Arrested Development back with new CD

Their breakthrough album was called "3 Years, 5 Months and Two Days in the Life Of ...," a nod to the long struggle fledgling rappers Arrested Development faced between the day they formed and the day they signed a record deal.

Now, it's been 13 years since their last U.S. release. And the Atlanta group that topped charts and earned a pair of Grammys with their upbeat, socially conscious brand of rap in the early '90s is back — hoping to again find a place on a drastically changed musical landscape.

"Since the Last Time," released Tuesday on the group's independent Vagabond Records, carries the same funky, Southern-fried vibe of '90s hits like "Tennessee," and "Mr. Wendal."

The question now becomes whether an independent rap album that tackles spirituality and inner-city gentrification can find an audience in an industry in which party anthems and sexually suggestive rhymes dominate the airwaves and sales charts.

"I believe in miracles," said Speech, the group's lead rapper, quoting "Miracles," the album's first single, which addresses the group's comeback effort.

"People have been saying they're tired of this one-dimensional viewpoint of our community, of what our values are," he said. "Now, it's an opportunity to put their money where their mouth is and support music that's not about that."

After "3 Years, 5 Months and Two Days ...," which sold over 4 million copies and earned the group the Best New Artist Grammy and a Best Rap Performance award for "Tennessee," Arrested Development released 1994's "Zingalamaduni," which received some critical acclaim but couldn't match the popular appeal of their first effort.

The group — which predated the emergence of the Atlanta-based "Dirty South" rap movement by nearly a decade — split soon after, amid internal dissension and a shift in the kind of rap artists that the mainstream music industry would promote.

Bill Adler is a hip-hop historian who helped write and produce "And You Don't Stop: 30 Years of Hip Hop," a five-part documentary series for VH1. He said Arrested Development was among the "last gasp" of a wave of socially conscious rappers who also were able to achieve widespread commercial and critical success.

"At that point, conscious hip-hop and so-called gangster rap were kind of at war with each other," he said. "I think the so-called gangster rappers emerged on top and they've really defined hip-hop pretty exclusively ever since."

The group pursued solo projects until 2000, when Speech reassembled most of the original members to tour and record — almost exclusively in Europe and Asia.

"We stayed away from the United States because the atmosphere here was so anti-message," he said. "We stayed away from the U.S. for 12 years and released music everywhere but here."

Now, he said, the group sees a possible opening closer to home.

"With the Don Imus situation, with the Jena 6, with all the recent sort of awakening that's happening, where people are at least starting to talk, maybe it's time for us to start releasing music here again," said Speech, 38.

He's reassembled four of the group's original six members (there are eight band members in all now). He said singer Aerle Taree has had voice problems that caused her to lose most of her vocal range.

Speech said only group co-founder Headliner, who the rapper said was once his closest friend, turned down the reunion after what Speech called bad blood over "business differences" when the group achieved international success.

"From that point on, we had some very bitter disagreements," he said. "The good news has been, over the time that's passed, we've become cordial again to where, when we see each other, we're happy to see each other.

"We know what buttons not to push and we don't push those buttons."

In 2005, the group got a mild boost — albeit in the tenuous world of reality television — when they won on an episode of NBC's short-lived "Hit Me Baby One More Time," in which once-popular groups competed for crowd votes performing their own hits and covering versions of current ones.

The band's reworking of "Heaven," by fellow Grammy winners Los Lonely Boys, appears on "Since The Last Time" and was first performed on that show.

"A lot of the members had become spiritual over the years and that song made a lot more sense to us than some of the other songs we were offered," said Speech, who in addition to solo performing has preached sermons at churches in Atlanta and New York. "The response to it was so overwhelming we decided to include it on the record."

Adler, who briefly did publicity work for Arrested Development in the '90s, said it's unclear how much of a splash the album will be able to make in the current rap market.

"It's not like the need for conscious hip-hop has ever gone away — it's just that it's very, very rare for a self-described conscious rapper to break through and make a pop hit," Adler said. "I'm not so sure why that is. You can say the culture at large has become less conscious and more materialistic; it's not like the rappers have a monopoly on low consciousness and materialism."

While hoping for his miracle, Speech seems to embrace whatever comes on "Stand," a track on the new record.

"It's better to write for ourselves and have no public," he raps, "than write for the public and have no self."

Gun charges put T.I.'s future in limbo

With all the questions swirling around Clifford "T.I." Harris Jr. since his arrest on federal weapons charges, perhaps the most pointed came from the judge who is hearing the superstar rapper's case.

