Nas - Hero (Featuring Keri Hilson)

The N Out on July 15th. Get yours.

DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince @ Hancock Movie Premiere

Fresh Prince and Jazzy Jeff reunite... from MickBoogie on Vimeo

Please tell me a reunion tour will happen. Either that or a new album with nothing but Jazzy Jeff doing the beats.

PLEASE WILL, MAKE IT HAPPEN. I'd donate my left arm to hear Brand New Funk live in the flesh.

Rock Steady Crew Celebrating 31 Years July 24-27

(swiped from AllHipHop)

Legendary collective Rock Steady Crew (RSC) will celebrate 31 years of preserving Hip-Hop culture during its annual anniversary celebration.

The four-day event will kick off with the celebrity benefit basketball challenge and Against The Grain Concrete B-boy/B-girl battle on July 24 at The Cage in New York City.

The day will also feature a popping/locking and B-boy dance workshop presented by RSC members Mr. Wiggles, Fabel, Suga Pop, Crazy Legs, Servin' Ervin, Bonita and Ynot at the Red Bull building.

"For some reason, Hip-Hop has that natural ability to bring people together and bridge the gaps that divide us, because of our common interest,” RSC Founder Crazy Legs told AllHipHop.com in a statement. When people come to the RSC anniversary, it becomes more than the anniversary. It’s a pilgrimage to the Mecca of Hip-Hop. It’s a way to get in touch with why they got in to Hip-Hop, and to meet some of the people that help to pioneer this culture.”

The week will honor legendary DJ Red Alert, who will celebrate 25 years on the radio as special guest DJ during the UK B-Boy Championships US qualifier, which takes place on July 25.

The Spy Awards and 5-on-5 crew battles will highlight the third day of celebration as B-boys and B-girls compete for a grand prize during round-by-round eliminations on July 26.

The day holds an additional meaning for RSC supporters and members, as it marks the official Rock Steady Crew Day in New York City.

The Rock Steady Crew will conclude it’s celebration with a free all-day outdoor concert and food drive on July 27.

The event will be held in conjunction with the third annual Lincoln Park Music Festival. Artists scheduled to perform include the Beatnuts, Buckshot, Craig G and Marley Marl, Sadat X, Soul Sonic Force, Positive K, Grand Master Caz, DJ Premier featuring NYG’z and Blaq Poet, Termanology and DJ Statik Selektah, A-OK, Akrobatik, Skyzoo and others.

A food drive will be held in honor of Wayne 'Frosty Freeze' Frost, who died after a long illness on April 8.

Prior to his death, Frosty Freeze gained mainstream exposure with an appearance with his Rock Steady brethren in the 1983 film Flashdance.

"Frosty Freeze was one of the last B-boys who embodied the very DNA of the original style, character and moves that existed when this dance began in the early '70s," Crazy Legs said.

For more details on the Rock Steady Crew 31st anniversary, visit www.rocksteadycrew.com

Muja Messiah Featuring I Self Devine - Patriot Act

Certified Dopeness.

He has a new album dropping 7/29/2008 called "The Adventures A B-Boy/D-Boy." Check him on the MySpace.

RIP: Larry Harmon, longtime Bozo the Clown, dies at 83

(swiped from the Associated Press)

Larry Harmon, who turned the character Bozo the Clown into a show business staple that delighted children for more than a half-century, died Thursday of congestive heart failure. He was 83.

His publicist, Jerry Digney, told The Associated Press he died at his home.

Although not the original Bozo, Harmon portrayed the popular clown in countless appearances and, as an entrepreneur, he licensed the character to others, particularly dozens of television stations around the country. The stations in turn hired actors to be their local Bozos.

"You might say, in a way, I was cloning BTC (Bozo the Clown) before anybody else out there got around to cloning DNA," Harmon told the AP in a 1996 interview.

"Bozo is a combination of the wonderful wisdom of the adult and the childlike ways in all of us," Harmon said.

Pinto Colvig, who also provided the voice for Walt Disney's Goofy, was the first Bozo the Clown, a character created by writer-producer Alan W. Livingston for a series of children's records in 1946. Livingston said he came up with the name Bozo after polling several people at Capitol Records.

Harmon would later meet his alter ego while answering a casting call to make personal appearances as a clown to promote the records.

He got that job and eventually bought the rights to Bozo. Along the way, he embellished Bozo's distinctive look: the orange-tufted hair, the bulbous nose, the outlandish red, white and blue costume.

"I felt if I could plant my size 83AAA shoes on this planet, (people) would never be able to forget those footprints," he said.

