The most amount of hits for a hip hop related page on MySpace at the moment are landing on Roundtable Entertainment Group LLC and their three main artists – Aynjul, Conflict and Jason.

Roundtable’s MySpace site says that

RoundTable Entertainment Group LLC encompasses a broad range of business including recording, music publishing, artist management, television and film production, marketing, and advertising.

We see ourselves as a movement that focuses on providing talented aspiring artists with a platform on which their art and vision can convey the sentiments of a generation.

We feel that we serve as a voice for the voiceless, be it through Hip-Hop, Soul, or Rhythm and Blues. RoundTable has become a lifestyle that reflects reality and truth. By taking music back to its pure essence, we will lead it to a position in our culture where it can once again make an impact on society…

Check out “Keep on Pushing” by Aynjul, it’s a bit good. Here’s what they say about her:

Los Angeles is the city of angels, but Hip Hop has an angel of its own. This young epiphany has flown into Richmond by way of Decatur, Georgia on gossamer wings, and is creating quite a stir in the Hip Hop arena.

Not just another pretty face. Aynjul is here to stay! Aynjul’s music is a deeply personal quilt running the gamut from affairs of the heart to socio-political issues. With lyrics set against a sonic backdrop, the remarkable talent paints a portrait of a woman’s passage into adulthood.

Following in the footsteps of MC Lyte, Queen Latifah, and Lauryn Hill, Aynjul has become a creative force that provides hope and empowers our Hip Hop culture. A prolific song writer, and an incredible artist, this Aynjul’s voice is one to which we all should listen.

Richmond, Virginia to take on the world! I hope they make it.

T.I. will begin shooting two films within the next several months. One called Once Was Lost co-starring Danny Glover, and the other is a comedy called For Sale.

”I play a young, money-hungry drug dealer, and Danny Glover is in it with me. He plays a senile jazz musician,” T.I. explained about Once Was Lost. “He kind of tricked me into driving him to Mississippi from Harlem against my will. We learn so much about each other along the way. It’s kinda like [an] older generation/younger generation, unlikely bond. [It's an] extreme pleasure to be able to work alongside a legend like Danny Glover.”

T.I. also wants to begin production on For Sale at the beginning of 2008, but before those flicks, the very next movie fans will see him in is American Gangster, due out November 2.

“I play Common’s son in American Gangster. It’s a phenomenal film,” T.I. said of the movie, which also stars Denzel Washington. “It’s one of the most prolific black gangster pictures ever to hit the screen. Tremendous amount of acting. Everybody’s going hard. It’s like when a hip-hop fan hears a song like [Khaled's] ‘We Takin’ Over’ and you hear all your favourites and you hear them at their best. That’s what American Gangster is like for film. Cuba Gooding Jr., Common, RZA, Russell Crowe, Idris Elba. Everybody is doing their thing, everybody is going hard.”

T.I.’s new album, T.I. vs. T.I.P. is still in the Top 10 on the sales chart more than six weeks after its release.

Money is the latest music sensation. She has no deal at present but has recorded with Timbaland.

A California native, Money grew up in a musical family with both her father and sister looking to be future singers. Raised on everything from jazz to gospel, r&b to rock ‘n roll, Money’s biggest influence was Prince. While taking dance classes at the famed Millenium Dance Studios in Los Angeles, Money met choreographer Dave Scott (You Got Served, Stomp The Yard) and his partner, stylist coordinator Keisha Gamble. Both saw potential in Money and quickly became in charge of her artistic development. Scott later introduced Money to the legendary Walter Milsap III, a meeting which would change her life forever.

Walter Milsap III is a household name among musicians from all genres, Milsap has been creating, writing, and producing music for well over a decade. Having worked with Brandy, J. Lo, Alicia Keys, and Beyonce to name but a few, Milsap can recently be seen on Timbaland’s Shock Value album with a solo production of the track “Fantasy” featuring Money. Milsap and Money were only in their 2nd week of recording together when they decided to come with a fresh and different sound to their next track hence “Fantasy” was born. Recorded just last February, Milsap took the song with him to a scheduled meeting in Las Vegas with Timbaland. Milsap played the track for Tim and right away Timbo wanted Money to fly out to meet with her. Impressed with her style, voice, and overral vibe, Tim asked her to be on his upcoming album Shock Value. Before she knew it Money went from the very beginnings of her career to a having a full feature on one of the year’s biggest album.

