ATLstatus.com

Monica celebrated the pending launch of her new reality show called
"THE SINGLE: MONICA" last night at the Luckie Lounge. The exclusive
invite only event featured many of her celebrity well wishers such as
Kiesha Cole, Yung Joc, Trey Songz, Bryan Michael Cox, Keith Sweat,
Jazze Pha, Sisqo & Nokio of Dru Hill, Mike & Daron of 112, & of
course her "baby daddy" Rocco.

It was hot as hell upstairs in the Luckie Lounge with about 150 other
well wishers in the place last night & everyone appeared to be having
a genuinely good time. Bryan Michael Cox gave a toast to Monica in
front of everyone in support & we also got a chance to sit down
& talk with her about the new show which is set to air this on
Peachtree TV this coming Tuesday August 5 at 10pm EST. One of the
questions we asked Monica was what did she learn about herself
upon reviewing the completed footage. Check out what she
said in the video below.

Surprisingly Monica was very down to earth considering all of the
black "hollywood" vibe that was going on & we also spoke briefing
with Keisha Cole who was equally as cool. We didn't do any
interviews with Keisha, respectfully, as it was Monica's night, but
check us out at ATLStatus.com another time. Make sure you check
out Monica's new show on Peachtree TV & get a behind the scenes
peak as she pours everything she has into delivering a smash
single for her upcoming album with J Records called
"Lessons Learned".

Check out our exclusive photos below!

Check out this footage of Nelly, Polo Da Don, & Chaka Zulu having a friendly bowling competition here in the "A". The stakes are high as these cats have a $10,000 bet on the bowling match. Things are all "laffy laffy" & "jokey jokey" in the beginning, but near the end of the video you can tell by their tense facial expressions that no one wants to lose 10 stacks. These guys maybe rich, but shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiied......none of us like to lose $10 dollars let alone $10,000 dollars.

Billboard magazine has placed Ciara on the August 2nd cover of the magazine. According to the upcoming article, Ciara has more projects in the works including a new movie, album, & modeling contract.

Download "Click" by Ciara

ATL's lovely Rozonda "Chilli" Thomas is set to appear in an upcoming
issue of Maxim Magazine. Check out the behind the scenes footage of
her photoshoot. Most of the fellas here in our office generally prefer
our ladies to be a little thicker, but Chilli is still fine ass hell.
She's our pick this week for "MILF & Cookies"

Young Jeezy seems to be making that transition from being just
another "trap rapper" to being a true artist. Some rap artists
may not be the most lyrical, but they have the ability to touch
the people & tap into what the people are feeling. Here's
Young Jeezy echoing the same sentiment as Nas about the
biased reporting Fox News has been doing. Maybe we'll see
Young Jeezy show up to Nas's show here in Atlanta on
Thursday July 31st. Wishful thinking, but not impossible.

Snoop Dogg recently dropped this new video from his last album featuring "Those Gurlz"

If you haven't heard him support Barack Obama at any time before let
it be known that Ludcaris is officially supporting Barack Obama on his
new mixtape. Listen to his freestyle below where he disses
Hillary Clinton & Jesse Jackson for their past "haterism" toward
Barack Obama. He also says that (Obama) "says I'm one of his
favorite rappers."

Download Politics by Ludacris

Ludacris dropped his new mixtape called "The Preview" yesterday & maybe is giving a us a preview of his aspirations to join the REAL "Billionaire Boys Club". Bill Gates, Warren Buffet, Ludacris, & his manager Chaka Zulu took in a basketball game over the weekend in Las Vegas. Check out Ludacris's verse about hanging out with Bill Gates on his latest mixtape... "…Bill Gates whats happenin/When I see you lets get a pound of purp and get higher than Aladdin/Call up some bitches/ hit a couple switches/ Then write a 8 million dollar check, sign it over to Chris Bridges…" --Ludacris

One of the most popular events that was birthed in Atlanta returned
home Friday night at the The Foundry at Puritan Mills. Jack Daniel's
Art, Beats, & Lyrics was originally founded by Jabari Graham a few
years ago prior to Jack Daniel's Whiskey becoming it's large corporate
sponsor. This year Jack Daniels has taken ART, BEATS, & Lyrics on
tour to various cities beginning with the Charlotte event that took
place in April. The purpose of ABL is to adequately merge all the
elements of hip hop culture that often times get overlooked such as
graf art, deejaying, emceeing, & breakdancing. With the huge
turnout, great performances, & visual displays we can see that
the ABL stop back home in Atlanta was another success.

