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“Who’s New York’s biggest star, Jay-Z right?,” Maino asked in an interview. “So you mean to tell me that there is no one capable of becoming a Jay-Z? The problem with New York is that we don’t produce stars no more we still stuck on the old stars. I don’t think that it’s just that n*ggas can’t make good music. Take me for example. I have proved hands down that I make good music right? But when Jay-Z puts out a record its gone be like, the biggest thing since the steering wheel…I’m glad Diddy signed Red Cafe cause nowhere [else] is opening up an avenue for a new n*gga. Instead of concentrating so much on his self, he opening it up for a new n*gga. Murda was signed nothing came out of that…The OG’s school you…So it being no camaraderie and no connection it makes it that much harder for a n*gga to make it to that point to be a Jay-Z.” (Rap Radar) – Maino, New York City Rapper

New York……Is there any truth to this? Yes and No. Yes, New York has lost it’s luster lately but, this point doesn’t seem validated coming from someone as unaccomplished as Maino. He is a okay rapper but, who is he to question the Legends. When Jay-Z, Nas & Biggie came in the game, they didnt beg Kool G. Rap & Rakim to step out of the limelight & help them make moves. They made their force known individually; as the new generation of rappers should do as well. But, as stated above, there is SOME truth to this. Back in 1994, there were no stars on the level of Jay-Z or P.Diddy’s current status. No rapper before them had sold millions of records, sold out concerts & national tours, acquired half a billion dollars in personal net worth or created hundred million dollar incorporations. So Yes, the New York rappers of today have a much tougher fight in stealing attention from Today’s stars than yesteryear’s rookies.

When I listen to music from the south, I always hear Legends/Veterans collaborating with & endorsing artists on the come-up. From Scarface to Andre 3000 to Trick Daddy. Many correlate this as reasoning for their lengthly musical dominance. I can’t say the same for the rappers out of the East Coast. The Rap scene in New York City is at it’s most dismal point in hip hop history; with the stars aging quickly & no heirs in sight. The saddest of which is that with the snap of the finger, New York could be re-born. With ease The Legends could help breathe life back into the culture. The New York Powers That Be (Jay-Z, Diddy & 50 Cent) COULD & SHOULD help out more but, they aren’t OBLIGATED to. They COULD do songs with rising stars, they COULD let some regional acts have more cameos in videos, they COULD actually endorse their own before they do acts from the south, they SHOULD do this as this would only be a betterment for NY hip hop; as all these people had the same treatment early on in their career. As Big/Big Daddy Kane did Jay, as Rakim/MC Serch did Nas & as Jam Master Jay/Nas did 50 Cent. Sadly, we dont live in a fair world. So, oh well.

My only advice to the newcomers in NYC is to do it yourselves. Fuck em, gather who you can & create your own buzz/scene again. All of yall are grown men & should not depend on anyone, nor blame anyone for your lack of success. To those that make it out of this new crop, dont do the same to the next generation. As for now, stop bullshitting & get New York back to it’s rightful position.

We can talk all day about how bad New York is, how good New York was or how underserving The South is. However, the topic should be, how can we move New York forward?

NEW YORK – Bernard Madoff would be stripped of all his possessions under a $171 billion forfeiture order handed down only days before prosecutors seek to put the disgraced financier away in prison for the rest of his life.

U.S. District Judge Denny Chin entered the preliminary order Friday, ruling that Madoff must give up his interests in all property, including real estate, investments, cars and boats.

The forfeiture represents the total amount that could be connected to Madoff’s fraud, not the amount stolen or lost, and the order made clear that nothing prevents other departments or entities from seeking to recover additional funds.

A call to Madoff’s lawyer, Ira Sorkin, after hours Friday was not immediately returned. In a court filing in March, Sorkin said the government’s forfeiture demand of $177 billion was “grossly overstated — and misleading — even for a case of this magnitude.”

The 71-year-old Madoff pleaded guilty in March to charges that his exclusive investment advisory business was actually a massive Ponzi scheme. Federal prosecutors say Madoff orchestrated perhaps the largest financial swindle in history.

Acting U.S. Attorney Lev Dassin, who released a copy of the order Friday night, plans to seek a 150-year prison term at Madoff’s sentencing Monday. Sorkin has argued in court papers for a 12-year term.

