Smooth Hip-Hop Singer and Rapper Nate Dogg Dead At 41

Popular Long Beach, California Native Attended School with Snoop

US hip-hop star Nate Dogg, who worked with Snoop Dogg, Warren G and Eminem, has died at the age of 41. His lawyer, Mark Geragos, said the singer died as a result of complications from two strokes he suffered in recent years.

Snoop Dogg paid tribute to a "true legend of hip-hop and R&B".

Nate Dogg, real name Nathaniel Hale, sang on Warren G's hit Regulate as well as tracks by Dr Dre, 50 Cent and Ludacris. On Twitter, Snoop Dogg said Nate Dogg was "one of my best friends and a brother to me since 1986 when I was a sophomore at Poly High where we met".



Snoop Dogg, Nate Dogg and Warren G began their careers in a rap trio in Long Beach called 213 in the early 1990s. Nate Dogg went on to feature on such hits as 50 Cent's 21 Questions, Eminem's Shake That and Area Codes by Ludacris.

Ludacris tweeted: "There is a certain void in hip-hop's heart that can never be filled. Glad we got to make history together."

His manager Rod McGrew tells TMZ that Nate Dogg’s life came to an unexpected end despite the progress he had made. He was “95% recovered from the first stroke in 2007” when a second stroke struck in 2008, rendering him partially paralyzed and causing partial memory loss. Up until his death, he had “cognitively fully recovered,” meaning that he had become completely aware and got his memory back.

McGrew spoke on behalf of Nate Dogg’s family and thanked fans for the overwhelming support. “We appreciate the enormous outpouring of response from all over the world. We greatly appreciate that and thank everyone for their prayers and support,” read the statement. “We know that Nate will be hanging out with his good friends 2Pac and Biggie.”

Rapper Rick Ross, Studio Gangsta

By Jayar Jackson

Drug kingpin turned rapper Rick Ross is taking some serious heat for his “shaky” past. No, the police are not after him for “making a couple million dollars last year dealin weight.”

They’re not even looking into the hundred favors that “the real Noriega” owes Ross. Rick Ross, aka William Roberts is under fire from hip hop fans that are upset or laughing that his connection to drug kingpins was only while locking them up.

After pictures of a young, clean shaven Ross surfaced last week of him shaking hands as a newly crowned corrections officer, many hip hop fans were in disbelief that this virtual Tony Montana lied to them. “The Boss” proceeded to vehemently deny the accusations, saying that the picture was photoshopped by haters trying to bring him down from the top of the game.

“If this s**t was real don't you think they would have more specifics, like dates and everything? Fake pictures are created by the fake, meant to entertain the fake.”

Mr. Roberts failed to remember what many of our politicians let slip their minds: we keep records of everything; we videotape and take pictures of everything else. So, with his desperate denials out there, the Smoking Gun produced the specifics he was asking for. The dates, salary, and length of time he worked for Florida’s Department of Corrections. Whoops!

Now, let’s keep it gangsta. (I won’t say that anymore.) Does it really matter that William Leonard Roberts was a 19 year old corrections officer for 18 months back in ’95? Does it matter that he talks about knowing the real Noriega? Actually, if you ever really believed that this performer that graced stages and recorded albums was stupid enough to be out on the streets “pushin weight” for a couple million dollars last year, then you should be upset with yourself. Maybe he was talking about pushing your weight to the record store to buy his “street life” music you envied him for.

Hip hop started as a way for the artists to talk about their lives and where they come from. Sometimes the stories spoke of the horrors of the streets, drugs, and crime. This used to educate the people that didn’t live that life about the things that happened outside of their little bubble. Somehow, this ugly street life that no one desires to live turned into a desirable goal by the kids that never lived it. Somewhere along the way, these kids changed their dreams from wanting to go to pharmacy school to just being a street pharmacist. Since some real “Gs” made fame and fortune rapping about their past, everyone else saw the benefits of gangsta rap. If you didn’t live it, just make it up!


We’re so wrapped up in the soap opera that many performers write for us, we’ve been missing how ridiculous the storyline has gotten. Now that one of the script writers has been exposed as a legitimate, law abiding citizen, some are upset?? Trust me, Hulk Hogan didn’t actually get stronger every time The Ultimate Warrior hit him with the chair at Wrestlemania. And what’s so wrong with never being locked up, never getting shot 5 times, and never helping turn your neighborhood into a war zone?