ABL is hosted by Jayforce who is a popular mixtape deejay &
radio show host on the Beatz & Lyrics Show in Atlanta (WRFG)
& as a co-host of the "Classic Example" Show on XM Satellite radio
with DJ Rastaroot. The night got started with the fine ass
DJ Princess Cut who spun a diverse musical mix going from current
hits to urban rock to ATL classics & true school themed hip hop.
Public Enemy's DJ Lord got on the 1s & 2s & showcased his turntable
skills & tricks while various breakdancing crews such as the
HBO Crew, ATL FunkLords, & the Burn Unit got down. DJ Rastaroot f
inished the night strong with a collaborative set with "Alien" who
definitely had the hottest performance of the night. Alien is a
drummer who dazzled the crowd with him playing the drums to
various instrumentals Rastaroot played from Lil Wayne's "A Milli",
Jay-Z's "Jigga My Nigga", 50 Cent's"What Up Gangsta", &
Jay-Z's "U Don't Know".



In addition to large amount of beautiful women in the place, there
were quite a few notable artists spotted at the event just hanging out
such as Killer Mike. Killer Mike's new album "I Plege Allegiance To
The Grind Pt 2" was just released three weeks ago. There was also a
special surprise performance from atlanta bass music legends Raheem
The Dream, DJ Tazz, & Kizzy Rock. Overall the night was very
successful & the artists whether musical or visual didn't disappoint.
ABL is scheduled to return to Atlanta again later in the year after
making stops in St. Louis, Baltimore, & Jackson, Missippi, among
others.

Check out the pics below!

Usher recently held his official launch party for his "New Look
Foundation" & for the his new online "U-Cast" It all went down this
last friday at Tiffany's & Company located in Phipps Plaza. A number
of celebrities turned up in buckhead for his event such as actors Hill
Harper, Keisha Knight Pulliam, Tasha Smith & Wesley Johnathon.
Usher's wife & new son were there but they were very incognito
so much so that most people didn't know they were there.
The biggest celebrities were the 126 kids that he's looking to a
ssist through his foundation which he says is designed to educate
the youngsters about the sports & entertainment industry. Hopefully
through his foundation he can get the kids to focus more on the
behind the scenes aspects of these industries because not everyone
is cutout to be on stage or playing basketball. We need more agents,
attorneys, accountants because these types of careers have a greater
life span than the average rap artist or pro athlete. Check out Usher's
blog or "U-Cast" to see what's going on with him on the personal &
with the kids. It's supposed to be a bi-weekly thing showing the
behind the scenes look at his life.

Check out the exclusive photos from ATLStatus.com

If you were out & about Atlanta this past weekend & noticed an
exorbitant amount of beautiful women with their hair, nails, & toes
done then they probably were just coming from the "My Black Is
Beautiful" event held at The Foundry at Puritan Mills on Saturday.
The "My Black Is Beautiful" tour is sponsored by Proctor & Gamble to
help promote African American women's own beauty standards. The
ladies were treated to free makeovers as well as informative
discussions & comversations on the self images of black women.
Celebrity moderators & participants included Susan Taylor of Essence
Magazine as well as the lovely actress Angela Bassett who appears to
be over 40 but still gets more than a few glances from men
more than half her age.

Ladies if you missed the opportunity to participate at least you take
solace in glancing at the pics below!

If you're in the mood for some West Coast flavor, Snoop Dogg flies
into the ATL for the night. Check one of flyers below!

Pastor Troy is also performing at Belushi's in Gwinnett County
& admission is free if you wear all black for the "The BlackOut"
Northside takeover. Look for the skylights!
3580 Sweetwater Rd Duluth GA 30096

Dwele was in the ATL performing at Sugar Hill last night (Thursday) & didn't disappoint the packed house. The Detroit native's new album "Sketches Of A Man" was released several weeks go & features his hit song "Cheatin" which proved to be very popular to the crowd as he performed it live.