According to Friday’s order, the government also settled claims against Madoff’s wife. Under the arrangement, the government obtained Ruth Madoff’s interest in all property, including more than $80 million-worth that she had claimed was hers, prosecutors said. The order left her $2.5 million in assets.

The agreements strip the Madoffs of all their interest in properties belonging to them, including homes in Manhattan, Montauk, N.Y., and Palm Beach, Fla., worth a total of nearly $22 million. The Madoff’s must also forfeit all insured or salable personal property contained in the homes.

Other seized assets include accounts at Cohmad Securities Corp., valued at almost $50 million, and at Wachovia Bank, valued at just over $13 million, and tens of millions of dollars in loans extended by Madoff to family, employees and friends.

The judge’s order also authorized the U.S. Marshals Service to sell the Manhattan co-op, properties in Montauk and Palm Beach and certain cars and boats.

At the time of Madoff’s arrest, fictitious account statements showed thousands of clients had $65 billion. But investigators say he never traded securities, and instead used money from new investors to pay returns to existing clients.

Prosecutors said the total losses, which span decades, haven’t been calculated. But 1,341 accounts opened since December 1995 alone suffered loses of $13.2 billion, they said.

“The sheer scale of the fraud calls for severe punishment,” the prosecutors wrote in response to the defense motion seeking lighter punishment.

Prosecutors said federal sentencing guidelines allow for the 150-year term, and any lesser sentence should still be long enough to send a forceful message and “assure that Madoff will remain in prison for life.”

The government’s papers quoted from letters to Chin written by victims of the scheme who are suffering severe hardships. Madoff “ruined lives,” one letter said. “He deserves no mercy.”

But Sorkin argued in filings that his client deserved credit for his voluntary surrender, full acceptance of responsibility and meaningful cooperation efforts.

“We seek neither mercy nor sympathy,” Sorkin wrote.

He urged the judge to “set aside the emotion and hysteria attendant to this case” as he determines the sentence.

The popular 1990’s rapper was able to have two charges dropped against him after appearing in court Friday afternoon.

He pleaded guilty today to one felony count of possession of a controlled substance, cocaine. Ivey, 45, will enter an 18-month drug rehabilitation program, known as Deferred Entry of Judgment, said Deputy District Attorney Cynthia Inda. If he successfully completes the program, he can request that the judge dismiss his case at the end of 18 months. He is scheduled to return September 28 at LAX Superior Court for a progress report. (Los Angeles Daily News)

A judge reportedly urged Coolio to accept a plea deal last month.

The case involving Coolio was extended until June 26 in a Los Angeles court Friday. At Friday’s court session, which lasted about 20 minutes, the judge told the rapper he should strongly consider a plea bargain. The rapper did not wear his Sunday best for the proceeding, clad in a multi-colored sport coat, jeans and tennis shoes, with his trademark crazy hair. RadarOnline.com has learned he was accompanied by his girlfriend and six supporters. (Radar Online)

He recently pleaded his innocence in a video earlier this year.

“Everybody got a family member or a friend that’s into something that you can’t control those types of situations,” Coolio explained. “I just happened to get caught up in the scene…It was just a situation I had no control of, something was in my bag and I didn’t even know it was in my bag. They could have did DNA and all kinds of stuff to find out if it was mine but they didn’t. They just got the bag and assumed it was mine…If you do bring drugs to the airport, you don’t put ‘em in your bag you put ‘em in your pocket. I used to smoke marijuana and I traveled with it for years, never put it in my bag. I always had it in my pocket. I’m not dumb like that but you know…That was some bullsh*t. The unfortuante thing about this is when my name is cleared, more people are not gonna hear about it than heard about it. That’s life in the city, that’s life of a celebrity. My family and friends know it’s not me. God knows it’s not me. In essence I don’t give a f*ck.” (TMZ)

His publicized arrest took place at LAX

The Grammy-winning performer, whose real name is Artis Leon Ivey, was taken into custody at the airport on Friday after authorities said they found the drug and a crack pipe in his luggage. The battery charge was included because the performer grabbed an airport screener’s arm to prevent the search of his luggage, said Jane Robison, spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County District Attorney. He faces a maximum sentence of three years in state prison if convicted and is scheduled to appear in court on April 3.

