Trailer: The Art of Rap

Ice-T‘s documentary on the craft of hip-hop lyricism in which he interviews over 50 of the great MC’s  including Chuck D, Grandmaster Caz, Eminem, Snoop Dogg, Melle Mel, Q-Tip, Redman, Mos Def, Afrika Bambaataa, B Real, Immortal Tecnique, Ice Cube, MC Lyte, Nas, Dr. Dre, KRS One, Common, Kanye West, and many more. In theaters on June 15th.

Eminem To Become First Artist To Have Year's Top-Selling Album Twice

Eminem is well on his way to breaking another sales record.

Eminem's considerable commercial success is no secret; the Detroit rapper is Hip Hop's top-selling act. Now, the emcee is on the verge of breaking yet another sales record.
According to music.yahoo.com, Eminem is about to become the first artist to have the year's best-selling album twice since the beginning of the Nielsen/Sound began tracking sales for Billboard in 1991.
The emcee's album, Recovery, has sold 3,146,000 copies since its release in June, putting it ahead of Lady Antebellum's Need You Now and Taylor Swift's Speak Now.
The other time Em's album outsold all of the competition for the year was in 2002, with his critically-acclaimed The Eminem Show.

Dr. Dre Trying To Finish "Detox" In Detroit With Eminem

Dre talks to XXL magazine about trying to complete Detox with Em and taking risks in his career.

We may be approaching a decade since we first heard about Detox, but progress is being made. Andre "Dr. Dre" Young has released an official single in "Kush, " complete with a video. Shortly after "Kush" leaked, another track called "I Need A Doctor " featuring Eminem leaked as well. In his upcoming interview in XXL magazine, Dre revealed that he's spent some time in Detroit with Em trying to finish the album.

Jay-Z's Black Album Supposed To Be All DJ Premier

DJ Premier talks about the original Black Album plans and working with Eminem

While making his rounds doing press for his new album (Year Round Records Presents Get Used To Us, out tomorrow), DJ Premier has revealed a lot of interesting things. His sit down with TheWellVersed was no exception, where he spoke about Jay-Z original plans for the The Black Album and on working with Eminem.
"I’ll give you a funny story. Jay-Z reached out to me when he was going to do The Black Album — this was years before he put it out because he postponed it, ended up working on other stuff, and then he came out with the album and decided to retire.

Eminem And Nicki Minaj Top New Social Media Based Billboard Chart

Rihanna tops Billboard's new Social 50 chart; Nicki Minaj and Eminem also break Top 5 on the chart.

Rappers Eminem and Nicki Minaj along with pop singer Rihanna are the first artists to top Billboard’s brand new Social 50 chart. Rihanna topped the chart and was followed by Justin Bieber, Eminem, Lady Gaga, and Nicki Minaj.
This new Billboard chart, which is sponsored by SYNC from American Express, takes into account an artist’s social media impact by tallying up weekly song plays on MySpace, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, and iLike.

Jay-Z, Eminem And Headline Hip Hop's Top-Grossing Tours

Billboard ranks the highest-grossing tours, with Jay-Z and Eminem's "Home And Home" tour accounting for nearly $7 million in only two nights.

When Jay-Z and Eminem’s “Home And Home” tour was announced in May, both analysts and critics expected a success. Now that the numbers are in, the early predictions have been confirmed. Billboard magazine reports Jay and Em raked in a hefty $6.9 million alone for their Comerica Park performances in Detroit from September 2-3. Factor in two more dates at Yankee Stadium, and the pair could be looking at a tour gross upwards of $15 million. With an average attendance of over 86,000, Eminem and Jay-Z were only bested by Metallica’s concert grosses of $7.8 million.

Nas Lyrics Book To Finally Be Released?

Could Nas' long-delayed "Slave to a Page: The Book of Rhymes" finally see a release?

Perhaps in light of the recent success of Jay-Z's Decoded and Eminem's The Way I Am, it appears that Nas' own lyrics book, Slave to a Page: The Book of Rhymes has finally been greenlighted for release.
The book, which some sources indicate has been in the works since 2003, will contain a collection of lyrics, photos and personal stories from the rapper. The title borrows from the hook of popular Nas single, "Made You Look."
Amazon.com indicates that the release date for the book is April 30, 2011.
Nas' camp has yet to confirm whether the release is official.

Eminem Relates To Michael Jackson Over Prescription Drug Problem

Em says he understands what the King of Pop may have been going through with drug dependency.

Eminem recently compared his struggles with drugs to that of Michael Jackson's own public battle with prescription medication, sharing that on any given day, he used to swallow up to 90 pills.

"It's very similar to what I've read about Michael," Em said. "I don't know exactly what he was doing, but I read that he kept getting up in the middle of the night, asking for more [drugs]. That's what I was doing."

New Eminem Album Coming Before 2011?