"Mr. Harris is an exceptionally gifted and talented musician. He is exceptionally generous and has reached out to the community," U.S. Magistrate Judge Alan J. Baverman said during a bail hearing last week, with the defendant sitting before him in a navy pinstriped suit. "Somebody who has so many gifts to do good and do well ... risks it all by showing up at a gun deal."

That dichotomy has been on the minds of many in Harris's Atlanta hometown and beyond: How could a man at the top of his career risk it all in such a public, foolish act — just blocks from a stage that would only increase his fame? Or does this drug dealer made good, who recently watched his best friend die after a highway gun battle, actually need illegal machine guns for protection?

At 27, Harris is years and seemingly a world away from the criminal life, having grown into his self-proclaimed title of "King of the South." But authorities say that on Oct. 13, about an hour before a scheduled performance at the BET Hip-Hop Awards, Harris showed up to buy unregistered machine guns and silencers. He already had three guns in his car — one of them loaded — when he was arrested, authorities say.

Harris is charged with possession of unregistered machine guns and silencers, as well as possession of firearms by a convicted felon. He faces a maximum of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine on each count.

Baverman was scheduled to decide Friday whether Harris could be released on bond.

To persuade the judge, his lawyers have proposed a $2.2 million bond, and offered to augment the GPS electronic monitoring with a live-in monitor while Harris awaits trial.

Jay-Z gives fans a preview of his new CD

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Jay-Z went back to Brooklyn to give fans an early listen to some of the music on his upcoming album, "American Gangster."

On a studio lot for VH1's "Storytellers" series, Jay-Z, along with a full band, performed several tracks from the album inspired by the upcoming Denzel Washington-Russell Crowe flick.

"American Gangster," in theaters Nov. 2, chronicles the rise and fall of notorious Harlem drug lord Frank Lucas. Jay-Z said watching the film made him reflect on his own drug-slinging days and the dangers of that lifestyle.

"I was watching the movie and I was pulling emotions from the film," the 37-year-old rapper told the crowd, which included girlfriend Beyonce, on Wednesday night.

Among the new songs he previewed were "Pray," "Dreamin'" and "Party Life," and another about addiction.

"Can I get my Lindsay Lohan on?" he joked before launching into his rap, though he quickly added: "I definitely went too far ... I might have to edit that."

Between explaining the songs, the rapper also talked about the state of the rap game.

"I know there's a whole thing on censorship; this album is an easy target. I think it's misplaced," he said. He also seemed to criticize those who are against the use of the N-word in rap lyrics, noting there are other hurtful slurs in the language: "What are we going to do, take every word off the table?"

Jay-Z stressed that "American Gangster," due out Nov. 6, is an album with a story from beginning to end — something he says too many rap discs lack.

"I'm not knocking the way anybody makes (their music)," he said, "(but) I think a body of work is what the game needs right now."

"VH1 Storytellers: Jay-Z: Life of an American Gangster" debuts Nov. 8 on VH1.

Foxy Brown put in punitive segregation

Rapper Foxy Brown has received 76 days in punitive segregation after she scuffled with another inmate at Rikers Island jail, authorities said Tuesday.

Brown was separated from other inmates on Oct. 16, said Stephen Morello, deputy commissioner for public information for the city's correction department.

Brown, 28, and another inmate got into a shoving match earlier this month, said Morello, adding he didn't know why the two were fighting. Neither inmate was injured.

Following that incident, Morello said Brown was abusive toward correction guards and then refused to take a random drug test.

The combined violations, Morello said, earned Brown more than two months in punitive segregation, where an inmate can spend up to 23 hours a day in isolation.

A message left with Brown's lawyer was not immediately returned.

Brown is serving a year at Rikers for violating her probation in a case stemming from a Manhattan fight she had with manicurists in a nail salon.

Authorities said Brown, whose real name is Inga Marchand, skipped her required anger management classes and traveled out of the city without permission.

Brown also refused to attend court in Brooklyn Oct. 12 after she was accused of throwing a cell phone at a neighbor who complained about the volume of her car radio in August. Four days later, she appeared in court and was arraigned on charges of assault, attempted assault, menacing and criminal possession of a weapon — the cell phone. She has pleaded not guilty.

The Inc.'s Irv Gotti does reality TV

Irv Gotti is hoping that his new reality show will help him get to the top of the music world once again.

