bigted

Cassidy Talks Recent Conviction By Chris Richburg Date: 1/31/2006 2:10 pm Rapper Cassidy is speaking out for the first time since being sentenced to 11 1/2 to 23 months in prison last week, after being found guilty of involuntary manslaughter and aggravated assault. The rapper was convicted by Common Pleas Judge Jane Cutler Greenspan of being negligent in providing guns and ammunition to assailants that eventually killed Desmond Hawkins, a 22-year-old Philadelphia man. "While I am pleased that I was cleared of the murder charges, my satisfaction is not long-lasting, because of the death of someone who I considered to be my friend, Des Hawkins. And while I am eager to resume my career as a recording artist, writer and performer, I am also eager to be reunited with my family, friends, and fans," Cassidy said in a statement via his defense attorney, Fortunato Perri. "I too share the important message stated in court by Des's dad, who urged all parents to love their children, and to be there for them. As the father of a young child myself, spending much time on the road and in the studio, away from home, I am relieved that I will soon be home for family and my career." Cassidy could possibly be out of jail in a few months because of time already served. The rapper has been incarcerated since June 2005. Despite his current status, Cassidy is looking ahead as he prepares to head back into the studio with producer Swizz Beatz to record a new album. Swizz said that when Cassidy gets out, they would not "promote this situation as a cocky and violent situation, but as a blessed situation" "I'd like to first thank radio and all of his fans for their love and support during this time," Swizz said. "Cass will continue to make great music, but in a positive way, educating the youth that violence is never the answer. We'll do the rest of the talking with the music." Cassidy's record label, Full Surface/J, will release a new single titled "Cassidy (The Anthem)" Feb. 28. The track, which was not featured on Cassidy's latest album, I'm A Hustla, will also be available as a master ringtone via all carriers Jan. 31, while the digital single will be available for download Feb. 14

:word: That's a hot interview!!

The timing of the release of "Born To Reign" is what did it in the most, it was release in between promoting "MIBII" and filming "Bad Boys II", there was no time whatsoever to promote it, at least Will did some performances during the release of "Lost and Found"...

since i was 15, i'm almost 21 so i'm closing in on 6 years, i don't plan on stopping anytime soon

RIP, we lost another strong woman that was an inspiration for many

Will's gonna have to start fighting A&R's!! :bat:

Well they ain't really that commercial, I'm talking about a most of those sellin' millions and are constantly in rotation on MTV, I don't even feel like mentioning their names 'cause they get discussed so much, lol, all I wanna say is I ain't really feelin' them and I'm gonna leave it at that, I'm not trying to knock anyone who listens to them though, that's their choice but I'm bored with it...

Yeah it's probably my favorite r&b song out now, I was listening to Hot 97 last night and I heard them play a remix featuring LL Cool J

Well Outkast is true hip-hop miles ahead of all the other wack crews on the charts right now, they're like the LL Cool J of groups, in a class of their own, I'm looking forward to their movie and their soundtrack, they always put out something innovative, btw Big Boi's gonna be another movie with TI called "Atl" that comes out at the end of March which was executive produced by Will Smith so check out for that too, finally somethings to look forward to...

Yeah you really can't be tired of real hiphop but you can be tired of commercial rap, hiphop won't ever die but I think commercial rap will die unless something groundbreaking happens soons, FP and LL can't carry it forever, somebody new needs to come along and take the game to the next level, you see those who are topping the charts should be setting the standard artistically but they just ain't, they're too busy dissin' each other over who's the richest rapper alive, it's just all about getting money instead of saving the art, there's no leadership, "Lost and Found" could've been something that would've changed the game but it wasn't properly supported, FP's the perfect example of a hip-hop leader, if he were selling 5 million right now a lot of great things would be happening now 'cause it'd take him a lot of hard work to get there which would inspire up and coming rappers but look who got there through hype and you see why there's so much crap, people look at them commercial cats selling millions and being all arrogant, crying over awards and all that stupid crap and so a lot of the younger rappers like Bow Wow consider them real for doing that so they try to do the same and they diss the real mcs like FP that've been putting it down before all these clowns had a record deal, there's no respect for the pioneers and that's the problem too, that's why commercial rap is the way it is, I could applaud Juelz Santana for putting Rakim in his video, I don't see many of the younger rappers showing love to those who paved the way when they get on top.... I just don't see that hunger on the commercial rap scene anymore, there's just a bunch of copy cat rappers who just rap about gettin' the money, well I ain't gonna go broke buying into those gimmicks, lol, I got bills to pay myself, these wack rappers ain't gonna pay my rent so I ain't gonna support them if they put out crap, lol...