Alex Da Kid claims we'll have new Eminem music that he worked on before Christmas

Alex Da Kid's discography isn't very long just yet, but the British producer has proven himself to be a hit-maker already. The DXnext alum produced smash singles "Airplanes " for B.o.B. and "Love The Way You Lie " for Eminem, and worked on Nicki Minaj's Pink Friday. He recently let slip that Eminem may just have something in store for us before the new year.

nicki minaj was not dissing lil kim on romans revenge

It’s not often Eminem takes a backseat to anyone or anything. Ever since “Roman’s Revenge” hit the net, the only talk surrounding the record has been the supposed shots Nicki Minaj sent towards Lil Kim – who had was on a mini-crusade against hear earlier this year. While chopping it up with DJ Khaled in Miami on 99 Jamz, Nicki/Roman cleared the air.

Nicki Minaj Teams Up with Eminem for “Pink Friday” Track

This is going to be wild…..

In a recent interview with MTV, Young Money rapper Nicki Minaj revealed that she and Eminem have teamed up for a track on her upcoming album Pink Friday. The song is called “Roman’s Revenge” and features both rappers tapping into their alter egos: Nicki as Roman Zolanski and Em as Slim Shady.
Minaj also went on to add that the collaboration left her in complete shock and credits it for giving her album life. Peep what she said below:

Petition Hearing Denied In F.B.T. vs. Aftermath Digital Download Lawsuit

Producers for Eminem say the denial is "the last word" in what they believe will raise artist's share of digital downloads from 12 to 50 percent.

On September 7, after losing a lawsuit initiated by one-time Eminem producers F.B.T. Productions, Universal Music Group filed a petition for a rehearing in a case disputing the royalty rate artists are given for digital downloads. At the time the lawsuit was filed, artists were given roughly 12 percent from each work downloaded in digital formats such as iTunes or Amazon.com. The original 2004 lawsuit charged Apple and Aftermath (a subsidiary of UMG) with unauthorized distribution of 93 of Em's songs in downloadable formats via iTunes. The suit called for both an increased royalty rate on the songs, and a share of Apple’s iPod profits since Eminem’s “Lose Yourself” was used in an iPod advertisement.

“The denial of rehearing is effectively the last word from the Ninth Circuit,” F.B.T. appellate counsel Daniel Asimow, told DigitalMusicNews.com. “We are very pleased with the Court's decision as it vindicates our position that the agreements between record labels and iTunes and other digital music services are licenses, and record companies have to pay Eminem and F.B.T under the royalty provisions governing licenses of their products.”

Many newer contracts were written to give the 12 percent rate to signed artists, however if a legal precedent is set, artists under older contracts could file suits similar to the one won by F.B.T.

“After the year 2000, after iTunes got going, all the new contracts were revised,” explained former Sony lawyer Steve Gordon. “The new contracts say, ‘We don’t care if iTunes is a license or a sale. Whatever it is, you’re only going to get your 10 percent.’ All of the artists that are big sellers on the Internet are from more than 10 years ago. And that stuff is all subject to the older contracts. I think the Eminem case is going to have a profound effect in terms of getting more money from the record companies into the pockets of the artists.”

Martha Stewart Gives Eminem And Kanye West Props

The homemaking mogul perhaps shocks with her positive take on rappers Eminem and Kanye West.

While it wouldn't be a stretch to call Eminem and Kanye West media darlings (at times), one might be surprised to hear the source of their latest praise: Marth Stewart.
The Queen of homemaking sat down with MTV News recently, and immediately picked the less-than-wholesome Slim Shady and the always-controversial West as natural picks for MTV's "Hottest MCs" list.
"I don't know if he's in the game but I think so 'cause he has an album that's, like, close to the top of the charts. It's always been Eminem. I don't know why, but it's always been," offered Stewart. "[He's] huge, huge, huge."
Stewart also admitted that she "[likes] Kanye West. I think he's very good."

Nick Cannon Accepts Suggested Eminem Charity Boxing Match Offer

"Because he's in hiding, a lot of people don't realize, Eminem is a lil' dude," says Nick Cannon accepting a 

Facebook petition's challenge.   A dated disagreement over Mariah Carey between Rap superstar Eminem and television personality/actor/musician Nick Cannon has come back into the limelight recently. Earlier this month, Cannon released a Slick Rick-inspired diss song, "The Warning," towards the Shady Records front-man. Now, a jovial Cannon has suggested a charity boxing match between R&B diva Carey's past and present lovers.

Bizarre, D12 Respond To Nick Cannon's Eminem Diss

Bizarre and crew call out Nick Cannon for his Slick Rick imitation, and then say Mariah's boo is a "God awful 

rapper."

At this week's Eminem and Jay-Z Yankee Stadium shows in New York City, Shade 45's Angela Yee spoke to Em's longtime group,D12. The popular radio host asked the group about "I'ma Slick Rick," a song released by rapper, actor and television host Nick Cannon earlier this week. The song was a delayed response diss to Eminem, after the Detroit superstar released "The Warning"

B.o.B Headlines Concert For President Obama

Bobby Ray is selected as the featured performer in President Obama's Gen44 Summit Kick Off Concert.

After opening for Jay-Z and Eminem for theirHome & Home concert series, B.o.B has been selected as the featured performer at President Obama’s Gen44 Summit Kick Off Concert. The performance will take place at the DAR Constitution Hall on September 30 inWashington, DC. The concert is part of a summit originated by the Democratic National Committee, which they describe as “a three-day gathering of the next generation of leaders.”