Before Dwele took the stage, DJ Kemit warmed them up with his great variety of music. Despite the dense throng of bodies in the venue there were quite a few other notables in the place taking in the vibe. Beautiful & soulful R&B homegirl "Joi" was in the place to be as well as the equally as talented "Truth Hurts" was looking fine as ever. Truth Hurts is most noted for her hit record with Dr. Dre a few years back & is poised to drop something new on the masses. Joi also hosts Tuesday nights down at Sugar Hill so if you've never been through on a Tuesday night you need to check it out. Other notable ATL celebs spotted include DJ Rastaroot, DJ Blak Magic, & promoter J. Carter of Sol-Fusion.

One of the most interesting people in the house was Frankie Beverly of Maze who was just there taking in the show. Dwele wouldn't let him off that easier as he & the band eased into the musical melody of the classic "Joy & Pain" by Frankie Beverly & Maze. At the urging of Dwele & the crowd, Frankie took to the stage with Dwele & his band & performed the classic joint! The night was definitely fiyah as there were plenty of ladies in the place & Dwele delivered a tight show in about a hour set! If you missed it, you definitely missed a great show with a good vibe of people. Make sure y'all support Dwele's new album & check out some of our exclusive pictures below so you can at least front like you were there. ATLSTATUS!!

It's like that Southwest Airlines commercial where someone does
something so stupid that moments later the announcer says
"Wanna Get Away?"

Well Great Googly Moogly! It appears Justin Timberlake wished he
could have flew away last week after a serious racial gaffe gone
wrong. Justin Timberlake hosted the 16th Annual ESPY awards last
Wednesday in Los Angeles. The show was recorded on a 4-hour tape
delay & it appears it was for good reason because it would have been
the single most talked about incident since "nipple gate" with Janet Jackson.

Although the show actually aired on Sunday, what the folks at home
didn't see on the tube was Justin Timberlake's joke that didn't fly
too well with the audience. Timberlake was making fun of
Paul Pierce about injuring his knee in Game 1 of the NBA finals.
In describing how Paul Pierce was able to quickly come back after
being pushed off in a wheelchair, Timberlake joked that Pierce
was back on the court "shucking & jiving" according to FanNation.com

(Enter crickets & awkward silence)

It goes without question to say that the joke caused quite an
uncomfortable silence. Someone would have to have been
born yesterday to not know that the term "shucking & jiving"
is rooted in racism with the primary intent to be offensive.

Justin's lucky that none of the "brothas" in the audience didn't come
find him after the show & hand him his "D&ck In A Box"

50 Cent is out to get his "cheese" from Taco Bell after he claims they
falsely tied him to a promotion that he didn't wish to be apart of.

Mr. Curtis Jackson aka 50 Cent says in a federal lawsuit filed
Wednesday that the Mexican-themed chain features him in a print ad
asking him to change his name to 79 Cent, 89 Cent or 99 Cent.

Fifty's court papers say the ad is part of Taco Bell's "Why Pay More?"
campaign, which promotes items for under a dollar, including
Cinnamon Twists for 79 cents, Crunchy Tacos for 89 cents and
Bean Burritos for 99 cents. The papers say the Irvine, Calif.-based
company sent a bogus letter requesting the name change to the
news media but not to the rapper.

The rapper's lawyer, Peter D. Raymond, said his client didn't learn
about the letter or that he was featured in the ad campaign until he
saw a news report about it. Raymond said his client is seeking $4
million in damages.

Taco Bell Corp. spokesman Rob Poetsch issued a statement saying:
"We made a good faith, charitable offer to 50 Cent to change his
name to either 79, 89 or 99 Cent for one day by rapping his order
at a Taco Bell, and we would have been very pleased to make the
$10,000 donation to the charity of his choice.

