Not sure if you'll be able to believe this, but there's beef in the world of urban music. Unfortunately, this kerfuffle has none of the simplicity of East Coast vs. West Coast. In the case of Ciara vs. Vibe, most people involved have no idea what's going on, and some people thought to be involved might not be.

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Oy vey! Somebody tell Hasidic reggae man Matisyahu he – or at least his music – is no longer welcome in mother Israel. New haredi rabbinical rulings dictate that music with rock, rap or reggae influences will neither be allowed in wedding halls nor eligible for rabbinical approval.

The guidelines, which are still being formulated, also ban "2-4 beats and other rock and disco beats;" the "improper" use of electric bass, guitars and saxophones; and singing words from holy sources in a disrespectful, frivolous manner.

Mordechai Bloi, a member of Israel's Guardians of Sanctity and Education, sort of eliminated the vagueness of the guidelines with this: "Michael Jackson-style music has no place in our community … We might be able to adopt Bach or Beethoven, music with class, but not goyishe African music and beats."

Update: I was remiss in using the word "Israelis" in the title of this post, and I should have added "some parts of" between "in" and "mother" in the third line. Other than that, I stand by what I wrote. I'm sorry if you were misled.

Know what, unnamed 12-year-old who pitched a rock through Soulja Boy's bus window back in March? Things are cool between you and me, because I hate Soulja Boy, too. His music's awful and he's awful, and I wouldn't mind if that ho supermanner went mute tomorrow.

And I felt this way even before the little jerk started creating his new YouTube series, Rich Nigga Shit. Kinda like R Kelly's Trapped in the Closet, but without the music or troubled brilliance, Rich Nigga Shit is basically just minutes and minutes of Soulja Boy braying like a jackass to the delight of his tittering, weak crew.

Click through for episodes one and two of RNS—currently the entire oeuvre. The second is especially of note, as it features Soulja Boy using his particular brand of detestable bravado to completely ruin what could have been a good deed.

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• De La Soul, Cypress Hill, Slick Rick and others will be honored at the next VH1 Hip Hop Honors' [SP]

• "A Love Supreme? John Coltrane, Lil Wayne and the Post-Trauma Blues" [CN]

• A look at the old Common, before the Gap ads. [TAN]

• Rohan Marley says his wife, Lauryn Hill, is on the comeback trail. So, that settles it: Pot does make people delusional. [XXL]

One of my good friends just got back from touring with Saul Williams. His stories about traveling the world with the poet/writer/musician inspired this morning's Rewound, a tune called "The Bottle," from one of my favorite black poets, Gil Scott-Heron.

Wine's a little more expensive than the $1.09 it used to be, but it can still be just as damaging, which, unfortunately, keeps this track timely. That it's still amazing is all the work of Gil.

Goddamn, The South! Y'know, we really do try to cut you some slack – seriously, we do – but you just make detesting you so easy sometimes.

During a July 30 interview on talking face Glenn Beck's radio broadcast, Toby Keith, Oklahoman and the musical genius behind the hit pro-lynching anthem "Beer for My Horses," told Beck that he thinks Barack Obama is highly successful with black Americans because "he don't talk, act or carry himself like a black person."

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• Erykah Badu's rolling papers, coming soon to a corner store near you. [C&D]

• What's a soundtrack song if it doesn't have the name of the movie in it? [MTV]

• Chiman Rai, the Indian-born entrepreneur who was accused of having his daughter-in-law killed because she was black, got life in prison for his crime. [BV]

• It's really hard for crackheads to not act like crackheads. [TGJ]

• Little Paris Bennett of American Idol isn't so little anymore. [JM]

Wherein you, the readers, talk amongst yourselves.

This one's easy. Tell us about your favorite album(s). Why are they your faves?

• Alicia Keys sings about a teenage love affair — not gangsta rap, thankfully. [CL]

• Foxy Brown's legal troubles aren't over. Of course they aren't. [NR]

• Orlando Brown, Raven-Symone's young co-star on That's So Raven, is missing. [Bossip]

• In case you're wondering why urban music is dying a slow death. [SB]

• Can Solange upstage Beyonce? Uh, no. [STR8NYC]

There goes our Alicia Keys crush:

… KEYS has bizarrely claimed the US government invented ‘gangsta rap’ to convince black people to kill each other.

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Hey, have I ever told you guys that I love Beyonce? Well, I do. A lot. Because I do, I cannot let her wedding pass by without a special post, can I? Throughout the six years they've been together, Jay-z and Beyonce have been an intensely private couple, refusing to talk about their relationship even though they never sought to hide it on their numerous Mediterranean vacays, courtside at the Nets games, or at award shows. But the newlyweds were never more obvious in their coupledom than in their many musical collaborations. And now, in celebration of their secret-but-not-secret wedding, which they conducted just as they conduct their relationship (i.e. everyone knows it existed but no one knows much about what went on behind closed doors), here is a retrospective of Beyonce and Jay-Z collabos.

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Marijuana induces paranoia. If you feel that you need any more evidence to support that claim, read The Guardian's new interview with Snoop, in which he not only makes himself look like an ignorant wacko, but Barack Obama — whom he refers to as "that muthafucker" — also. (emphasis ours)

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Do you do drugs? If so, you probably also like rap music. How did I know? Because, according to a new study, all rap musicians do is glamorize drugs! And you won't believe their slang.

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Suge Knight, founder of Death Row Records and probable assassin of Tupac Shakur and Christopher Wallace, is set to star in a new project about his life and work called Unfinished Business. According to preview above, Unfinished Business will present viewers with eye-opening portrayals of Knight et al's strange business practices, which include threats, humiliation and acts of violence. (Not that these are unorthodox business methods, but rarely is the cruelty so straightforward.) Exactly what Unfinished Business is – reality series? direct to DVD documentary? minstrel show? – is unclear and unexplained in the video.

If you know what the hell Unfinished Business is, let us know. And everyone stay out of Suge Knight's way. He is not a nice man.

Gnarls Barkley, the eclectic collaborative effort of vocalist Cee-Lo Green and DJ Danger Mouse, today releases its second album, The Odd Couple. The first single, "Run," is above. Aside from the Justin Timberlake cameo, we can't see anything too wrong with it. Anyone heard the whole album? If so, how is it?