Everyone was shocked Thursday (June 25) when news of Michael Jackson’s heart attack was reported, followed by reports of his death.

While some were sadden, others were outraged when blogger Perez Hilton posted an entry on his website, claiming Jackson’s hospital admission was fake, so the King of Pop could bail on concert commitments.

However, upon learning the heart attack was very much real and that MJ had died hours later, Hilton edited his post, removing the insensitive comments.

But, the damage was done though. A trending topic appeared on Twitter called #unfollowperezz, where users unfollowed his account and expressed his distaste for his comments.

Rocker Pete Wentz blasted Hilton as well, and the two exchanged words numerous times throughout the day over the blogger’s insensitivity.

Comedienne Sarah Silverman tweeted an ill-timed joke about MJ’s death as well: “Did you hear Michael Jackson’s kids are free? That’s not nice. I’m sorry. Ugh, I feel bad for saying that. LOOK A BLUE CAR!”

Being the hypocrite he is, Hilton immediately chastised her: “I love you, but that’s low!”

Support the Twitter movement: #unfollowperez

The man responsible for helping in the 2006 murder of T.I.’s friend and assistant Philant Johnson has been sentenced to 17 years in prison.

Padron Thomas appeared before a judge on Wednesday (June 24).

U.S. District Judge Sandra Beckwith sentenced Thomas to 17 years in prison on drug conspiracy and gun charges. Thomas, 41, became a key player in both the conspiracy case and the gun battle case when he agreed last year to cooperate with authorities. He testified in December against his brother, Hosea Thomas, who was sentenced to 66 years for shooting to death Philant “Big Phil” Johnson. Padron Thomas said he drove the car on May 3, 2006, when his brother exchange gunfire with members of Harris’ entourage, which had been involved in a dispute with Hosea Thomas at a bar earlier that night. (Cincinnati News)

Tip testified last fall and recounted what happened during the shoot-out.

Describing the aftermath, T.I. explained what happened when he noticed Johnson laying prone, after being shot in the head. “We called Phil’s name out, Phil didn’t respond,” T.I. said. When asked what his friend looked like, he responded: “Lifeless.” “I saw blood running down his face, his shirt was wet…He had an injury wound to the left temple.” Three other members were reportedly wounded, however Tip did not suffer any injuries. (Associated Press)

Despite testifying against his brother and possibly facing no prison time, Padron still landed nearly 20 years behind bars.

Opening statements began earlier this week as jury members were told Cincinnati local Thomas was responsible for the murder. Hosea’s brother, Padron, who was also involved in the shoot-out, stepped forward to testify against him. He now faces no prison time for his role in the murder of Johnson. (OHG)

The shoot-out allegedly stemmed from a club incident in 2006.

Details emerged last June 2008 explaining that both men took issue with T.I. and his entourage, when they were denied didn’t allow them access to exclusive areas at a late night party and performance. Upon being turned down, a member from Tip’s crew allegedly struck one of the brothers in the head with a bottle and later taunted them. This led to the Thomas duo following the rapper’s crew in SUVs and exchanging gunfire. Johnson reportedly died as a result of this gun fire. (Cincinnati Enquirer)

Lil Wayne was present in a Yuma County, Arizona court, as the judge gave him pretrial updates on his drug possession and weapons charges.

The charges stem from January, when Wayne was arrested in Yuma near a U.S. Border Patrol checkpoint. Police reports note officers found cocaine, Ecstasy and a hand gun in his vehicle.

James Tilson is Wayne’s attorney, and he is hoping to help his client out by questioning the training of the drug sniffing dog that helped search the car.

Border officials have not turned in training records for the dog and Tilson says it’s vital to the case.

“If the dog is not reliable, then that puts the entire probable cause for the stop into question,” he said, in an Associated Press report.

Tilson is also hoping to see something in video cameras that may have taped the arrest. The judge has issued another court date, August 11, for this matter. Wayne has pleaded not guilty to all charges. This follows another drug bust charge. In March, a judge dismissed similar charges that came from 2006.

Onetime Roc-A-Fella/Def Jam rapper Tru Life has turned himself into authorities. Last night, the Lower East Side artist went to police after being sought for questioning on murder charges.