In the late '90s, Gotti was one of the most influential names in the industry. His record label, Murder Inc., was responsible for churning out hit after hit from Ja Rule and Ashanti, both of whom sold millions of records. But the good times didn't last long.

The careers of both his superstar acts began to cool off. Then, in 2004, his label came under investigation for alleged money laundering. The following year, Gotti and his brother were charged — and eventually acquitted — of the charges. But the damage had been done. The Inc. (Gotti dropped Murder from the name the label) no longer ruled the airwaves.

Now Gotti is documenting his comeback efforts in his VH1 reality show, "Gotti's Way." He even got his family in on the act as the show profiles his complicated relationship with his estranged wife Deb. While Gotti knows that starring in a reality show may hurt his chances of being taken seriously, it is a gamble he is willing to take.

AP: Do you think starring in a reality show will come off as corny?

Gotti: Especially on VH1. I tell VH1 that all the time. They have a stigma that even if you do a show, once you do a show with them, you are corny and washed up. We are hoping with my show to change that stigma. That is something I openly talked about. I'm like, "Your stigma is pretty bad." Anyone who goes on VH1, you could very well have a hit show, but you are corny. You are washed up. With my show, they are directly trying to remove that stigma.

AP: Are you worried that your wife is going to see you on camera with other women?

Gotti: I told Deb, when Deb kicked me out of the house, let's just get it out there. I was a cheating bastard. ... When she kicked me out it was funny because there was a lot of hatred that she had towards me. It was no good. After she kicked me out, I told her, "You placed your bet. You placed your bet once you kicked me out that I wouldn't survive and function without seeing my kids and waking up because I love ... my kids." I grew accustomed once I was out of the house because I was working so much. It was like seeing them just on the weekends was almost the same thing as when I was living there. Me and her developed a friendship and once we developed a friendship, I confessed. It was like a cleansing period. I told her every crazy thing that I did and it was no more lies.

AP: What is your relationship like with your wife?

Gotti: It is confusing because if you ask me, I would do anything for Deb. If she needed my kidneys I would take a knife and cut me open and hand it to her. If she needed a body part I would give it to her. If a car was coming to hit her, I would jump in front of it just to stop (it) so it wouldn't hit her. If you ask me if I can stop (cheating) ... Yo ... (laughs) ... it's just honest. It's like, what are you to do? Me and her have developed such a cool friendship. She is like my man. She is like Ja. She is like my brother. That's my man and I would never hurt my man knowing I'm going to hurt him.

AP: You were written about extensively in Karrine Steffans tell-all book, "Confessions of a Video Vixen." Why do celebrities keep sleeping with her?

Gotti: They want to see ... "Why they call you Superhead?" With the whole (Don) Imus thing, everyone was getting down on calling women hoes. But, what do you call her? I would never call a beautiful black woman anything out of her name because she doesn't present herself (in that manner), but what do you call Karrine Steffans? They are hard adjectives but they are accurate. ... She is a girl who likes doing that to show people she is really good at that. She wants to show people. I know that sounds crazy but if she sees a new celebrity, she wants to show that celebrity, 'I'm ill with it.' Trust me. I'm cool with her because she pulled off a great thing. She took what she did and now she is making money so more power to her. When I see her, it's all good.

AP: You say a lot of the success of The Inc. hinges Ja Rule being successful. Do you feel like you a taking a gamble considering he has not had a hit in a while?

Gotti: No. I am never taking a gamble on Ja. He started it. He is the one that said, "It's murder." I always want him to be successful. Murder Inc.'s success, even if Ja stops making records forever, Ja is still going to be running Murder Inc. with me. He is still going to be getting money with me. I just love him so much. I always want him to win. He is always my highest priority. Always.

AP: You built Murder Inc. on hip-hop, but now you are branching out into different genres of music.

Gotti: That is what I always wanted to do. When I look at the other music greats, I want to follow in their footsteps and I can't if I am just the urban guy. My vision has always been to have the biggest record label in the world and to have all of these different acts. Not just hip-hop. Hip-hop is in me because I'm from Hollis, Queens. It's just in me and it is the easiest for me to do. I can hear everything. I hear Vanessa Carlton and I know at least in my opinion whether it is hot or not hot. I have another group too Thunderkatz that are like a Black Eyed Peas sort of group. I have Channel 7 who are like today's version of Prince in a hip-hop way. I am all over the place and I can be all over the place because I love music.

