If you were curious why “TMZ Reports” was trending on Twitter yesterday with the most hilarious rap lyrics ever, it was because the “you heard it here first” gossip site published a story with the headline “Dead Bombing Suspect Heavy Into Rap.” Almost immediately, the site was side-eyed for reporting that Tamerlan Tsarnaev, the 26-year-old suspect believed to be responsible for the Boston Marathon bombing who was killed yesterday, had an email associated with the website, Real-hiphop.com, insinuating rap’s “violent” lyrics could have influenced his act of homegrown terrorism.

As much as people dismissed that overzealous — and inappropriate — attempt to identify a cause for Tamerlan and his brother Dzhokhar’s actions, nobody was not having that explanation more than T.I. See on top of being a rapper, the King of the South’s image was used in a promo screen grab related to the soon-to-be developed website, connecting him not so indirectly with this heinous occurrence.  And that’s why he sought to clear his name, and rap’s, telling TMZ not only does he not know anything about this real hip hop site, he knows for sure rap has nothing to do with what these brothers did.

“Hip hop narrates the activity and conditions of our culture, it doesn’t create them,” he said. ”Hip hop ain’t never been about hurting innocent people.”

As far as Boston goes, he said the event last week “was a horrible tragedy and my prayers go out to the families involved.”

Set ‘em straight T.I.P.

Source: Getty Images

It’s been 18 years since the death of Eazy-E but one person is not prepared to let his public image die.

E.B. Wright, the 22 year old daughter of the late rapper, is currently putting together a documentary about the life – and death – of her father, according to BET.com.  E.B., a budding rapper herself, says that his legacy has not been properly represented and she wants to change that.

“A lot of people don’t know the truth behind his death.  There’s definitely a story out there of how people think he died but a lot of it is a misconception, so I think it’s time to tell the story of exactly what happened.”

E.B. says that the documentary, tentative titled Ruthless Scandal, will have in-depth interviews with celebrities, family members, close friends and others who knew the “real” Eazy.  Further, there will be interviews from doctors and lawyers as well as documents regarding the death of the rapper. As most of us know, Eazy reportedly died as a result of complications of the AIDS virus when he was only 31 years old. His daughter hasn’t stated whether or not she accepts this but she clearly has had more questions about it as she’s grown.

E.B. also envisions how important her dad would be were he still alive:

“He started all of this, and honestly I don’t even think his impact can be limited to the West Coast.  I feel like, if my dad was alive today, he would be Jay-Z businesswise. He was a true visionary. He started the independent label, he started the idea of speaking your mind…”

Ruthless Scandal is currently slated for a 2014 release.

Were you an Eazy-E fan? Would you check out this documentary?

For the last few men of the moment, we brought you regular ’round-the-way guys that you could reach out and touch yourselves. But this time we’re switching it up with a little celebrity sexaaay by way of singer, songwriter, and rapper Kevin McCall.

We’re sure you remember this chocolaty goodness from Chris Brown’s “Strip” video, and though we tried to get him to take it all off when he came to our office, we found out his personality is just as enticing as those abs of his. Who knew?

Check out our  intimate chat with the LA man of many talents as he talks about digging cocky women and wanting people to pay more attention to his vocals than his physique.

MORE MAN OF THE MOMENT

• Episode 1: Todd Anthony
• Episode 2: Sneak Peek: Eyan Edwards 
• Episode 3: Eyan Edwards 
• Episode 4: Sneak Peek: Gideon Emmanuel
• Episode 5: Gideon Emmanuel
• Episode 6: Sneak Peek: Jarvis
• Episode 7: Jarvis

Judy Eddy/WENN.com

Okay, Short Dog must have really been “on one” to run from the cops.

Some nosy person had the good sense to get it all on tape and send it in to TMZ. In the clip, Too Short is seen speaking to police officers early Wednesday morning.  He was pulled over for suspicion of driving under the influence and was asked to step out of the car. The police gave him a field sobriety test and according to TMZ, before he ran, they told him they were going to have to take him in on a DUI charge.

