MTV Newsroom › Shaheem Reid

50 Cent Leaks Tape Of Tearful Phone Conversation With Young Buck

Posted 6/18/08 12:37 pm EST by in Uncategorized


Young BuckMy good friend Miss Info wasn't exaggerating (not that she ever does) when she said a horrible revelation would be hitting her blog, www.missinfo.tv, on Tuesday: She said there would be another round in the G-Unit/ Young Buck fallout saga. She later posted audio of a phone conversation between Buck and 50 that was pitiful: Buck seemingly sobbed on the phone to 50, apologizing for any uncalled-for comments or actions he may have committed and basically pleaded to be back in the family. 50 coddled him as Buck went on about serious financial difficulties with the IRS. 50 told him everything was going to be all right, he just had to "stay close."

But things are far from OK. Buck has been estranged from the camp for months, and 50 has made some strong comments and allegations against him. But this audio signals the official end of an era. Now, this is nothing as drastic as Ice Cube leaving N.W.A, but over the past five or six years, we've become accustomed to Buck bringing that Southern brashness to 50's crew's records. Buck's presence added regional diversity.
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Nas Releases 'Black President': New Song About Barack Obama

Posted 6/5/08 10:37 am EST by in Campaign '08, New Music Update


Obama, holla! Eventually Barack Obama will have to initiate a dialogue with the hip-hop community. I was with LL Cool J earlier this week and he told me about a new record he's made concerning the presidential climate. And on Wednesday, my dude Green Lantern hit me off with a brand-new record from Nas called "Black President." In the song, Esco speaks directly to Obama and gives him his outlook and expectations on what changes we need as a country. I'm loving Nas' audacity right now! How bold are you to directly address the man that has a 50/50 chance of being the commander-in-chief? Hip-hop with substance is hip-hop at its essence — hip-hop at its best.


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Kanye Gives a Nod to the 'Hottest MCs' List During Hometown Tour Stop

Posted 5/28/08 4:39 pm EST by in hottest mcs



You can't be mad at Kanye West. He's talked the most the past few years, but he's backed it up every time. Three albums, three classics. He has everyone's respect -- and recently the MTV News Hip-Hop Brain Trust rewarded his efforts by knighting him the Hottest MC in the Game.

Friday in Chicago, Kanye acknowledge the nod with a announcement during his "Glow in the Dark" tour hometown stop: "I brought them Grammys home for y’all, and now I brought that #1 spot home for y’all!" The crowd went wild!

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Rick Ross Co-Signs 'Hottest MCs In The Game 2008'

Posted 5/16/08 3:06 pm EST by in Behind The Scenes, hottest mcs, Interview, Music


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Bawwwssssse! Rick Ross is one of the coolest dudes you're gonna meet, period.

He swung through HQ for another one of them MTV News exclusive interviews. (While I was talking to Rick, Sway was downstairs chopping it up with the Game. Now that's one heavyweight afternoon at 1515.) On the way out, we showed him the "Hottest MCs In The Game" promos, which he enjoyed. Said he hopes he makes the cut this time.

Big ups to the biggest boss, his manager Gucci Poochie, and super PR man Gabe -- excuse me, "Hollywood Gabe" the homie...

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Kanye West's 'Glow in the Dark' Tour Blows Shaheem's Mind

Posted 5/14/08 2:13 pm EST by in live, tour


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Undeniable, unbelievable. I'm trying not to get caught up in the moment and jump all the way out the window, but Kanye West's show last night at Madison Square Garden may have been the best one-man performance I've ever seen outside of Michael Jackson or Prince. Like he says, Graduation is not just an album name, it’s the trumpeting of his career evolution as the most innovative man in his genre.

The "Glow in the Dark" tour is about Kanye landing on a planet called Universe-City and what he encounters on extraterrestrial soil. You have never seen anything like it before.

Favorite songs of the night were (and it's tough to pick) "Champion" and "Hey Mama."

Scarlett Johansson kept a low profile at the concert among other marquee names such as Jay-Z, Beyonce, Diddy, John Legend, and Anthony Anderson. Backstage, many of Kanye's hometown friends joined him in celebration.

Kanye West also appears on the just-released remix to “Lollipop”! Weezy and Yeezy -- what a combination. A few weeks ago, Wayne had told MTV News this might be coming down the line...

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Erykah Badu Inspires Marriage Proposal, Love From Shaheem

Posted 5/12/08 3:59 pm EST by in live, Music


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I love “Low Down Lo-Retta Brown,” aka Ms. Erykah Badu. I’m not putting any gas on it when I say she’s phenomenal in concert -- and she proved it again on Friday, at Radio City Music Hall with the Roots.

I say Badu’s the R&B equivalent of Nas, Mary J. being our Jay-Z. Whereas Mary capitalizes on being a legend -- with an album and tour every two years, media blitz, endorsements, the full shebang -- Badu reminds me of Nas, dropping projects sorta when she wants. (I think she needs to drop more music more frequently, but that’s for a whole 'nother blog post.) Ms. Bad Bad Badu could care less about the accolades of the mainstream or the dollars that are associated with parlaying your stardom into business ventures. Also like Nas, she is just so profoundly lyrical. Her songs are way more than just “ooh baby, make love to me.” Erykah has jewels for days.