We need to make up our minds about hip hop and our community. One minute, we blame the rappers for writing misogynistic, profanity-laden lyrics about selling drugs and shooting people. We want them to stop glorifying a murderous street life and stop setting negative examples for our kids. Then we call them suckers when it’s discovered that they’re married to their high school sweetheart that they lost their virginity to, they have 2 kids that live in the suburbs, and every time little Ricky swears, he has to put his allowance in the Swear Jar.

Rapper Lil Wayne Awaits DNA Report: Some Times When You Lose... You Really Win!

Lil Wayne is anticipating doctors news of a new arrival and it's not a baby daughter or son. No, due any day now is the DNA report from the New York medical examiner's office that will tell prosecutors whether or not the rapper's genetic material matches traces recovered from a loaded, snazzy, green, .40-caliber semi-automatic pistol.

At the same time first-week sales show Lil Wayne has the hottest CD of 2008 and is on its way to the first million-plus seller in three years!!

The awaited DNA report may put him behind bars for a minimum of 3-1/2 years. But in the end, going to jail will solidifying 'gangsta' credentials and thus sell even more CDs.

Police say the gun was inside an equally snazzy Louis Vuitton bag that Lil Wayne jettisoned from his lap when cops boarded his tour bus at Columbus Ave. and W. 61st St. on July 22, 2007. Lil Wayne, whose real name was recorded on the arrest report as Dwayne Carter, resisted giving a DNA sample.

A judge ordered otherwise and Lil Wayne complied on May 13 in a hallway at Manhattan Supreme Court, swabbing the inside of his mouth with a cotton swab under the gaze of police.

Prosecutors expected the results back within three weeks, or around June 2. The report on whether it is Lil Wayne's DNA on the gun was still not in on June 10, when his CD "Tha Carter III" was released.

Sales have been down more than 10% industry wide, but the rapper who has favored lyrics such as "Most likely imma die with my finger on the trigga" went for raunch over rage, sex over violence with the hit song "Lollipop."

The result was 430,000 copies of the CD sold on the very first day of its release, a blockbuster in any era, a truly remarkable figure in an age of pirated copies and file-sharing and single-song downloads.

At the same time, more than a half-million people paid to download "Lollipop" as a ring tone. Cell phones all over the city emitted snippets of the hit as the moment neared when the medical examiner's office would call the prosecutors to say the DNA results were complete.

The DNA on the gun may prove not to be his, but the star of "Tha Carter III" can expect Tha Minimum III1/2 years in prison if his DNA is found to match that recovered from the model XD-40 Springfield Armory pistol, serial number US436285.

Other tests have established that the gun was fully functional, loaded with nine bullets and showed evidence of discharge. A check for fingerprints was negative, but such checks are seldom positive when it comes to handguns.

In the court papers documenting the rap against Lil Wayne is an exchange he is alleged to have had with Police Officer Diane Hornung at the time of his arrest.

"What am I being charged with?" Lil Wayne supposedly asked.

"Criminal possession of a weapon," Hornung said.

"I have a permit for that gun in Florida."

"You do? Do you have it on you?"

"No."

The Florida permit would have no legal bearing on the case, but the statement could be taken as an implicit admission that the gun belongs to him. Lil Wayne's best hope is that at least the DNA on the pistol belongs to someone else.

Otherwise, the rapper may have more than sales reports to teach him the wisdom of going for sex over violence, lollipops over gats.

Lil Wayne may beat the case and go on to enjoy his "Lollipop" of success, or the Manhattan district attorney may teach him a big lesson: That even rappers who sell a million CDs have to adhere to Tha Rules. Source: Michael Daly, mdaly@nydailynews.com

Rapper Rick Ross Boss Has Our Own Kevin Ross Shaking His Head

3BAAS Media's Kevin Ross is the only Boss on this site, but we've gotta ask "Are Black folks still feeling gangsta rap???"

White Guys Gone Wild: Singing Nasty Rap Lyrics In Public Lands Florida Teen In The Pokey!

A 19-year-old man was arrested Sunday night for singing the lyrics to a profane rap song as he walked on a Florida street.

Christopher Holder was nabbed after a woman complained to police that her two children (ages five and 14) heard Holder repeatedly reciting the words "mutha******."