The murder, which happened last week, left an 18 year-old dead, and another man wounded. Initial reports put Tru Life’s brother in connection with the stabbing-murder. The incident was believed to be a retaliation for a non-fatal shooting of Tru Life associate Michael Slater. The stabbings were reported to the face and chest of the victims – Michael Black, and the un-named deceased.

Tru Life, a one-time protege of Jay-Z, is most known for his musical and physical feud with The Diplomats, most notably Camron and Jim Jones, which began over disputes of Blood gang affiliation.

As time goes on and more hip-hop talent is discovered across the country and given their chance to shine, city after city slowly gets put on the musical map.

Next week is Phoenix’s turn; a first for the city, and they have every intention of showing their appreciation to the native son responsible — DTP / Def Jam signee Willy Northpole.

As the rapper prepares his debut album, Tha Connect, in stores Tuesday (June 23), he is honored as an official “Friend of the City” by Councilman Michael E. Johnson (District at a ceremony on Monday (June 22) in his hometown of Phoenix, Arizona.

Willy’s musical career though is not the only thing of note that has made him a citizen for Phoenix to be proud of. He routinely spends time talking to and performing for children all over the city and is a regular at charitable functions, aimed at giving back to his community.

As anyone who has seen Willy’s video for his single, “Hood Dreamer,” will know, the rapper remembers clearly where he came from and wants people to know that as much as he loves his city, it is not all golf courses and sunny retirement destinations.

With the odds stacked up against him, Willy Northpole made it out and has been given his chance to show the nation why it was that he caught the attention of DTP CEO, Ludacris.

The honor gives Willy and Phoenix its time to shine.

Part of what made 50 Cent popular at the start of his career was his grind. By mixing catchy hooks with street flair, he also flooded the mixtapes with new material at a pace that was almost hard to keep up with. After a few albums, he says he still has that energy and hunger.

“The guy that’s trying to get a record deal right now, he should be writing with very strong passion,” 50 told MTV.”Right now, he’s in competition with 50 Cent, and I’m writing like I need a record deal. It’s tough for him.”

His hunger was meant to be shown through War Angel LP, a recent mixtape he dropped. He is presently expected to drop two more mixtapes, the first of which will be titled Sincerely Southside 2. That is slated to to drop next week and the mixtape that will follow in August will be a full G-Unit tape.”I can write at that pace and achieve what I want,” 50 added. “You won’t say there’s a lack of quality in [War Angel]. That’s why I called it an LP instead of a mixtape. They need to hear that.”

He says that fans who have War Angel LP can expect the hardest release of his to date.

“As a full body of work, this is probably one of the hardest CDs. ‘Cause I always had something commercial. On 50 Cent is the Future, I had the Raphael Saadiq ‘You Should Be Here.’ I had the ‘Luv U Better’ [beat] from LL Cool J’s album. It was more of ‘She’s after my cheddar’ from my perspective. It was a record that was working commercially at the time. At this point, I wanted to do something that was commercial-free, a whole CD.”

In an impressive move to go away from the norm, Mos Def is sellinga t-shirt as his new album. Instead of getting a disk, fans will get a shirt with cover art on the front and a track list on the back. This shirt will not come with a CD. Instead, it will feature a code for each fan to use in order to download the album off the internet for free.

The concept may just work for Mos Def’s sales, which are presently approaching 40,000 units of The Ecstatic. In a surprising move, Soundscan is said to actually count the t-shirt sales as album sales.

“It’s taking an album and turning it into a t-shirt,” designer Jeremy Wineberg, president of Invisible DJ told Digital Music News this week. “Each shirt comes with a digital download tag carrying a unique code and is manufactured by clothing company LnA.”

How else does it help to have an artist make his album available through a site like lnaclothing.com?

“You’re bypassing the middleman, like iTunes,” Wineberg added.

According to Wineberg, fans will start seeing this shirt next month.

UPDATE: Representatives from Nielsen, the company behind Soundscan, contacted OutHereGrindin Friday morning. While the spokesperson said Nielsen would reportedly like more information from Invisible DJ and like-minded companies, they have no existing knowledge, and thus have no intention of tracking or recording units sold.