power of working out alleviated a lot of people who weren't motivated the same way I was. Nobody wanted to walk that mountain with me! Nobody wants to get up under those weights with me! Nobody wants to do anything that requires work! Nobody wants to do the hard sh*t that comes with rap!

People who aren’t motivated to do the right things aren’t around me anymore. Just taking care of myself redefined that I didn’t have room for no one else’s bullshit. It empowered me… Then I knew that everyone couldn’t run the hard course of life with me.

AllHipHop.com: How important was having a trainer in this personal transformation?

David Banner: It was very important, because I learned so much. He studied daily and developed new ways to challenge me so that I stayed motivated and improved. But I also pushed him back, so we feed off each other’s energy and we both got better. We worked hard every day.

The thing that Parker taught me the most is that your body reacts to what you feed it. He could look at my body tell if I was eating my yams and drinking my water. It’s so crazy. He taught me that everything I put into body is connected to everything that I do in life. When I get ready for a photo shoot, my diet changes - I add and cut certain things. That was more important to me than the workout.

AllHipHop.com: What benefits have you experienced since [you started] working out?

David Banner: I’m just more focused. I added 20 years to my life, and five to my career. My flesh became disciplined, and my skin looks so refreshed and new. In certain religions people talk about the flesh as being a spirit that traps soul. It is its own animal. It’s alive. When the flesh isn’t disciplined, it makes you desire things you really are not supposed to be doing - like eat when you’re really not hungry and drink.

And another thing, people that battle with depression don’t realize that when you work out it releases endorphins that naturally make you feel better. It keeps the bullsh*t away from you. When you’re looking and feeling good, you have a new confidence and swagger. I feel as if I can do every type of music and that my music is even better now - because when you feel good and look good, life is just better.

AllHipHop.com: Nutrition plays a heavy role on how the body looks, feels and smells. You’re always traveling, so how do you maintain good eating habits? Since you are probably surrounded by all types of good soul food in the South, and artists have the potential to eat very bad on the road, how do you balance your diet with the temptations?

David Banner: People are going to find an excuse to do what they want, but what cuts their excuses out is grocery stores. I’m from the South, and for a matter of fact there is a Super Wal-Mart with a grocery store in it on every corner in America that’s open all night. Why would [anyone] want to eat at McDonalds or Burger King? Fast food has been proven to kill.

There are rats and roaches running around, and when you’re hungry do you pick them up and eat it? No! So I trained my mind to look at certain foods a like rat. I’ve been starving before, and saw a pork pizza sitting right there and I didn’t touch it, because I look at pork like rat!

All these rappers ask for Hennessey and bullsh*t. They should start asking for a place to cook their own food. When I’m running from city to city, I prepare all of my own meals as much as I can. I know what I’m putting into my body. I learned that from LL Cool J.

AllHipHop.com: So you’re healthier now. How has it changed your attitude toward life?

David Banner: I feel I like I'm 22! I can run 8-9 basketball games and still more in. My life has just been blessed, man! I can do anything! My swagger, my music and my life has elevated!

http://allhiphop.com/stories/lifestylehealth/archive/2008/03/27/19538083.aspx

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COMMON AND CEDRIC THE ENTERTAINER SPEAK ABOUT THAT NEW MOVIE 'STREET KINGS'... WE'LL SEE WHAT'S GOOD:



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BCC IN SANTIAGO, CHILE:



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BUFFIE THE BODY AND KAY SLAY? NOT SOME SEX I WANT TO IMAGINE, LOL:



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BUSH GOT BOOED, YESSSS:



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KRS-ONE AND RZA ON STAGE AT THE OPERA HOUSE, WHERE MINDBENDER AND ETERNIA OPENED UP FOR (IN OUR IMAGINATION :)



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I'm sick. I need to detox NOW. I am doing it.
There's a world of difference between knowing the path, and flying on the path.
Fly or die, sink or swim: which one shall I choose?

FLY.

peace to The Roots and Tyrone, Tristan, Gerald and everyone I saw at the concert last night!

love,
Mindbender