That didn’t sit too well with Short because after pretending to have a civil conversation, Short took off running!

But here’s the thing: he got nowhere real fast. The rapper tripped on the sidewalk and the cops were on him like white on rice. So embarrassing.

Bless his heart. Even if he hadn’t tripped, it didn’t look like he was going to get too far in his little spring.

To add insult to injury, the police also found drugs in his car and added a drug possession charge to the list. I wonder if they’ll hit him with “attempting to flee an officer” charge as well.

Some of these rappers, no matter their age, just don’t learn. At some point, you’ve got to know you’re too old for the bull.

By the way, Too Short did tweet about it:

Twitter

Take a look at the video…and laugh. Nothing else we can do (by the way, the TMZ link actually has a better version than the video below they posted on YouTube)!

Source: WENN

Queen Latifah

Calling: Rapper/Actress/Singer

Why we’re saluting her: 

Queen Latifah is truly a jack of all trades and master of many. First introduced to her as a rapper, Queen has gone on to wow us with her acting ability, smooth jazz voice, television productions, and beauty as a Cover Girl and model.

It should come as no surprise that Queen Latifah, born Dana Owens, has come to be such a symbol of empowerment and inspiration for Black women. On her third studio album, Black Reign, she gave us the ladies anthem U.N.I.T.Y , letting everyone know women should be called and treated as nothing less than that. And from there, she went on to star in one of the ‘90s – and our personal favorite – sitcoms, Living Single, and had a long string of film roles on the big and small screen from Set It Off, Bringing Down the House, Hairspray, and Chicago to Steel Magnolias and Life Support, the captivating movie loosely based on the true story of Ana Wallace, an HIV-positive woman.

In every role, whether in the studio recording The Dana Owens Album, or behind the camera producing shows like Single Ladies, or being on film in Just Wright, the Queen’s undeniable beauty shines through. That’s why companies like CoverGirl have brought her on as a spokesmodel to represent their products, and have even given the 42-year-old her own line os cosmetics, appropriately titled, “The Queen Collection.”

Now that the Queen is ready for her next act, trying her hand as a talk show host once again, we have nothing but high hopes for her future in the entertainment industry. And for her resilience in the face of family tragedy and speculation over her sexual orientation, as well as the grace and business savvy she exemplifies at all times, we salute Queen Latifah.

 Click here to meet all of our salutes.

WENN.com

It seems that Drake has been listening to his fans and his critics: enough of the emotional whining in the songs.

Drake dropped “Started From The Bottom” on Friday night with a note to the masses:

My good friends,

“…This is the first single off of my upcoming album. I feel sometimes that people don’t have enough information about my beginnings and therefore they make up a life story for me that isn’t consistent with actual events. My family and my second family (consisting of the best friends anybody could ever have) all struggled and worked extremely hard to make all this happen. I did not buy my way into this spot and it was the furthest thing from easy to achieve. I am proud of every part of my past and I’m excited for this song to find a place in your life as well. I didn’t feel I needed any interviews or radio or press to launch this song. It felt right to come back to the site that I started on and release it to the people that started here with me. Judging by this post, the tour that we’ve been planning, the conversations about new songs and album artwork…I think it’s safe to say we’re back together again. Looking forward to seeing you all soon.”

The single, while not totally void of a little singing from Drizzy, is free of him being overly emotional on a track. It was produced by Zombie and talks about how he and his team have worked from the bottom to get where they are today.  Now, I don’t really know how far at the bottom one would consider Degrassi but alright Drake, rock on.

He celebrates the team’s arrival and takeover by saying:

“…There ain’t really much out here that’s poppin’ without us/we just want the credits where its due/I’ma worry bout me give a Fawk about you/Just as a reminder to myself, I wear every single chain even when I’m in the house/Cuz we started from the bottom now we here…”

While he didn’t give any other information about the album other than they’re working on artwork, it is safe to say we’ll be hearing more soon.