AP: What do you say to people who say you are done musically and will never be back on top?

Gotti: It's all good. I give an explanation with hip-hop. I sum it up like this. ... Hip-hop is something where they root for the underdog. They put that underdog on a pedestal. They cheer for them. Once you are on top, how Murder Inc. was on top, they heard our story. They take you off that pedestal. It ain't that they don't love you. Hip-hop likes to test you and put you through certain things to see what kind of dude you are made of. If you come back from that, you are good. Everything that comes from hip-hop, I love it because I love hip-hop with a passion. It's all good. They can have their opinions and I will change them — through music. Through being successful. After I changed it, they will go, "All of that stuff that guy went through and he is still right there. He's good."

T.I. asks for bond while he awaits trial

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T.I.'s lawyers asked a federal judge Friday to release the rapper on $2.2 million bond and allow him to have monitored home confinement while he awaits trial on weapons charges.

Defense attorney Ed Garland proposed putting a person in T.I.'s home 24 hours a day to monitor activities there.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Alan Baverman said he will reserve his ruling on the singer's bond request until Oct. 26, when T.I.'s lawyers are expected to present a home monitor who must be approved by the court, pretrial services officials and prosecutors.

T.I., whose real name is Clifford Harris, would also have to submit to electronic monitoring. Only those on a preapproved list of visitors would be able to enter the home. Harris would surrender his passport and his right to drive, and would submit to random searches of the home and random drug screening.

Several record company executives, including some from Atlantic Records and Warner Music Group, were seated in the courtroom. Officials said they were prepared to offer signature bond on Harris' behalf in excess of $1 million.

Prosecutors countered that because of Harris' criminal history and because he was arrested while allegedly trying to buy machine guns and silencers, he poses a flight risk and danger to the community.

Harris was indicted by a federal grand jury Wednesday on weapons charges, including possession of machine guns.

His indictment followed his arrest last Saturday for allegedly possessing unregistered machine guns and silencers and of being a convicted felon in possession of firearms.

Harris, 27, faces up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for each count.

Jay-Z says he regrets early 'retirement'

Wait a minute, didn't Jay-Z say he was retiring TWO albums ago? "I want to never say that again," the 37-year-old rap mogul says in XXL magazine's new issue.

"Just make the albums, man. And if one day people wake up and it's four years later, and you haven't made another, they go, `Wait a minute, you're retired!' I think that's best for me."

"I think I pulled the retirement ripcord too many times. People looking at me like, `Please shut up.' I was looking at (his retirement movie) `Fade to Black' the other day. I was embarrassed. I couldn't watch. I'm not playing with you. I had to turn it off," he says. "I was cringing."

Jay's new project is an album about his hustling days, inspired by the upcoming film "American Gangster." That places him in competition with hot rappers of the moment — like Lil Wayne, who after Jay "retired" proclaimed himself the "greatest rapper alive."

"I think Lil Wayne is extremely talented," Jay says. "I think he's one of the most talented ones out there. I mean, even more so how his delivery is than what he says. I don't think some of the things he says sometimes are the greatest things, but the way he delivers it, that's part of it."

"But do I think me and Lil Wayne should be in the same sentence? Me? No," Jay says. "I mean, hopefully one day. He has to accumulate work. Put some classics under his belt."

A superstar girlfriend like Beyonce wouldn't hurt as an equalizer.

"I think people are only interested in (a relationship) three times: When you get together, when you break up, and when you have a baby," Jay says. "They don't have good intentions. People just want to manipulate the situation to benefit them. I think relationships are broken up because of the media."

Nas names new CD after racial epithet

To some, it's a hurtful racial epithet. For Nas, it's an album title.

The rapper told MTV News that he would indeed be naming his new album after the N-word. And he denied earlier reports that the album's title would be spelled "N---a," considered in some circles a less inflammatory epithet. He said the disc is due out Dec. 11.

"(People) shouldn't trip off the (album's) title; the songs are crazier than the title," he said in an interview posted on MTV's Web site.

But some have been outraged by the rapper's choice.

"The title using the 'N' word is morally offensive and socially distasteful. Nas has the right to degrade and denigrate in the name of free speech, but there is no honor in it," the Rev. Jesse Jackson said in a news release. "Radio and television stations have no obligation to play it and self-respecting people have no obligation to buy it. I wish he would use his talents to lift up and inspire, not degrade."