Atlanta has alot of fans that support it's local WNBA franchise, but
there are also plenty of people around the country that just aren't
feeling women's basketball. Some people say that the level play is
not as good & that the ladies may not be passionate enough.
It may sound "foul" to say, but the best thing to happen to the WNBA
was the recent fight that broke out in Detroit. We don't care what
anyone says because with all the hype & publicity surrounding
this we can guarantee you that you'll see ticket sales increase.
Trust! Go Ladies! Go Ladies! Go Ladies!

Bonecrusher ain't neva scared of you thug ninjaz or taking his shirt off on stage & doing his thing. In addition to not being afraid of appearing on Celebrity Fit Club to better improve his health, the larger than life ATL rapper is not scared to start up his own label imprint. Bonecrusher wants to get your "ATTENCHUN!!!!" with his new artist "Sean Falyon"

Originally from Philly, but now an ATL transplant Sean Falyon has appeared with Bonecrusher on stage as his hypeman & is now poised to show the world what he can do musically.

He has a new song called "Swirvin" featuring Cutty & Bonecrusher that's beginning to pick up some steam in the ATL & internationally. Check out the video below so you can get familiar with Sean Falyon!




Download "Swirvin" by Sean Faylon featuring Bonecrusher

Killer Mike dropped an ill freestyle while up in NYC during DJ Green
Lantern's Invasion radio show that airs on Monday nights on Sirius
Satellite radio. DJ Green Lantern will be in Atlanta on July 31st
during the Atlanta stop of Nas's "Jones Experience Tour" featuring
other guest appearances from the likes of Talib Kweli, & Jay
Electronica. Hopefully they can add Killer Mike to the bill if he's
in town. Killer Mike killed it on this freestyle. If more talented
lyricists like Killer Mike got more airtime then hip hop fans from
other regions would see that the south has some real lyricists & not
just the snap & trap rappers.

Dr. Dre has been relatively low key in the past several years, but
he's already made alot of noise with his recent interview in Usatoday.

Arguably one of the greatest hip hop producers of all time, Dr Dre
tells Usatoday that his long anticipated album "Detox" will drop
sometime in November or December of this year.

"I'm just now — over the last couple of months — starting to feel that
it's going to be right and it's something I can be proud of, and
everybody is going to love it," says Dr. Dre (aka Andre Young). "In a
perfect world, I'm shooting for a November or December release."

Dr. Dre is known for creating classic albums that move from song to
song as if you're watching an audio movie & people have been waiting
on this followup for years. His last release, Dr. Dre's 2001, went 6
times platinum and was released just 9 years ago. The problem
for the holdup is due to Dr. Dre's well known character trait in being
a perfectionist.

"I just make the music feel the way I want it to feel and I don't put
it out until I'm totally happy with it. Then it does what it does."
says Dre, 43.

"We have an entirely new thing going with the drums that's
incredible, and we're still developing that." All "the usual suspects"
will make guest appearances, including Nas, Jay-Z and Lil Wayne."

Dr. Dre also hints that this would be his final solo album as he will
spend more time searching for & developing new artists.

"All I want to do is sit in the studio with that person for a year and
try to create another masterpiece."

Suburban Philly emcee & now ATL translpant "Asher Roth" has been
enjoying some buzz over the internet about his skills. He's really
been making the rounds here in Atlanta linking up with Akon, T.I., &
other notable entertainers in the game. The word is that Asher Roth
has been signed to SRC which is the label run by Steve Rifkin. Rifkin
was responsible for the successful LOUD record label which brought us
such artists as David Banner, Big Pun, Capone & Noreaga among others.

Asher is being compared to Eminem in terms of his style of rhyming &
clever wordplay, but he & Slim Shady appear to differ in terms of
their backgrounds. Asher is admittedly from the suburbs while
Eminem grew up poor in Detroit. Although being from the hood
has nothing to do with being a great artist it should be interesting
to see how he can eventually bring us into his world with his music.

