KILL ALL RATS "GAY UNIT" MIXTAPE COVER

The battle of photoshop continues between 50 and Joey. Check out the latest illustration.

L.A. GANGS MAKING THREATS TO DIDDY IN RETALLIATION OF THE TUPAC ALLEGATIONS

According to a report that surfaced in the LA Times earlier this week, Diddy was said to be involved in the 1994 shooting of Tupac Shakur. Diddy denied any of the accusations and claims to have had no prior knowledge of the event. After this story surfaced, Diddy has apparently received many death threats from Los Angeles gangs.

As of now, Diddy is waiting for things to cool off, especially since he moved to Los Angeles to start up his acting career.

Diddy was unable to comment on the current events, but his security team has told him to stay indoors because they don't know the credibility of the threats.

JAY-Z WANTS "WAY TOO MUCH" TO START HIS CARTER MUSIC GROUP

Shawn Carter is out to build and capitalize on his label while shopping the Carter Music Group around for a new home. Sources say he may have estimated the value of this one. According to the New York Post, Jay-Z is asking "way too much," for the record label. "He wants a label to give him $100 million for the Carter Music Group and provide for overhead, development and digital investment. It's crazy. He wants the labels to basically be his venture capital fund - but unlike a venture cap, they won't get 50 percent. This is not the '90s anymore."

Jay-Z resigned from the Presidential spot at Def Jam over disputes involving money around December of last year. Island Def Jam chief L.A. Reid and Jay-Z couldn't come to an agreement in terms of salary.

During the time the news of Jay starting his own label first hit, people believed it would be formed under Warner Music Group. Def Jam said they were never interested in housing the Carter Music Group.

"Starting a record label from scratch is very difficult. If Warner Music wants to do it, better them than us," said a Def Jam executive.

Currently, Jay-Z's new venture does not have a home.

According to several news sources, Jay-Z is also in talks with Apple. Many have been speculating on a possible venture between the Jay-Z and the tech giant for the purpose of a new digital label. Others have speculated at a revolutionary distribution system.

JADAKISS, NEW ALBUM ON THE ROC, AND LETTER TO B.I.G.

In a recent interview with a Def Jam A&R, many names were dropped in regards to who was dropping an album soon. Among the names were Jadakiss, Fabolous, Young Jeezy, and Ghostface Killah.

According to the A&R, Jadakiss' new album is being recorded to be dropped on Rocafella Records and it has had good reviews as of now. Apparently, they are about 8 tracks into the album and they've been recording at the D-Block studio in Yonkers, NY.

On the album is a track entitled "Letter to B.I.G." where Jadakiss talks to The Notorious B.I.G. in a letter and talks about what's happened in the rap game since he died.

Stay tuned for more updates about the new Jadakiss album dropping on Rocafella Records/Def Jam.

DIPSET CAPO HELPS RAISE AIDS AWARENESS

Jim Jones, Dipset Capo, and Lyfe Jennings, soul singer, are joining the fight against AIDS by being panelists at the Third Annual Hip-Hop and Higher Education Symposium "HIV/AIDS and the Hip-Hop Generation," taking place at Howard University.

The conference is being sponsored by Howard University's Afro-American Studies Department, which hopes to inform about the alarming increase in AIDS for young African Americans. BET's Rap-It-Up campaign will show two short films about this topic as well. The founders of this program hope to help people discover healthy lifestyles of those who have the disease.

Dr. Benjamin Chavis and Melyssa Ford are keynote speakers at this event. Clinton Portis, Washington Redskins Running back, and Maria Davis, HIV/AIDS activists are also participating at this event.

DMX claims to have never heard of Barack Obama

According to a new interview with XXL, DMX was asked about political views and who he was following in the presidential race this year. He said he didn't follow politics, and that he had never even heard of Barack Obama. He was confused/entertained at his name. Read the full interview below.

XXLMAG.COM FULL INTERVIEW