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Nearly two weeks later, King Tech and Crooked I debate if Flex's comments were just a case of free speech or disrespecting the late, great 2Pac.

Despite an apology and attempts to clarify his two-week-old comments about “not sucking 2Pac’s dick,” Funkmaster Flex is still being questioned for the timing of his statements. Fellow deejay and radio personality King Tech, called Crooked I—who like ‘Pac once called Death Row Records home—to get a different viewpoint on both the timing and the comments.

Although he's been passed over by the Grammys for the second consecutive year, Rick Ross is taking his latest snub in stride.


The Miami lyricist was shut out of this year's nominations, despite the success of the certified-gold release Teflon Don and street smashes like "(B.M.F.) Blowin' Money Fast" and "MC Hammer." When MTV News caught up with the MC at Power 106 's Cali Christmas Friday night, the boss maintained he doesn't have any beef with the Recording Academy, and gave props to his peers who received nods.

The 2011 Grammy nominees were announced at a Los Angeles concert Wednesday night that was broadcast live on CBS. Two-time Grammy winner LL Cool J hosted the hour-long program that included performances from Bruno Mars, B.O.B., Justin Bieber and Train.


This year, artists must have released a project between Sept. 1, 2009, through Sept. 30, 2010, to be eligible for an award. While that leaves out albums from Kanye West, Rihanna and Nicki Minaj, many others are in the running. The main event takes place on Feb. 13, 2011 in Los Angeles and will air live on CBS at 8PM ET/PT.

Nicki Minaj received a "shocking" welcome from talk show host Regis Philbin earlier this week, when the Young Money phenom made an appearance on 'LIVE! With Regis and Kelly' on Monday.

Following Minaj's performance of her hit single 'Right Thru Me,' the Queens, NY, rapper/singer joined Regis and co-host Kelly Ripa to discuss her #2 charting album 'Pink Friday,' and was summarily pawed by the show's 79-year-old host.

Business partners fight, but brothers unite. That's the case between DJ Drama and Don Cannon. The two unceremoniously parted ways a few years ago and went their separate ways, signaling the end to the Aphilliates crew that dominated the mixtape game with their jointly hosted "Gangsta Grillz" project.


Drama continued to do his thing with the "GG" brand, helming projects by Gucci Mane, among others.

And Cannon made a name for himself on the underground scene, championing acts such as The Cool Kids.

Atlanta-based trio Travis Porter spent the past few years on the independent grind, releasing heralded mixtapes that put them on the unsigned map. But after climbing the ladder near the top of the underground food chain, Strap, Quez and Ali are ready to take their career to the next level with the announcement that they have signed to Jive Records to release their official debut.

Jay-Z is no stranger to sitting high on the charts when it comes to his music career, which makes the Brooklyn rapper's No. 3 debut on 'The New York Times' Best Sellers list an expected achievement.


The Roc Nation head honcho's memoir 'Decoded' landed on the Hardcover Nonfiction edition of the newspaper's Best Sellers list for the week of December 5. Coming in at the top of the list are George W. Bush's 'Decision Points' and Lauren Hillenbrand's 'Unbroken.'

Not only is rapper Drake one of the most successful members of Young Money, but he lives by his group's moniker. The 24-year-old emcee is among one of the highest paid hip-hop acts on the concert circuit, with recently released documents revealing that it costs a hefty $155,000 to book the Toronto native for a gig.

New York rap rivals Foxy Brown and Lil Kim have both shown their disapproval of Nicki Minaj as of late by going after the Young Money star.


Foxy struck first by accusing Minaj of lying about a conversation she said they had.

While the rest of the world continues to wait for Dr. Dre's 'Detox,' Polow Da Don wants to assure fans that the album will be well worth the wait. The producer, who has worked with the likes of Usher, Keri Hilson, Lil Wayne and Chris Brown has been in the studio with Dre cooking up some musical magic.

Grammy-winning rapper Kanye West's My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy is reportedly en route to outsell new albums from Nicki Minaj and Lloyd Banks with projections up to 575,000 sold copies.


Based on one-day reports, R&B crooner Ne-Yo's new Libra Scale album will also be fractioned into the sales competition.

Slaughterhouse's Joell Ortiz has updated eager fans begging to find out when and if his four-member crew are still planning to ink a deal with Eminem's Shady Records.


Speaking on a Sirius/XL satellite radio broadcast, Ortiz said there was no doubt Slaughterhouse would slowly but surely be under Em's wing.