One thing that's blatantly obvious about Asher Roth is that he appears
to have a good team around him which is probably the most
important element for an up & coming artist in the music game.
Whoever is managing him is making sure he gets face time with
the movers & shakers in the game. Here he is chopping it up with
Ludacris over dinner. Also at the table is Ludacris's manager &
business partner Chaka Zulu who has not only once worked in radio,
but also at a high level position within Def Jam. The music industry is
about 90% business & 10% talent. There are alot of people today have
no talent at all & still manage to make it because they have a
great team behind them. Fortunately Asher Roth appears to have the
talent & the proper people putting him in position to make moves.
Check out the following video & ask yourself......What would you
say to Ludacris during a business dinner? How would you pick his
brain to better your hustle? It's something to think about whenever
you have the opportunity to meet with someone who's making
significant moves in their life.

According to Mediatakeout & Hip Hop Weekly, Miami rap artist Jacki-O says she had to have sex with a record label executive in order to finalize her deal. Before Jackie-O signed her deal with Poe Boy Entertainment/TVT Records (which was the home of such acts as Lil Jon & the East side boys, Pitbull, & Chyna Whyte), she says that she had to do things the "hard" way before releasing her album "Poe Little Rich Girl" which included her most notable single "Nookie".

Everybody that signed [to Poe Boy] had gotten their advance money, but when it came time for me to get my advance, I had to f-ck for my advance. It was ten stacks ($10,000) and I had to f-ck for it. So naturally it wasn't something that I'm proud of doing. And I don't advise any female to get into no business - be it music or whatever - and get exploited like that ...

[E Class] told me I had to have sex with him to get the ten stacks. That's how me and him got into a relationship. But that was the situation I had to face, and I made the wrong turn.

But I'm from the hood and if somebody offers you ten thousand dollars at one time to get out of the hood, and lets you go for your dream of doing music, you're gonna run to that."

Tour Dates for Nas:
07/19 - Chicago, IL - First Midwest Bank Amphitheater*
07/20 - Toronto, CA - Arrow Hall*
07/22 - Montreal, QB - Metropolis
07/24 - Burlington, VT - Higher Ground
07/25 - New Haven, CT - Toad's Place
07/26 - Boston, MA - Comcast Center*
07/27 - Washington, DC - Merriweather Post Pavilion
07/29 - Charlotte, NC - Amos' Southend
07/30 - Charleston, SC - Music Farm
07/31 - Atlanta, GA - Center Stage
08/01 - New Orleans, LA - House of Blues
08/02 – Miami, FL – Bayfront Park Amphitheater*
08/03 – New York, NY – Jones Beach Amphitheatre*
08/08 - Las Vegas, NV - House of Blues
08/09 – Los Angeles, CA – Glen Helen Pavillion
08/10 - San Diego, CA - House of Blues
08/14 - Reno, NV - New Oasis
08/15 - Chico, CA - Senator Theatre
08/16 - San Francisco, CA - Shoreline Amphitheatre*
08/22 - Park City, UT - Harry O's
08/23 - Denver, CO - Fiddler's Green Amphitheatre*
08/24 - Austin, TX - Emo's
08/25 - Houston, TX - Warehouse Live
08/26 - Dallas, TX - House of Blues
08/28 - Cleveland, OH - House of Blues
08/29 - Detroit, MI - Chene Park
08/30 - Champaign, IL - Canopy Club
09/03 - St. Louis, MO - The Pageant
09/04 - Milwaukee, WI - The Rave
09/05 - Minneapolis, MN - First Avenue
09/06 - Quincy, WA - The Gorge Amphitheatr

There are plenty of up & coming producers trying to come up in the
music game, yet there are very few outlets to do so. One interesting
website that's giving up & coming producers a shot to sell their beats
is IVEGOTBEATS.COM. People accessing the website can buy or sell
beats through the website via a bidding process. IVEGOTBEATS.COM
also has a contest running on their website where beatsmiths can win
cash & other prizes. For more information check out their website!
Good Luck!

Ludacris aka "Chris Bridges" stands to have a very busy next few
months as he is set to drop his new album "Theatre Of The Mind"
sometime in October. In addition to droppng his latest album he is
also to star in the latest Guy Ritchie film called "RockNRolla"
alongside Idris Elba. Check out the following trailer below!

Although he reps Chicago, Kanye West was born in
the ATL before moving to the Windy City at the age of 3.
Young Jeezy's new hit single "PutOn" featuring Kanye West
is all over the radio & now they've justreleased a video to it.
What do you think?

