Kanye West Arrested Again, Reveals 808s Tracklist

(swiped from Pitchfork Media)

Let's get this out of the way first: According to TMZ (via MTV), Kanye West was apparently arrested-- and subsequently released and cleared-- for a fight with a photographer in Newcastle, England last night. Yes, Kanye sparred with the paparazzi again. Sigh. Let's move on...

With only a week and change to go before its November 24 release, West's new album 808s & Heartbreak finally has a tracklist, via the store on his website. And given how much of its music has leaked already, the tracklist isn't much of a surprise. As we know, 808s' only guests are Young Jeezy (on "Amazing") and Lil Wayne (on "Tell Everybody That You Know"), and there's a hell of a lot of Auto-Tune.

In other Kanye news, he seems to have gotten his priorities straight at last.

808's & Heartbreaks:

01 Welcome to Heartbreak

02 Heartless

03 Love Lockdown

04 Robocop

05 Anyway

06 Streetlights

07 Say You Will

08 Real Bad News

09 Amazing [ft. Young Jeezy]

10 Tell Everybody That You Know [ft. Lil Wayne]

11 Coldest Winter

Kanye West tour dates:

11-14 Sheffield, England - Sheffield Arena *

11-15 Birmingham, England - NEC Birmingham *

11-16 Glasgow, Scotland - SECC *

11-17 Manchester, England - M.E.N. Arena *

11-19 Oberhausen, Germany - Konig Pilsener Arena *

11-20 Paris, France - Bercy

11-21 Brussels, Belgium - Vorst National *

11-26 Rotterdam, Netherlands - Ahoy *

11-28 Hamburg, Germany - Colorline Arena

12-01 Auckland, New Zealand - Vector Arena

12-02 Wellington, New Zealand - TSB Bank Arena

12-05 Melbourne, Australia - Rod Laver Arena at Melbourne Park

12-06 Sydney, Australia - Acer Arena

12-07 Brisbane, Australia - Brisbane Entertainment Centre

* with Santogold

MP3: Kanye West [ft. R. Kelly]: "Love Lockdown (Remix)" [original from the forthcoming 808s & Heartbreak LP]
MP3: Kanye West : Various Songs [from the forthcoming 808s & Heartbreak LP]

Game Slams Jesse Jackson -- Twice -- On New Tracks With Lil Wayne, Nas

(swiped from MTV News)

MC also challenges Jay-Z, G-Unit (again) on tracks from forthcoming LP.

"It's a hundred different messages you can take from the song," Game said on Monday afternoon, cruising through Houston on his way to a radio station. "It's called 'My Life,' so tune in." The video for the song, from his forthcoming LP L.A.X.,premieres on "FNMTV" Friday (starting at 8 p.m. ET).

"And I ain't no preacher, but here's my Erick Sermon," he raps on the record. "So eat this black music, and tell me how it tastes now/ And f--- Jesse Jackson 'cause it ain't about race now."

Later he adds "Walk through the gates of hell, see my Impala parked in front with the high beams on/ Me and the devil sharin' chronic blunts/ Listening to The Chronic album/ Playin' backwards, shootin' at pictures of Don Imus for target practice."

It's very provocative — and he goes after Jackson even harder on a different track from the album, "Letter to the King," that leaked on Thursday (August 14).

The song — a duet with Nas — has bars that are lyrically astonishing, and will probably be the pair's most talked-about collaboration yet. Of course, the "King" the duo refers to is Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. At times, the two talk directly to the late civil-rights leader as if he were still alive; at others, they ponder aloud about what could have been.

"If Dr. King marched today, would Bill Gates march?" Game raps on the third verse. "I know Obama would, but would Hillary take part?/ I feel the pain of Nelson Mandela/ 'Cause when it rains it pours, I need Rihanna's umbrella/ For Coretta Scott [King's] teardrops/ When she got the phone call that the future just took a f---ing headshot."

If you don't remember anything else about the song, Game's controversial last line will stay with you.

"I wonder why Jesse Jackson ain't catch him before his body dropped," he asks. "Would he give me the answer?/ Probably not."

At press time, Game had not responded to MTV News' requests for comment on why he's going after Jackson — a longtime King associate, who was present at his assassination in 1968 — so hard, but he did speak with us at length about L.A.X. in Houston earlier this week.

Several other noteworthy tracks from the album hit the Net on Thursday (August 14), including "Angel," which features classic name-dropping from an outspoken Game while Common guest-drops metaphors. There's also a song called "Ya Heard" that features the Compton track-slayer engaging in some rap repartee with Ludacris.

Game described the album as "just me taking flight, man. This album is gonna be real special — from beginning to end, it's gonna knock."

Recently on KISS-FM in Phoenix, Game admitted that he's a fan of Jay's music, but predicted that a battle between the two of them would be one-sided — against Jigga.

"I'm young, stupid, disrespectful," Game said. "I haven't lost a beef. I killed a whole group limb by limb — see what happened to G-Unit."