Check out the song below (it is not safe for you to blast this at work or around the kiddies…he’s a rapper, folks – lots of cursing).

Zakia Baum is one of the stars of the new TLC reality show, “Starter Wives,” and if you saw the first episode Tuesday night, you’d know she’s  a bit…eccentric, shall we say. We chatted with her at the premiere for the new show last week and had to see just how changed the born-again “Christian Woman” is from her days of trying to fight some of her cast members. We also had to know the status of her relationship with her ex and father of her child, Maino, after he dropped a rather disturbing song detailing ways he wanted to kill her. Check out what she had to say.

Who is this chain-rocking cutie? Well, his father is a rapper (though that’s not necessarily why he has that chain), an actor, and a popular television personality who has even hosted his own program. A popular West Coast rapper, this doting dad has worked with everyone from Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg, to Eminem, Game and Ice Cube. He’s also been in such movies as 8 Mile, American Violet, and Gridiron Gang. Aside from this little cutie patootie, the rapper also has an older son (17 years old) named Tremaine who is following in his dad’s footsteps as a lyricist, and will appear on his dad’s upcoming album. As for this kid right here, he loves all things bacon, drumming and the huge family cat. All things you can pick up from surveying the rapper’s Instagram page. So whose cute kid is this???

Ivan Nikolov/WENN.com

Actually, these aren’t first world problems; these are rich and famous people problems.

According to Zimbio, the producers and judges recently did an interview with The Hollywood Reporter in which they discussed trying to get the show back on top.  When they asked Nicki about finally agreeing to do the show after the rumors had been floating, she said:

“Sometimes you are afraid of being too famous because it’s almost, like, is that even cool? Being that accessible, someone you see on TV every week? I never pictured myself as that type of person. I’m still surprised I decided to do it.”

Wait, I think I get it. American Idol is a wildly mainstream show and it is understandable that some artists, particularly hip-hop artists, would be a little reluctant to join a show like that which airs weekly.  But that only applies to artists who have never crossed over into the mainstream world. Nicki has been part of the mainstream world so long that many would actually hesitate to still consider her a hip-hop artist or rapper; some just call her a pop artist who also raps.

She’s worried about how collecting a check for judging singers (something she doesn’t do quite well) on a major show makes her look versus the crazy hair, facial expressions and cheesy pop songs? Well, alright then. We all have to figure things out for ourselves.

Do you think that Nicki will ruin (not in a bad way though) her hip-hop image by being on American Idol?

Johnny Louis/WENN

The Philadelphia School System is in the midst of a crisis and rapper Meek Mill, a Philly native, is trying to do his part according to All Hip Hop.

Meek found out last Thursday that 37 schools are set to shut down (at the end of the school year provided it is approved by the School Reform Commission), including his former high school, Strawberry Mansion High School. He took to Twitter to voice his displeasure saying, “They about to close down 37 schools in Philly…. They gone have kids from different hoods going 2 schools in different hoods # problems.” He continues by saying, “37 schools being closed in Philly ….gone be the worst thing 2 happen 2. Philly!”

But he decided to do more than talk. Although his alma mater is closing, Meek is donating $10,000 to the school as well as Puma sneakers to the basketball team.  While it seems a bit odd that he’d donate money to a school definitely closing, it is possible that he just wants them to try and make the most out of the remaining months. During a time when it seems hard to give back, it is a great thing Meek is doing.

Most of the schools closing are elementary schools which means young children will have to travel further for their education but it also saves about $28 million dollars per year by closing them. The Philly school system has already borrowed $300 million to operate and would be facing a deficit of over $1.1 billion if they didn’t make changes.

Good for Meek Mill and hopefully others will find it in their hearts to donate as little – or as much – as they can.