Money’s MySpace site

XM and MySpace announced the launch of “Show Us What Ya Got!” – a US coast-to-coast online search for the hottest unsigned hip-hop and R&B talent. Aspiring artists are encouraged to submit their original song for the opportunity to perform at The Mix Show Power Summit, the industry’s premier event, in October, where one grand prize winner will receive a mix tape created in coordination with a high profile DJ, on-air XM appearance and more.

Visit the XM MySpace site at http://www.myspace.com/xm to review contest details, and enter their original song with the opportunity to become the next hip-hop star. All entries for the competition must be submitted between now and August 31, 2007.

The entries will be reviewed by a panel of judges comprised of music editors and industry artists who will select five finalists and post their entries on the XM MySpace community page for open voting.

Video blogs will be posted regularly, featuring advice and trends in the urban music industry from DJ Enuff, founder of Heavy Hitters DJs; Rene McLean, chief executive officer of The Power Summit; and Bryan Leach, senior vice president of Urban J Records and president of Polo Grounds Music. Video blogs with behind-the-scenes advice on hip-hop and radio industry will also be available by on-air talent from XM’s urban channels, including: Mz. Kitti, DJ “Funkregulata” Celo and DJ Furious Styles from RAW (XM 66), XM’s uncensored hip-hop channel; Lisa Lisa, Tiff Square, and Nina Nine from The City (XM 67), XM’s hip-hop and urban channel. Members from the MySpace community can then view blogs and vote for their favorites among the top five finalists.

Three finalists will then be selected for superstar treatment, including a free trip to The Power Summit, held Oct. 24-27 in the Dominican Republic, to perform for an intimate audience of the top record industry elite and biggest DJs in the country. Past performers include Kanye West, Eminem, 50 Cent and Alicia Keys. Leo G, program director for XM’s RAW channel, will be among the panel of on-site judges to watch the performances, provide on-the-spot commentary and award a grand prize finalist. The live performance will be broadcast live on the XM MySpace community page reaching MySpacers around the globe.

For more information or to submit for the opportunity to be a hip-hop music star, visit http://www.myspace.com/xm.

Chat, news, views about Lupe Fiasco, Kanye West and Pharrell Williams collectively or individually. Follow the link to have your say on CRS!

Having already released one song via an online mixtape, CRS (Child Rebel Soldiers), the hip-hop supergroup featuring Lupe Fiasco, Kanye West and Pharrell Williams, is hoping to do an entire album.

“Us Placers,” which samples Thom Yorke’s “The Eraser,” was performed by Fiasco earlier this month during his set at Lollapalooza in Chicago. “Now [our labels are] working it out, whoever is going to pay is going to pay a whole hell of a lot. Everybody is excited, [but] ‘Us Placers’ is the only record we have.” Says Lupe referring to record companies noticing the momentum the track has received from the internet.

Fiasco has pushed back the release of his sophomore album, “Lupe Fiasco’s The Cool,” from October 30 to November 20. Work is continuing on the album with producers from his 1st & 15th camp, including Pro and Soundtrack. Previously, Fiasco had avoided big-name producers (“It’s too expensive,” he says), but “now we’re doing CRS, [so] I can get all the music for free.”

The rapper says he is going to stop releasing mixtapes and may not have many more studio albums in him.

“I’m just wearing down,” he admits. “I’m never doing mixtapes again, not even Internet ones. My whole energy for making hip-hop music is slowing down. I’ve been doing it for seven years. I still don’t think I’m famous. I’ll do what I have to do to promote my next album, but I’m not enthused about doing seven albums. I’ll do my three, and then I am going to keep moving to the next phase of life and maybe grow trees.”

Chat, news, views about Lupe Fiasco, Kanye West and Pharrell Williams collectively or individually. Follow the link to have your say on CRS!

This could just be rubbish…

Kanye West reportedly issued a challange to 50 cent during an interview on a radio station last Friday. 50 quickly accepted the challange on a TV appearance saying ” I accept the challenge. Kanye, he’s not going to want to show up. Just don’t be asking me if I am a conscious rapper. I know exactly what I am saying – so I am conscious”

“I don’t have beef with anyone,” West said on MTV. “What am I going to debate about? I’m going to go in the studio and make music. When I heard the thing about the debate, I thought that was the stupidest thing. When my albums drops and 50′s album drops, you’re gonna get a lot of good music at the same time.”

More importantly, Kanye West has announced the tracklisting to his forthcoming record Graduation. The record, featuring collaborations with Mos Def, DJ Premier, Lupe Fiasco, and Coldplay frontman Chris Martin, will arrive on 9/11.