Speaking of the Unit, estranged group member Young Buck appears in the video for "My Life," which also co-stars Lil Wayne.

"Buck is in the video for a split second, robbing the liquor store!" Game smiled. "Lil Wayne came out to California — he re-routed his tour bus, made a U-turn for me, [so we could] shoot the video. I think the video is gonna do some great things."

L.A.X. is due on August 26.

Dr. Dre Eyeing "November or December" for Detox

(swiped from Pitchfork Media)

Not to be outdone by Axl Rose's hints at releasing Chinese Democracy this fall, Dr. Dre recently told USA Today [via Rollingstone.com] that he is "shooting for a November or December release" for his own oft-delayed masterwork, Detox. However, he preceded the statement by saying "in a perfect world," so let's not hold our breath here, people.

"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," Dre said to USA Today.

Dre also said Detox's beats consist of a lot of live drums and that "usual suspects" such as Nas, Jay-Z, and Lil Wayne will make guest appearances.

Whenever it happens, Detox will come out on Dre's own Aftermath/Interscope label.

After the record is released (if ever), the rapper/producer told USA Today that he'd like to find the next artist he can launch into the pop stratosphere, as he did with Eminem and 50 Cent (and kind of Snoop Dogg). "All I want to do is sit in the studio with that person for a year and try to create another masterpiece," he said.

In more definite Dr. Dre release news, the producer has teamed with Interscope/Geffen/A&M Chairman Jimmy Iovine and a/v company Monster to release his own brand of "high definition powered isolation headphones," according to a press release.

The phones [pictured below] are called "Beats by Dr. Dre" and will be sold exclusively via Apple, Best Buy, and online starting July 25.

The price tag on the headphones is just shy of $350, but um...maybe Dr. Dre can sell you:

"Artists and producers work hard in the studio perfecting their sound, but people can't really hear it with normal headphones. Most headphones can't handle the bass, the detail, the dynamics. Bottom line: the music doesn't move you. With Beats, people are going to hear what the artists hear and listen to the music the way they should-- the way I do."

Video: Dr. Dre ft. Snoop Dogg: Nuthin' But a G Thang [from The Chronic LP]

Lil Wayne Starts His Own Line of Champagnes

(swiped from Pitchfork Media)

To most people, Halo is a popular first-person shooter video game. To closet nerd and million-record-selling rapper Lil Wayne, Halo is a fine name for a line of champagnes.

According to Vibe.com (via Rock and Roll Daily), Wayne will launch his own champagne line, called Halo, this fall. Halo will come in four varieties: Halo Brut, Halo Brut Vintage, Halo Rose, and Halo Pinnacle.

Vibe.com describes each variety thusly: "Halo Brut offers a golden blush with a lemon cream and roasted hazelnut flavor with a citrus-y finish, while Halo Brut Vintage presents a sparkling amalgamation of almonds and lemon blossoms with a creamy consistency. The third champagne, Halo Rose, is blended with the delightful aromas of crushed raspberries, mint, and pomegranate that will remind wine aficionados of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay grapes. Halo Pinnacle is a Chardonnay laden with the texture of pure fruit, and the taste of lime-tree flowers and roasted hazelnuts is very noticeable."

Basically, Weezy's sparkling wine will be reminiscent of nuts, cream, and citrus fruits, much like other beverages of the sort. Lil Wayne's statement on the new business venture, quoted by Vibe.com, was succinct: "Champagne is for celebrating. I'm ready to put my foot in a new door. There are so many different business opportunities; I want to take advantage of it all."

[Note: Technically, the name "champagne" refers only to sparkling wine made with grapes from the Champagne region of France. Everything else is just sparkling wine. We don't know if Weezy's beverage is honest to goodness champagne or not, but given this guy's high standards, it probably is.-- Ed.]

While starting your own champagne brand is a pretty definite sign of success, being mentioned in a speech by a presidential hopeful is an arguably bigger one. Thanks to a speech Barack Obama gave yesterday (July 8), Wayne can claim both.

During a speech at a town hall meeting in Powder Springs, Georgia, Obama encouraged African American children to finish high school, saying, "You are probably not that good a rapper. Maybe you are the next Lil' Wayne, but probably not, in which case you need to stay in school," according to an ABC News blog entry (via The Daily Swarm).

We didn't realize Obama could be so harsh, but we're into it.

Finally, as previously reported, Lil Wayne will appear in the basketball flick Hurricane Seasons alongside Forest Whitaker and Bow Wow this Christmas. He's also touring this summer and fall in support of Tha Carter III.

Lil Wayne:

07-11 Shreveport, LA - Hirsch Memorial Coliseum
07-12 Grand Prairie, TX - Nokia Theatre (K104 Summer Jam)
07-20 Auburn, WA - White River Amphitheatre (KUBE 93 Summer Jam)
08-10 Baltimore, MD - Pimlico Race Course (Virgin Mobile Festival)
10-24-26 New Orleans, LA - Voodoo Experience

• MP3: Bun B [ft. Lil Wayne]: Damn I'm Cold [from the Ill Trill LP]