I think that happened to both Biggie and Pac, after they died everyone jumped on the bandwagon, including some rappers that used to diss them when they were alive, they weren't called the best rappers ever wehn they were alive, I like Pac more than Biggie but with all the wack mcs out you could say Biggie is one of the top ever, with the sorry state of hip-hop right now actually works favor of their legacy

Will always talks highly about Biggie, he should've been allowed to on that Biggie album, and he definately should've been on one of the 2Pac they put out after his death but I see they put mostly younger rappers on them that they wouldn't even work with but I'm sure they'd work with Will before a lot of them if they were alive still...

Happy Birthday Joe!

Solitary refinement liberates OutKast Now moving into film, the hip-hop duo continues its habit of acting separately together. By Chris Lee Special to The Times January 29, 2006 You'd be forgiven for jumping to the wrong conclusion about OutKast's film debut. With both members of the Grammy-winning, multimillion-selling rap duo receiving top billing in the upcoming big-screen musical "Idlewild," logic dictates that it must be, well, an OutKast movie. An exercise in OutKast chemistry and musical solidarity à la the Beatles' "A Hard Day's Night." The film casts Antwan "Big Boi" Patton as Rooster, a hustler with a heart of gold who operates a Prohibition-era speak-easy and gets caught up in a gangster turf grab. André "André 3000" Benjamin plays Percival Jenkins, a mortician turned piano player (and Rooster's childhood homeboy), who must walk a moral tightrope while struggling to reconcile his love life and musical ambitions. Those narrative arcs, however, converge only briefly. In the film as in real life, they keep face time to a minimum while their fates remain inextricably linked. "It's not like we were filming together," says Benjamin, brushing off questions about his musical partner's acting ability. "It's only two scenes we have together in the whole movie." Patton puts a finer point on their nonscreen chemistry. "People are expecting a 'Beverly Hills Cop'-type of buddy movie," he says. "That's not what this is." And so it goes with the most unconventional platinum-plus relationship in hip-hop. "Idlewild" is set to arrive in March after 10 months of release date push-backs and cost overruns, voluminous fan conjecture about OutKast's demise and much hand-wringing by executives at both the group's LaFace/Jive Records and the film's distributor, Universal. Keeping with the formula that resulted in 2003's boundary-pushing blockbuster, "Speakerboxxx/The Love Below" — a double album born of what had been, essentially, two solo projects — the film was conceived as a starring vehicle for both rappers, despite the disparity in their movie résumés. Benjamin has several films to his credit, including "Four Brothers" and last year's "Be Cool," while Patton had never acted before. "The go-to is, André is the lead and Big is the supporting character," says the film's writer-director, Bryan Barber. "I wanted a film where both characters were leads. I balanced them screen time-wise and story-wise." Benjamin and Patton's on-set days rarely overlapped during the movie's 3 1/2-month shoot in Wilmington, N.C. And keeping the two visually separate is a crucial part of the film's impact, says Barber, a music video ace making his feature debut with "Idlewild." "I didn't want to create a 'rapper movie,' " Barber says. "My first piece of advice was, 'I don't think you should do anything together. I want you guys to be characters.' Them being in a lot of scenes together — that would have made them OutKast." Yet being OutKast — the pimp-strutting funkateers responsible for transcendent hits such as "Hey Ya," "I Like the Way You Move" and "Miss Jackson" that put Southern hip-hop on the map — is precisely what got the film a green light from HBO Films. It was envisioned originally as a straight-to-cable release with a $1.5-million budget, but Universal acquired the theatrical rights last year after seeing early footage. Heavyweight actors like Terrence Howard and Ving Rhames as well as R&B stars including Patti LaBelle and Macy Gray joined the cast. Platoons of dancers and choreographers were enlisted. And eventually, "Idlewild's" budget ballooned to $27 million. That makes the strategy of minimizing the rappers' screen time together seem like