1. “Good Morning”
2. “Homecoming” (Featuring Chris Martin)
3. “Stronger”
4. “Champion”
5. “Good Life” (Featuring T-Pain)
6. “I Wonder”
7. “Even More Broke Phi Broke”
8. “Can’t Tell Me Nothing”
9. “Drunk and Hot Girls” (Featuring Mos Def)
10. “Ev’rything I Am” (Scratches by DJ Premier)
11. “Good Night” (Featuring Mos Def & Al Be)
12. “Big Brother”
13. “Graduation”
14. “The Glory”
15. “CRS” (Featuring Lupe Fiasco and Pharrell)

The last track “CRS” (Featuring Lupe Fiasco and Pharrell) stands for “Child Rebel Soldiers” the supergroup who recorded the track “Us Placers” from Kanye’s mixtape which has been gaining great interest on the internet.

Many are questioning whether 50 Cent’s Curtis will outsell Kanye West’s Graduation. But 50′s ready to bet his career on it.

“They would like to see Kanye West give me a problem because I’ve worked myself into a space where I’ve become the favourite,” says 50.

“Let’s raise the stakes. If Kanye West sells more records than 50 Cent on September 11, I’ll no longer write music. I’ll write music and work with my other artists, but I won’t put out any more solo albums.

“And I bet this, when Kanye West’s sales come in, he’s gonna have a 70% decrease [the second week] ’cause Def Jam is gonna buy records to keep him closer to 50 Cent,” he added. “So watch the first week and then watch the second week. Watch his ass drop off the planet.”

Chat, news, views about Lupe Fiasco, Kanye West and Pharrell Williams collectively or individually. Follow the link to have your say on CRS!

Lupe Fiasco debuted three new songs recently (Aug 5) at Lollapalooza, Chicago, including Superstardom, the first single from his upcoming second album. An Oct. 31 release date is probable for his new album Lupe Fiasco’s The Cool, although that date may change.

Fiasco dedicated Superstardom, which features vocalist Matthew Santos, to the Lollapalooza crowd, telling them, “Ya’ll are my superstars. I just want to jump down there and get everybody’s autograph.” The artist also played the new cut Paris, Tokyo.

He also played, interestingly, a snippet of US Placers, the Thom Yorke-sampling song by the supergroup CRS which features Kanye West and Pharrell Williams which has attracted great interest on the internet despite having virtually zero publicity.

Once he’s finished in the studio, Fiasco will perform at the Bumbershoot festival in Seattle in early September.

Raised on the west side of Chicago, Wasalu Muhammad Jaco (Lupe Fiasco) is the youngest of nine brothers and sisters. He came to fame in 2006 following the success of his debut album which received three Grammy nominations. Journalists and weary music fans have dubbed him a “hip-hop saviour.”

However, Lupe says, “I don’t believe I’m the saviour of hip-hop or bringing hip-hop back or anything like that — I just feel like it’s me doing me! I don’t really think I’m doing anything too different. I may be switching it up a little bit, but I really don’t see it like I’m reinventing the wheel.”

Hip hop is thriving in the Palestinian territories and Israel.

For example, there’s SAZ, a Palestinian, from a working class Tel Aviv suburb of Ramle, and Sagol 59, a jewish Israeli, whose 2000 release Blue Period was the first album by a solo hip-hop artist in Israel

Tehy can be found freestyling together here in a recording from Israel’s most popular radio station, 91.8fm, available for download for a limited time through this link.

Sagol and SAZ have performed numerous times together. The event they were promoting was part of a series of Sulha performances that were launched last year in New York City to urge Arab-Israeli dialogue. The word “Sulha” is an Arabic term for a conciliatory agreement between two parties facing a dispute.

Here was what the two rappers had to say after the event.

“I’m not here to do ‘Kumbaya, Kumbaya’ with Sagol,” SAZ said. “But I write music as a minority in Israel with hope. Sulha is just another way to spread the message out. My music is not just for Arabs, my music is for the world. I participate in the Hip Hop Sulha because besides being a Palestinian or a Muslim, I am human.”

“We’re trying to have a simple dialogue. We’re not delusional. We’re not trying to solve all the problems in the world. Everyone should do something within their capacity to initiate progress,” says Sagol 59.

Corner Prophets, is a cultural initiative he co-founded by Sagol to inspire Israeli and Palestinian children to use music as a channel for finding a common ground. Corner Prophets organises several hip hop and art-related events in Jerusalem. There’s some good video and audio there.