There were reports that his label, Def Jam, had scuttled the title idea. But Nas told MTV that he has had no opposition from the label, and said his intent in naming the album the N-word was to take the sting out of it.

"We're taking power from the word," he added. "No disrespect to none of them who were part of the civil rights movement, but some ... in the streets don't know who (civil rights activist) Medgar Evers was ... they know who Nas is," the rapper said, referring to the civil rights leader slain in the 1960s.

"And to my older people who don't know who Nas is and who don't know what a street disciple is, stay outta this (expletive) conversation. We'll talk to you when we're ready. Right now, we're on a whole new movement. We're taking power from that word."

A representative for Def Jam did not immediately respond to an e-mail seeking comment from The Associated Press sent after business hours.

The use of the N-word is common in rap, though rapper Chamillionaire recently declared he would no longer use that word or curse in his rhymes.

T.I. remains jailed on weapons charges

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T.I. was ordered Monday to remain in custody on federal weapons charges until a bail hearing later this week.

The chart-topping rapper was arrested Saturday, hours before his scheduled performance at the BET Hip Hop Awards. Federal authorities say he tried to buy three machine guns and two silencers from a man cooperating with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco Firearms and Explosives.

T.I., born Clifford Harris, appeared briefly in federal court Monday. Wearing a black shirt and black jeans, he entered the courtroom expressionless and scanned the crowd filled with family, supporters and media.

The government wants to keep the 27-year-old rapper in custody as the case proceeds, but his attorneys planned to argue for his release on bond at a hearing scheduled for Friday.

A federal firearms dealer contacted the ATF this month about a man seeking to buy a machine gun without registering the weapon, according to a criminal complaint filed Saturday in U.S. District Court in Atlanta.

After attempting to purchase several machine guns from an undercover ATF agent, the unnamed individual — who said he had been a bodyguard for T.I. since July 2007 — was arrested. He began cooperating with the government and said that he was buying the machine guns and silencers for Harris, a convicted felon, the complaint said.

T.I. ended up winning two awards at Saturday's show.

Rapper T.I. arrested before awards show

Grammy-winning rapper T.I. was arrested Saturday — just hours before he was to perform at the BET Hip-Hop Awards — in a parking lot where federal officials said he planned to pick up machine guns and silencers his bodyguard bought for him.

T.I., born Clifford Harris, is charged with possession of unregistered machine guns and silencers, as well as possession of firearms by a convicted felon. Harris was in federal custody, said U.S. attorney's office spokesman Patrick Crosby, who would not disclose his location.

Sydney Margetson, a spokesman for T.I.'s label, Atlantic Records, declined to comment Saturday evening.

The arrest resulted from an investigation that began this month. A federal firearms dealer told the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives that a man was inquiring about buying a machine gun without registering the weapon as required, according to a criminal complaint filed Saturday in U.S. District Court in Atlanta.

After trying to buy several machine guns from an undercover ATF agent, the unnamed person began cooperating with the government and said he was buying the machine guns and silencers for Harris, the complaint said. The bodyguard said that he had bought about nine firearms for Harris, and that the rapper had given him cash to buy guns four times, the complaint said.

Harris brokered the deals through the bodyguard because the rapper is a convicted felon, the complaint alleged. It is against federal law for a convicted felon to have another person get firearms on their behalf.

The 27-year-old rapper arranged to meet with the bodyguard Saturday to exchange cash for weapons, the complaint said. After his arrest in the shopping center parking lot not far from the awards show, agents found three firearms in the vehicle he was driving, including a loaded firearm between the driver's seat and center console, according to the complaint.

As the awards were being taped in Atlanta on Saturday night, federal authorities were still searching T.I.'s home in East Point, about 15 miles southwest of the city.

Agents found six guns in a closet, including three allegedly bought by the bodyguard for the rapper last month, according to the complaint. Five were loaded, agents said.

T.I. had been expected to perform at the BET show, which is to be broadcast Wednesday, and was nominated in nine categories. Instead, the rapper was noticeably absent from red carpet festivities before the show began at 6 p.m.

The co-chief executive of Grand Hustle Records won three awards at last year's inaugural BET Hip-Hop Awards and received nine nominations this year, including CD of the Year, Lyricist of the Year and MVP of the Year. His sixth album, "T.I. vs. T.I.P.," was released July 3 and debuted at No. 1.