The stakes are high when it comes to the gang lifestyle & when artists openly broadcast their affiliations. It's definitely not entertainment when faced with a situation like Lil Wayne allegedly was in a few weeks ago. Local Los Angeles Crips allegedly blocked in Lil Wayne's SUV while being transported in & around the BET awards. Check the video.

Darryl Kevin Richardson AKA Lil Scrappy was arrested Friday July 18 after getting into an altercation with his sister's boyfriend in Atlanta. In the altercation Scrappy was stabbed but did not receive any life threatening injuries. Dekalb Couty PD hit Scrappy with a gang of charges. He was charged with felony use of a weapon in the commision of a crime, battery ,obstruction and they also hit him up with a felony marijuana posession charge after a search of his car. Scrappy was set free on a 1,500.00 bond.....Scrappy keep your Head up!!!!!

Click Here to see The Dekalb County Booking Info

Flavor Flav won. Just think about it. Flavor Flav was tongueing down & dropping anchor in so many of these chicks & getting paid in the process for doing nothing other than being himself. After appearing in all these reality shows having fun while looking for love & making $$$ in the process, it appears that no one won bigger than Flavor Flav. It doesn't matter how many of those chicks on the Flavor of Love came on the show to broaden their own career. Flavor Flav got the money & the girl (and a cute kid) in the end. WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Here is some interesting video of 50 Cent reflecting on various things
going on in his life. The video is rather compelling as 50 Cent talks
about his grandparents, not being able to see his son, and the recent
sales disappointment of G-Unit's "Terminate On Site" album. With so
many heartfelt things going on in 50 Cent's life good or bad, it
appears that he has yet to figure out that in order to become a truly
legendary artist he must grow. Near the end of the video 50 Cent is
still talking about sales & appears to very disappointed. The answers
to 50 Cent's perceived creative slump is right in front of his eyes &
yet he's still talking about sales instead of subject matter. 50
needs to tap more into his life experiences & create more songs
dealing with his son, family, and other aspirations. (Could he
possibly longing to eventually getting married? Check the video!)

The parallels are similar with a few mega hip hop artists that have
made money, but yet are afraid to re-invent themselves
& bleed, sweat, & cry in their music. Many people criticized
Jay-Z's "Kingdom Come" album saying it was a failure, but
we beg to differ. When Kingdom Come was released, Jay-Z was
a 40 year old emcee who was unmarried and childless.
Although he was financially successful, the album did a
great job in tapping into what Shawn Carter was feeling on a
personal level. Jay-Z was merely the persona or action
movie character that Shawn Carter had carried throughout
his career the same with what Curtis Jackson has done
with 50 Cent. Rattled by all the negative reviews about the
Kingdom Come project, Jay-Z came back with the half
assed "American Gangster" album which pretty much rehashed the
same subject matter on many of Jay's previous albums.
Quite frankly Jay-Z got scared & didn't understand that in
order to be a great artist, you have to take risks that many
would find to be unpopular especially if it's within your heart.

Marvin Gaye, Ray Charles, Bob Marley, & many legendary artists took
risks & spoke on things that were personal & didn't bend to the
pressure. In most of the cases, the rewards were greater for these
legendary artists. We're not saying 50 Cent should do a complete 180
& turn around rapping about saving the animals & the planet, but he
needs to tone down the "Arnold Swarzennegger"
& try getting his "Tom Hanks" on.Tom Hanks went from being
just a comic to becoming a greater artist simply by
reinventing himself & talking on projects that matter to him.

After looking at this video, we can't help but think that 50 Cent
really wants to be with his son, wants to eventually be married like
his grandparents, & ultimately wants to be considered one of the
greatest hip hop artists of all time. With the disappointing sales
of the recent G-Unit album, maybe he will discover the obstacles that
many of us already see that's keeping him from being a greater artist.

Timbaland recently told MTV news that he will be producing Jay-Z's entire album the next time around. Timbaland is a great producer, but we'd much rather hear a GREAT album with Kanye West, Just Blaze, & DJ Premier on the boards. Who knows....

