• 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.

CONTINUED »

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.

CONTINUED »

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)

CONTINUED »

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.

CONTINUED »

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?

At a performance last night in London, England, inky rapper and vocal proponent of cough syrup abuse Lil' Wayne encountered something he seldom does stateside: a chorus of boos.

After being hit in the chest with an unidentified object, Young Weezy implored the crowd to beat the person who had launched the projectile; he then said he refused to continue and pronounced the show over. As he stormed off stage, Wayne was showered with bottles.

Oh, rap shows, when will you stop being embarrassing for everyone involved?

Blingy Oscar winners Three 6 Mafia are doing a "Strip Club Tour" to promote their new album, Last 2 Walk, and they're inviting press. Hello! But – awwwwwwwwww – as is always the case when dealing with Southern hip hop, New York gets no love. The group will only be doing dates in nudie bars below the Mason-Dixon Line, Chicago and Detroit. Send us a photo!

Jamal Woolard, a little-known Brooklyn based rapper also known as Gravy, has been picked from hundreds of hopefuls to star as late, great rapper the Notorious BIG (né Christopher Wallace) in the upcoming biopic Notorious.

Along with being an emcee himself and fulfilling the hefty requisite size requirement ("They don't call me Big for nothin'"), Woolard is experienced in yet another way that will surely offer authenticity to his role: he was once a victim of a shooting. In fact, The Hollywood Reporter considers that his most famous achievement to date: "…he's perhaps best known for being shot before a radio appearance outside the New York hip-hop station Hot 97 two years ago, after which he proceeded with the interview and became a part of hip-hop lore." Oh, he's also tough as shit.

A dance craze sweeping the Côte d'Ivoire is driving the nation's females to unhealthy lengths to augment the size of their asses.

Not kidding! DJ Mix and DJ Eloh's hit song "Bobaraba," which means "big bottom" in the Djoula language, is, according the the buttoned-down BBC, "guaranteed [to have] the dance floor…packed with people shaking their derrieres."

The "Back That Ass Up" of Africa, "Bobaraba," according to DJ Mix, was made to honor the female form: "We made it as a tribute to women, because African women are defined by the shape of their bottoms."

We're very resistant to the idea that any woman, regardless of nationality, is defined by her parts. Oddly, many women are not. And for some, a plump rear is worth the dangerous cosmetic procedures snake oil salesmen say will give them one. To wit:

"You need to inject this liquid into your bottom once a day," says a market trader, showing a vial of coloured liquid labelled "Vitamin B12". Each vial costs $2. The label claims it is made in China.

If you do not like the sound of injections, the same amount of money will also get you a small tub of cream. There is no description of what the product contains or how to apply it; just the words "Big bottoms and big breasts", and two illustrating pictures.

Local gynaecologist Dr Marcel Sissoko is sceptical about the concoctions. "This medicine could be dangerous for your health because we don't know the ingredients. It's being used without a medical prescription," he warns.

Obviously: "…Dr Victoria Drake says she knows of no scientific evidence that vitamin B12 can be used to treat anything except vitamin B12 deficiency."

After the jump, the Bobaraba. Is it worth an ass infection?

CONTINUED »

Next Tuesday, Tyra Banks, ex-model and current host of an awkward, unfulfilling talk show, will be airing an interview with pop princess Janet Jackson. Janet will be discussing her new album, Discipline, and then it looks like Tyra kicks her ass. Do tune in!

• The Glow in the Dark tour dates have been announced — you know you were waiting. [MTV]

• All the best quotes come from Snoop's reality show. [MG]

• Is Jamie Lynn Spears going to make an appearance in Lil Romeo's new reality show? [SOHH]

• After rap, of course, country music has the most references to alcohol, drugs, tobacco. Oh, y'all have never heard "Tequila Makes Her Clothes Fall Off?" [Reuters]

• At some point, you've got to ask this woman, why the hell were you O.J. Simpson's girlfriend to begin with? [PH]