T.I. won two Grammys in 2006, including best rap/sung collaboration for "My Love" with Justin Timberlake. He also hit the big screen in "ATL" that year, and he has a role opposite Academy Award winners Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe in "American Gangster," set for release Nov. 2.

T.I. grew up in Atlanta and was selling crack by the time he was a teenager. In 2004, warrants were issued for his arrest on probation violations for a drug conviction, and he was sentenced to three years behind bars. It wasn't clear Saturday how much of the sentence he actually served.

Foxy Brown won't get on bus for court

Foxy Brown, who is serving a one-year jail term, twice refused to get on a correction department bus Friday for a court appearance, the prosecutor's office said.

The 28-year-old rapper was arrested in August and accused of striking Arlene Raymond, 25, after the pair got into a fight July 30 over Brown blasting her car stereo near her home in the New York City borough of Brooklyn.

On Friday, Brown refused to be taken from Rikers Island prison to be arraigned in Brooklyn Supreme Court.

She is now scheduled to appear in court Tuesday, the prosecutor's office said. If Brown refuses, the court could issue an order allowing correction officers to put her in handcuffs and force her onto the bus.

Brown, whose real name is Inga Marchand, is serving a year in jail for violating probation — skipping her court-ordered anger management classes and traveling out of the city without permission. The probation stemmed from her fight with manicurists in a New York City nail salon three years ago.

Her new album, "Brooklyn's Don Diva," is set for release Nov. 20.

Bobby Brown denies having heart attack

Bobby Brown denied Wednesday that he had a mild heart attack, something his attorney said earlier he had suffered this week in Los Angeles. The 38-year-old singer told Associated Press Radio that he is feeling fine and went to the hospital just for a checkup.

"None of it's true," Brown said. "I went in for a checkup. The doc gave me a clean bill of health."

His account differed from that of his Atlanta attorney, Phaedra Parks, who earlier in the day told The Associated Press that Brown had severe chest pains Tuesday night and was taken to two hospitals.

"This morning they did diagnose him as suffering from a mild heart attack ... they attributed to stress and diet," Parks said, noting that she had spoken with him.

She said Brown was released Wednesday morning from a hospital in good condition.

Parks could not be reached for comment after Brown made his statements. She did not immediately respond to a telephone and an e-mail message.

Brown, who has a performance scheduled Saturday in Los Angeles, said that the reports about him having a heart attack gave him a "jolt" and that he felt he had to speak out.

"I did go to the hospital ... to just get a checkup, get everything tested out so that I could go on this tour, and everything is fine," Brown said.

"I don't know where the heart attack thing came from," Brown said. "I got my heart and everything checked out earlier this morning, and I'm just fine."

Brown lives in Southern California. He is the former husband of singer Whitney Houston and is seeking custody of their teenage daughter.

Snoop Dogg is honored at hip-hop awards

Snoop Dogg is usually quick to brag and boast, but even he felt humbled as he was honored for his rap achievements at VH1's fourth annual Hip Hop Honors.

The gangsta rapper was lauded along with Missy Elliott, the '80s rap trio Whoudini, A Tribe Called Quest, music executive Andre Harrell and producer Teddy Riley for creating the "New Jack Swing" sound, and Fab Five Freddy and Charlie Ahern for the groundbreaking movie "Wildstyle." The event airs on VH1 beginning Monday.

Among those on hand to congratulate Snoop backstage during the honors on Thursday were Q-Tip from Tribe and rap legend KRS-One, of whom Snoop asked, "Have I been a good student?" KRS-One gave him an approving nod.

"These are guys that I grew up wanting to be like and learning their words and dreaming and hoping and wishing, and now they know who I am and they respect me and they say that my work has put me in the position that I can be commended — it's unbelievable, I can't believe it," he told The Associated Press backstage.

The celebration was more like an old-school party than an awards ceremony. During the tribute to Whoudini, Nelly and Jermaine Dupri did '80s dance moves while Whoudini delivered their classic raps; Timbaland joined Eve, Ciara, Nelly Furtado and Keyshia Cole onstage to perform Elliott's hits as the singer-rapper-producer looked on.

Bow Wow, who performed onstage with Snoop when he was just a child, rapped with him again at the ceremony, while Busta Rhymes, Common and Lupe Fiasco performed Tribe's "Scenario."

Other stars on hand included LL Cool J, Ne-Yo, Chris Rock and host Tracy Morgan.

KRS-One, a previous honoree, said the Hip-Hop Honors event was crucial because it pays tribute to crucial figures in rap that are sometimes overlooked.