a risky move that could undercut the film's primary selling point. But dating to their platinum-selling 1998 album "Aquemini" — and unbeknownst to most OutKast fans — doing their own thing has been a recipe for the group's success. "We're both producing writers, we both control every aspect of the music," says Patton. "So we don't have to be in the same room to make music. Sometimes, to put your own vision out, you have to be in your own space." Working in solitude Case in point: the "Idlewild" soundtrack (due March 7), their first new music as a group in three years. Patton and Benjamin have recorded their respective contributions at studios in different parts of their hometown, Atlanta. As recently as two weeks ago, the album was unfinished without so much as a lead single chosen. And the rappers continued to work in solitude, meeting briefly every few days. "I'm an only child, so I sit at home and get them to a point where I can feel good about my tracks. I never have anyone around," says Benjamin, up for a Grammy after producing two tracks on Gwen Stefani's album-of-the-year nominee "Love.Angel.Music.Baby." "You know how you sing the best while you're in the shower? That's the deal. "I do music, put a few tracks on the CD, drop by the studio. 'Hey, Big Boi, what do you think of it?' 'I love it!' And Big Boi'd write to it. Sometimes he comes up with cool stuff." They've been fast friends since a chance meeting at an Atlanta-area shopping mall when they were in the 10th grade, but Patton dismisses the notion that he and Benjamin have become like an old married couple, uncommunicative and staying together more out of convenience than passion. While acknowledging that their careers have veered onto separate courses in the years since "Speakerboxxx/The Love Below," he likens their relationship to that of brothers. Further, with hip-hop's shift away from the rapid vocal interplay style OutKast was known for in the early to mid-'90s, the rappers' physical distance has become even less of a hindrance to their creativity. "It's not like on our first, second, third albums where we would tag team on rhymes in the studio," Patton says. "Now we're doing our 16, 32 bars" of music, "and however many bars you're doing, it's just you." They haven't produced a dud; every OutKast album has enjoyed at least platinum sales. And while Benjamin refuses to close the door on the prospect of taking a break from the group or completing a solo project, Patton insists predictions of OutKast's demise are premature. "We've gotten older. Your agenda starts to change," he says. "Dre wanted to pursue movies. I was doing my record company, Purple Ribbon Entertainment. We're pursuing different avenues of entertainment. We're still gonna do another OutKast album in a couple of years." What makes OutKast run Barber, director of many of the group's most famous videos, including "Hey Ya," "Roses" and "The Whole World," has known Patton and Benjamin since 1998, when he was a film student at Clark Atlanta University. Collaborating closely with Benjamin over the years, he has written various OutKast screenplays and shaped "Idlewild" from a disparate array of source material: stylized 1930s historical drama, ragtime-imbued hip-hop and biographical vignettes from all three men's lives. Largely responsible for visually branding the group with his alternately ecstatic and quirkily narrative videos, he is well positioned to appraise what makes OutKast run. "One rounds out the other, one helps the other succeed," Barber says. "Big Boi is urban. The underground. André is pop culture. Those things come together, pop and street, and make the perfect combination." The latest on a short list of African American period films, Barber calls "Idlewild" a "gumbo" of genres. It mixes shoot-'em-up action, melodrama and musical comedy to achieve something he describes as a "feel-good movie like 'Chicago' or 'Moulin Rouge.' " For Barber, the penultimate scene of the film — one of the few in which Benjamin and Patton appear together — crystallizes the partnership. "It's a scene shot from behind, as they're walking out the door," Barber says. "They say goodbye, but then the two of them walk away together. "You know they're each gonna be successful and they'll always be the friends that they were when they started. For the people that know those guys and their struggle who see it, it's kinda heavy. You feel their growth. And their love."