Forget Coming To America....Check out this video of Jay-Z performing in Abuja, Nigeria!

King Jaffe Hova!

In one of Tupac's most popular songs "To Live & Die In L.A.",
there is a scene where he drives to the mall in a 1995 hunter
green drop top Jaguar XJS. Well it appears that this car
which was once owned by Tupac Shakur is now for sale
on ebay & the car is actually here in Atlanta.
Looking at the paperwork it appears that Tupac barely
drove the Jag as it is listed as having a little over 16,000 miles on it.
The original paperwork actually shows Tupac's signature on
the receipt of purchase which the seller is including with the sale
of the vehicle as almost what some would consider to be a
posthumous autograph. The minimum bids begin at 40,000 dollars
or about 20,000 Euros to all youpeople from overseas.

Check out the video below! The shot of Tupac driving the car happens
around the 1:39 mark.


You can see 2Pac's Jag and bid on it Here

This is supposedly the new lead single for T.I.'s upcoming album
called "Paper Trail". It's not unusual for artists to sell or swap
songs and or ideas with each other which is the reason it sounds to us
like this song could have originally been for Young Joc.

What do you yall think? Listen up "A" town


Download "Whatever U Like"

Track Listing
01 What’s Up (prod. Drumma Boi)
02 Swing Your Rag (prod. Swizz Beatz)
03 A Better Day
04 Thats Right f. Governor
05 She Can Get It f. Young Jeezy
06 Bother Me
07 Your The Best (prod. J.D.)
08 Back Of The Club
09 No Matter What (prod. Danja)
10 Riding (Cartel Remix) f. Plies & Gillie The Kid (prod. Nitti)
11 Fell Off f. Tiny
12 Done It Now
13 Kill Ya Self f. Young Dro & Pharrell
14 Message To The Govt
15 One And Only f. Bobby Brown
16 My Dear f. Ciara
17 You Aint Ready (prod. The Runners)
18 Life Of The Party (prod. Khao)
19 Kick At The Hotel (prod. The Neptunes)
20 Coming Out f. Young Dro & Macboney
21 Right Now (prod. Scott Storch)
22 The Life (prod. Khao)
23 Get On Up f. Crod Macboney (prod. T.I.P & Sanchez)
24 Hurt Remix f. Young Jeezy
25 Ill Be Loving U Long Time f. Mariah Carey

Download "Me Against the World"

One of our favorite hip hop artists Common recently did an interview across the pond in the UK to promote his new movie "Wanted" starring Angelina Jolie & Morgan Freeman. The movie has been released here in the U.S. & is currently in the theatres. Common's career is really blowing up with him landing various movie roles & in this particular interview Common talks about his upcoming album called "Invincible Summer" that will be produced by The Neptunes & Atlanta's own "Mr. DJ" who was Outkast's 1st deejay & producer. He also breaks the news about his upcoming role in the new Terminator movie. Common says this new album will be more uptempo & something for the clubs, but not anything that will be out of character for himself. Check out a new track from the album below as well as the video for the interview.


Download "Universal Mind Control" by Common feat. Pharrel

Download "Announcement" by Common feat. Pharrel

It's summer time & there are alot of BBQ's, family reunions, & picnics going down all over the country. Many of yall are also getting married this summer or having divorce parties. Well it's time to take it back to study the proper "Soul Train" line etiquette.

It's amazing that alot of the ladies wore some wild outfits looking like some straight freaks. Now they are most likely your aunts & grandmothers acting coy at the family reunion.

Snoop D.O. Double G is about to tap into the India's booming market with his next video. Apparently the new video is to feature "Bollywood" actor Akshay Kumar who is considered to be the "James Bond" of India having starred in over 80 films.

The video is for the theme song to Akshay Kumar's new movie "Singh is Kinng". "Snoop is very fond of India traditions, including outfits, etc. He is very respectful of all religions and cultures. Snoop even loved our tandoori chicken, maki di roti and sarson ka saag. I loved fried chicken which Snoop and his uncle made for me," Akshay recalled

There's over a billion people in India so if the "Bollywood" movie industry is at least half of what the US movie industry is like then that should translate into big dollars or rupees. Depending on how they choose to get paid of course. It's good to see that Snoop & our east indian brothers can get together & build bridges with our communities especially after this recent racial situation that went down in Atlanta.
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Check out this new video from ATL's own Fonzworth Bentley featuring Sa-Ra, Kanye West, & Andre 3000.