"Every time you validate a guy like KRS-One, you are validating a certain voice in hip-hop that doesn't get much validation or time on the airwaves," he said.

Snoop also noted that it brings much needed positive attention to a genre that's been criticized anew for promoting the negative.

"This is the best thing for us to happen for hip-hop, it's positive," he said. "These awards shows_ never no violence it's never negative, never anything in the media the wrong way, it's always a great celebration of music and the artists and what they did."

KRS-One is hoping to harness the positivity from the Hip-Hop Honors for a new project: At the event, he was enlisting artists like Snoop Dogg to record a new version of his '80s message song "Self-Destruction," an all-star recording that then included acts like Queen Latifah and Big Daddy Kane. Snoop expressed interested as the two huddled together backstage.

"Hip-hop as a culture is getting a lot of backlash right now for its lyrics, for its public image, and the people are crying out for more responsibility," said KRS-One as he explained the need for the new recording.

"Nelly, Snoop, 50, Jay-Z, you are the Big Daddy Kanes, the Queen Latifahs, the Stestasonics of today," he continued. "Let's get this movement together, that tells families in the United States, we never intended for your child to go to jail ... the social ills of society, we never intended to highlight them."

'Diddy' sued over B.I.G. music rights

A former associate of Sean "Diddy" Combs has filed a lawsuit from prison against the hip-hop mogul, claiming Combs owes him more than $19 million for music by the late rapper Notorious B.I.G.

James Sabatino, a former consultant for Combs' Bad Boy Entertainment Inc., said he flew B.I.G. to Miami in 1994 to perform a show and record some music. The rapper, whose real name was Christopher Wallace, recorded about 17 minutes of vocals, and the session was also captured on about 90 minutes of video footage.

It was understood that both belonged to Sabatino because he paid for the rapper's travel expenses and studio time, although a contract was never signed, according to the lawsuit.

Combs' attorney did not immediately comment Saturday night. Sabatino is still in prison, and a listing for his attorney could not be found.

B.I.G. was killed in 1997 in what a still-unsolved homicide. Later that year, Combs agreed to buy the music and video footage from Sabatino for $200,000. Combs gave Sabatino a check for $25,000 and promised the rest of the money in 60 days, according to the lawsuit.

Combs said the reason for the delay was that Los Angeles police had named Sabatino a person of interest in the rapper's death. Sabatino and Notorious B.I.G. were scheduled to meet the night of the killing, but Sabatino never showed up.

Combs worried it could be misconstrued if the public found out his company had paid a person of interest in the killing, the lawsuit said.

Sabatino was later incarcerated on unrelated charges but still tried to get the money from Combs. He was repeatedly told it was coming soon, according to the lawsuit.

The $19 million is being sought for both actual and punitive damages, the lawsuit said.

Sabatino says in the lawsuit that he felt pressured not to talk about the dispute because Combs had been questioned by police about the rapper's death. Combs apparently told police he did not feel Sabatino was involved in the slaying, but Sabatino says he feared Combs would change his story and implicate him even if it was not true.

Lil Wayne arrested after Idaho concert

Hip-hop star Lil Wayne was arrested in Boise on a felony fugitive charge after authorities in Georgia accused him of possessing a controlled substance, authorities said.

The 25-year-old rapper, whose real name is Dwayne Michael Carter Jr., was arrested after his Friday concert at Qwest Arena and booked into the Ada County jail. Because of the type of charge, he was not eligible for bond and probably wouldn't get out to make it to his scheduled Saturday night concert.

After his arrest, the jail was bombarded with dozens of angry phone calls from fans, concert promoters and others, said a jail deputy who didn't want her name to be used because of the public uproar.

"Every other phone call that we've picked up have been about him — people who have tickets wanting to know where his concert will be, people calling to see if it's true that he's incarcerated," the deputy said Saturday afternoon.

Carter is scheduled to be formally charged Tuesday and will be asked then if he plans to waive his extradition to Georgia, the deputy said.

An e-mail to Carter's publicist at Universal Music Group was not immediately returned.

Carter's previous brushes with the law include a 2005 drug arrest in Atlanta.

His "Tha Carter II" album, released in 2005, has sold about 2 million copies worldwide. He recently was voted "Hottest MC in the Game" by a panel at MTV.

What it is

This blog will keep you up to date on all things hip hop and r&b. Give me a few days and I will be making updates.