Yeah "Ms. Holy Roller" is probably the least radio friendly track on the album, I can't see it getting airplay...Honestly "Parter Starter" is one of the most radio friendly songs on the album and how well did that do? The radio doesn't wanna give Will a chance to begin with so they wouldn't give his serious songs a chance either, Will might have to buy his own radio station, lol...

Nas said that he wanted to start something new in an interview, maybe that means Bravehearts are retiring, a lot of the other artists that were on Ill Will ended up having beef with him and they left anyway, did Nas ever sign Quan to Ill Will?...

:word: That'd be awesome! :2thumbs:

Yeah I heard about Nas doing a new freestyle, some were saying that he dropped a few subliminals to G Unit in it....

Hopefully Rakim gets on a label soon and drops an album, it's been a long time...

not really, those conscious songs are only huge hits once or twice a decade, most hit songs these days have no content whatsoever and kanye wouldn't be that big if it wasn't for producing jay-z, there's a reason why he blew up, there's a lot of gospel rappers who make a lot of conscious songs but they got no big name connections so they don't get accepted by the mainstream... will doesn't get that much love in the industry so it'll be much harder for him to release "ms. holy roller" and be a hit, look how there was no support for "party starter" so imagine the type of blackballing "ms. holy roller" would get if released from will? now if a big name in the industry like jay-z released it it'd be huge though...

btw, Slick Rick's birthday was also 2 weeks ago just like LL's, him and Jazzy are both 41 now, Rakim's 38 just like LL and soon to be FP but at least LL and Rakim won't have to worry about using Just For Men since they shave their heads anyway :kekeke:

"Big Ole Butt" is classic, how could you call LL a boring rapper Lerk? :bat: You must not like many rappers if you feel that way, LL's one of the most entertaining rappers to ever bless the mic..

millenium? exuse me it's the "willenium", lol I think somebody needs to buy the lil' pup a copy of "Lost and Found" :bat: that'd been awesome if he ran his mouth before the album came out, it'd been will vs. eminem, will vs. bow wow, lol

Daily Hip-Hop News: SOHH Exclusive: Swizz Beatz Says Cassidy Is "Upset" Over Murder Trial Friday - January 27, 2006 by Dark Kent (w/ additional reporting from Zayda Rivera) Days after Cassidy was convicted for involuntary manslaughter and aggravated assault, SOHH.com spoke exclusively with his producer and close friend Swizz Beatz. As SOHH reported earlier this week, the Philadelphia MC (born Barry Reese) was sentenced to 11 ½ to 23 months in prison for the murder of Desmond Hawkins and wounding Hawkins' friends Bobby Hoyle and Daniel Irvin. Given that Cassidy was initially facing a murder charge, Swizz said Common Pleas Judge Jane Culter Greenspan's decision was "an excellent choice." "[Cassidy] is definitely feeling sorry for the family," Swizz told SOHH.com. "And he is definitely upset with himself for even being in that type of situation, especially with somebody that he knew-killing somebody that he knew." With seven months of his sentence already served, Cassidy could be released as early as May. So, what's the self-proclaimed "Problem" going to do once he is free? "He wants to bond with his family for a little while, get situated," said the Full Surface label honcho. "He's gone to come up with a game plan. The studio is always there for him. He's definitely fiending to get into the booth."

please don't compare will to that egotistical fool kanye, a lot of people are upset that kanye would talk about watching porn but yet he dresses up on a magazine like he's god? will doesn't act like that, "ms. holy roller" is much better than anything kanye could come up with...