These brothaz are getting down in the video like they're the Temptations....or better yet the 5 Heartbeats. "Anybody wanna dance with 'ol Eddie Caine......"

Seems like Mr. Bentley is making a run at being known for more that just holding Puffy's umbrella ella ellla AAAAAA! Check out this video featuring these "Cool Outrageous Lovers Of Uniquely Raw Style"

Ludacris & Dj Drama appeared on MTV recently to talk about Luda's new mixtape that's about to drop called "The Prequel" as a part of DJ Drama's "Gangsta Grillz" series. They both comment in the video as to why it took them so long to get together in collaborating on a mixtape. Well let's see.....maybe it's because T.I. & Ludacris had beef at one point? (Maybe they still do, but T.I.'s got bigger issues to worry about these days)

It's not a secret that DJ Drama is T.I.'s deejay & they've made big moves together throughout their careers thus far. Sooooooooo...you don't want to appear to be biting the hand that's feeding you so maybe that's one of the reasons why it took them so long to get together. Then again maybe it's because the dollars or business outside of the creative part may have been an obstacle. Anyway who knows & who cares as long as Luda keeps flexing those lyrical talents. Over here we don't care about the business because we are consumers of good music & solely focus on the music. Which is why we all noticed something very interesting in our discussions about Ludacris with his very successful career thus far.

Although Ludacris is a very talented lyricist outshining many other rappers on the same song & has plenty of solo hit singles, it feels like he's never put out an album that you could listen to all the way through. He has yet to make THE classic album like an Illmatic, Ready To Die, Reasonable Doubt, Atliens, The Chronic, KING, Low End Theory, All Eyez On Me, & Only Built For Cuban Linx, among others. Quite simply Ludacris is "Paid In Full", but he's yet to make everyone in the game "Follow The Leader". It's not that he's not talented enough, but maybe he could take the advice of a group of people including one that's already close to him. His deejay...DJ Jaycee. DJ Jaycee is one of the most talented deejays in Atlanta & is very knowledge about hip hop music. Why hasn't Ludacris done a high powered mixtape with the direction & ideas of his own deejay? Jaycee is definitely not a "internet" deejay because the kid has skills & can battle the best of them. We're postive the mixtape would be interesting with the choice of tracks used & the deejaying talents being exploited.

If Ludacris's new album "Theatre of The Mind" is already completed, then it's understandable that some of these ideas couldn't come into play immediately. But for an artist like Ludacris, why not employ a team of a few deejays he respects to A&R or provide a musical & creative direction for the next musical project? Many deejays put out creative mixtapes so for Ludacris's elusive "Classic" album he should have a good A&R team of deejays to sit in the studio & provide ideas. Most artists should employ a team of deejays to maybe go in the studio with the artist & work. It's just a suggestion. Also it would be a wise idea to start at home & to drop a mixtape with one of the few people who probably knows Ludacris best at this point. His name is DJ Jaycee & he's already Ludacris's deejay.


*Editor's note: We're not trying to get Dj Jaycee fired, but it was an observation by many of us here at ATLstatus.com

Despite sales for hip hop albums being down dramatically, it appears that Nas is poised to sell well when his album drops on Tuesday July 15th. Nas had alot of controversy for his new album which was originally titled the "Nigger" album. Due to corporate pressure from the higher ups beyond Def Jam, the label was forced to leave Nas's album "untitled" although the music & subject matter is still the same. Hits Magazine, a music industry trade magazine, is reporting that Nas is projected to sell close to 325,000 copies in the first week of sales despite a massive leak that hit the web about a week ago. This is definitely good news for Nas although he's more concerned with getting out his message to the people.

"I just like to hear that people are liking it and I don't [need] to know what [the sales numbers] are. I don't care," the lyricist stated to Allhiphop.com