When questioned by deputies, Holder "immediately began arguing that he did nothing wrong," and explained that he was merely covering a song by Louisiana rapper Lil' Boosie, whose most recent album, "Bad Azz," includes cuts like "My Nigga" and "Fuck You." But Holder, pictured in the below mug shot, added that he "agreed that he did not believe children needed to hear language such as that being hollered down the road." According to a Hernando County Sheriff's Office report, Holder was charged with disorderly conduct, a misdemeanor.

"Nigger" Hits the Streets in December: Are You Really Trying To Rush Rapper Nas' Upcoming Album?

Don't Hate On This Brother Just Yet, He Just Might Surprise You

By Jayar Jackson

Hip Hop superstar, and respected lyricist Nas has quite a bit of steam behind the December 11th release of his new album “Nigger.” Fox reported that a source close to Def Jam chairman Antonio “LA” Reid said Nas wouldn’t be releasing an album this year, and it definitely wouldn’t be called “Nigger.”

Contrary to the always honest reporting of Fox News, Reid boldly stated that “We stand firmly behind and beside our artists with pride and with pleasure. Anything Nas wants to do, I completely stand beside him. Nas is prolific, he's prophetic, he's a genius, an amazing artist of respect. So, while I'm not sure exactly all that [the title] entails, I know it's smart, so I stand behind him. That's real.” Support for Nas’ controversial title included fellow well respected artists Common and Method Man.

Now before the detractors’ heads explode, and vow to never buy their another Nas, Def Jam, Common, or Method Man record ever again for the first time, let’s remember who we’re talking about and what he’s saying. Nas is the artist that has always brought some kind of meaning and purpose to most of his lyrics, somehow finding a way to still speak to hardcore hip hop fans that have been hypnotized enough to accept hip hop as a mindless genre, talking about hos, rims, shooting, and money. When many artists speak positive messages, they’re written off as corny, but his single, “I Can” still came across.

“I'm a street disciple,” Nas explained. “I'm talking to the streets. Stay out of our business. You ain't got no business worrying about what the word 'nigger' is or acting like you know what my album is about without talking to me.” For all the critics that look to jump to conclusions about how he’s trying to degrade his race and continue to bring the conversation down to calling himself and his brothers niggers, a good place to start is by asking, “What does the album “Nigger” mean?” When respected poets utilize the word to make a point, they are primarily seen as deep and thoughtful. Just because Nas curses and has done collaborations with the likes of Diddy, Ginuwine, and Timbaland, his perceived thoughtfulness that he’s always brought to his albums is quickly forgotten, all over this word.

Are these blind critics assuming that Nas can’t carry a conversation about the words and inspiration that went into this title? Maybe they think he was falling asleep from all the weed those rap guys smoke all the time and when asked what the title should be, he said, “Aw…Nigger.” To be this ignorant is accepting and owning the term that too many hateful people harbor, thinking that this word can get the mildest mannered Black man to snap upon overhearing it. Maybe he’s trying to diffuse the “power” that many racists believe it has over us, which some of us continue to mentally bow down to. Perhaps he’s sick of an entire country afraid of saying, hearing, or writing the word without a couple of asterisks and squiggle lines to censor it. Or what if he just like the way it rolls off of his tongue?

What does Nas mean by the title on this new album? Until we stop haphazardly labeling him a nigger by refusing to ask the question, and instead choosing to ignore it until it miraculously disappears, we’ll miss his point and keep ours bottled up as well. Now remind me again, what would that accomplished?

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RAPPER FIFTY CENTS IS LIKE THE STOCK MARKET THIS WEEK: BOTH KEEP GOING DOWN

Curtis Jackson went straight ghetto this week after finding out that a new video for a song called "Follow My Lead," leaked to the web. With an intended drop in October, the video features a collaboration with Robin "Play That Funky Music White Boy" Thicke.

50 Cent Ready To Quit If Kanye West Outsells Him

Believing it was leaked by his label Interscope Records, Fiddy allegedly told music execs that he would not promo his new record "Curtis," which drops on September 11. The irate brother then went on a destructive rampage, according to Miss Info, ripping a 70-inch plasma screen TV off the wall and throwing his phone straight through the window of his executive office. (TMZ)

Al Sharpton's Day of Outrage

Protests were held in more than 20 cities Tuesday over the use of degrading lyrics by the music industry, the Rev. Al Sharpton said.

He called Tuesday for the withdrawal of public funds from entertainment companies that "won't clean up their act."

Read more on this story here.