“What if there were no n*****s, just master teachers?” she sang on Friday during “Master Teacher." “Hip-hop is bigger than religion, bigger than the government,” she would profess earlier in the midst of singing “The Healer.” Highlights from the show for me were “Me” and “Solider” (my two favorite joints from her latest album, New Amerykah: Part One (4th World War)), “Tyrone,” and, of course, “Bag Lady.”

And at the end of the night, Badu brought out two surprise guests. I’m thinking Talib and Mos Def, maybe Common and Kanye -- nope. She brought out two regular people, so regular I can’t even remember their names. They were fans of hers, a couple from Cincinnati. After telling everyone how great E. was, the man laid it on really thick and professed his love to his woman: “Being without you is like looking in the sky and sun not shining...We need to go 'head and do this thing.”

Who wrote that, Tyler Perry or Wingo from Jagged Edge? Lucky for the man, love is blind. The lady never did say yes, but she took the ring and they kissed. When Erykah came back on the mic, she joked the guy pinched her ass on the sly.

Anyone out there catch the show? Are you feelin' New Amerykah?

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Busta Rhymes' Next Album Goes From Bullsh-- To Blessed

Posted 4/11/08 12:54 pm EST by in Busta Rhymes


busta.jpgViacom field trip! Last night a few MTV and VH1 staff members were invited to a very intimate listening session for Busta Rhymes. OK, I'm with it. Bust is definitely one of my favorite rappers of all time because of the energy and myriad of styles he's brought to his tracks throughout his career. So of course I had to go check it ... especially since he just released one of the craziest songs I've heard this year, "Don't Touch Me (Throw Da Water On Em)."

"Don't touch me, you might burn your mutha----in' fingers. I'm hot," he joked in the studio — Wyclef's Platinum Studios right by Times Square to be exact. While Bust was playing the music, 'Clef popped his head in. Busta rushed over to give his friend a bear hug.

"I can't breathe!" 'Clef laughed before skirting out to perform at a show.

Bust's new album has undergone a title change. Instead of Back on My Bullsh--, he's gone a full 180 to Blessed. Bust told us that he had a tremendous weight lifted off his shoulders when his plethora of court cases came to a close without him having to serve any time in jail. Bussa Bus feels that he's in the best space he's been in for quite some time. It was visible, as he smiled the whole night. Surprisingly, he didn't just go into full-on party mode. He had some reflective and inspiring messages on nearly a dozen cuts he played us. I can't go deep into the tracks because Busta swore us to secrecy for now, but I will say that Linkin Park is on the LP.

50 Cent One Step Closer To Becoming a Real Fake Wrestler

Posted 3/4/08 11:51 am EST by in For The Record


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It’s looking like when Floyd Mayweather comes to the ring at Wrestlemania 24 in Orlando on March 30, he won’t have to tell his DJ to cue up 50 Cent’s “I Get Money.” 50 Cent told him he would be there in person to personally accompany him down the aisle when Mayweather goes up against the wrestler, Big Show. Mayweather was a guest on Power 105.1 in New York on Friday, while 50 was taking over hosing duties. The pugilist asked his friend to "bring him out" during his big match in a few months. Fif was too happy to say, Yesssir.

Why is a boxer fighting a wrestler? A seven-foot, 500-pound wrestler, at that? Well, last month during the WWE’s Pay-Per-View "No Way Out" in Las Vegas, Mayweather showed up as a fan. Big Show started bullying Mayweather's friend Rey Mysterio, Jr (a great grappler in his own right), so "Money" Mayweather, as he calls himself, hopped into the ring to confront the Show (nee Paul Wight). Wight was so amused by the disparaging size difference, he got on his knees and let the boxer get a free hit. Floyd promptly hit him with a flurry that left Wight with a broken nose.

So now it's on. And Floyd has since threatened to break the Show’s jaw.

[Ed: These are all grown men, right?]

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Lil Wayne Week at mtvnews.com

Posted 2/29/08 4:20 pm EST by in MTV News


"Weezy bad, better yet I’m good / Feels like a T-Rex is under my hood"

Finally. Finally. Final-damn-leee. I made it to New Orleans to catch the tail end of NBA All-Star. I usually try to go to NBA every year because as we all know, sports are hip-hop are forever married. This year, though, was really a pain because were supposed to be doing this huge Lil Wayne interview right at the top of All-Star weekend. Then our interview kept getting pushed back, then pushed up. Yes, these are some of the inner workings AKA headaches of the job sometimes. Finally we made a schedule that everybody agreed on. Hit New Orleans on Sunday go to the Hot Boys reunion concert with Wayne, chill Monday and do the Wayne sit down on Tuesday.

More on my time with Lil Wayne after the jump.

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