Susan Harmon, his wife of 29 years, indicated Harmon was the perfect fit for Bozo.

"He was the most optimistic man I ever met. He always saw a bright side; he always had something good to say about everybody. He was the love of my life," she said Thursday.

The business — combining animation, licensing of the character, and personal appearances — made millions, as Harmon trained more than 200 Bozos over the years to represent him in local markets.

"I'm looking for that sparkle in the eyes, that emotion, feeling, directness, warmth. That is so important," he said of his criteria for becoming a Bozo.

The Chicago version of Bozo ran on WGN-TV in Chicago for 40 years and was seen in many other cities after cable television transformed WGN into a superstation.

Bozo — portrayed in Chicago for many years by Bob Bell — was so popular that the waiting list for tickets to a TV show eventually stretched to a decade, prompting the station to stop taking reservations for 10 years. On the day in 1990 when WGN started taking reservations again, it took just five hours to book the show for five more years. The phone company reported more than 27 million phone call attempts had been made.

By the time the show bowed out in Chicago, in 2001, it was the last locally produced version. Harmon said at the time that he hoped to develop a new cable or network show, as well as a Bozo feature film.

He became caught up in a minor controversy in 2004 when the International Clown Hall of Fame in Milwaukee took down a plaque honoring him as Bozo and formally endorsed Colvig as the first. Harmon denied ever misrepresenting Bozo's history.

He said he was claiming credit only for what he added to the character — "What I sound like, what I look like, what I walk like" — and what he did to popularize Bozo.

"Isn't it a shame the credit that was given to me for the work I have done, they arbitrarily take it down, like I didn't do anything for the last 52 years," he told the AP at the time.

Harmon protected Bozo's reputation with a vengeance, while embracing those who poked good-natured fun at the clown.

As Bozo's influence spread through popular culture, his very name became a synonym for clownish behavior.

"It takes a lot of effort and energy to keep a character that old fresh so kids today still know about him and want to buy the products," Karen Raugust, executive editor of The Licensing Letter, a New York-based trade publication, said in 1996.

A normal character runs its course in three to five years, Raugust said. "Harmon's is a classic character. It's been around 50 years."

On New Year's Day 1996, Harmon dressed up as Bozo for the first time in 10 years, appearing in the Rose Parade in Pasadena.

The crowd reaction, he recalled, "was deafening."

"They kept yelling, `Bozo, Bozo, love you, love you.' I shed more crocodile tears for five miles in four hours than I realized I had," he said. "I still get goose bumps."

Born in Toledo, Ohio, Harmon became interested in theater while studying at the University of Southern California.

"Bozo is a star, an entertainer, bigger than life," Harmon once said. "People see him as Mr. Bozo, somebody you can relate to, touch and laugh with."

Besides his wife, Harmon is survived by his son, Jeff Harmon, and daughters Lori Harmon, Marci Breth-Carabet and Leslie Breth.

Killer Mike & Ice Cube "Pressure"

Shit is FIRE. CUBE IS MY HERO.

Video after the jump. Props to Rezidue.

Pressure

Kanye West Designs Shoes With Louis Vuitton

(swiped from Pitchfork Media)

In October, Kanye West revealed that he was working on a collection of jewelry with Graduation cover artist Takashi Murakami. Our first thoughts upon hearing the news included "Silly Kanye, you sure love expensive shit," and "Way to expand the brand." Apparently Kanye's thoughts were more of the "Damn, I gotta work on matching shoes" variety.

According to an NME.com report citing WWD.com (Women's Wear Daily's website, which also broke the jewelry news), Kanye revealed at a recent Louis Vuitton show in Paris that he is working on a line of men's shoes with the fashion design company famous for its luggage. Fitting for a guy who has called himself "The Louis Vuitton Don".

But Kanye didn't stop with shoes. According to the NME.com report, he is planning to unveil a collection of women's wear this fall. It won't be long before that expensive shit he posts on his blog is all of his own design.

Steppin' out:
07-04 New Orleans, LA - Essence Festival
07-25 Stratford-upon-Avon, England - Global Gathering
08-01 Cincinnati, OH - U.S. Bank Arena
08-03 Chicago, IL - Grant Park (Lollapalooza)
08-05 New York, NY - Madison Square Garden
08-06 New York, NY - Madison Square Garden
08-07 Mashantucket, CT - MGM Grand at Foxwoods
08-10 Baltimore, MD - Pimlico Race Course (Virgin Festival)

Video: Kanye West: Flashing Lights [from the Graduation LP]

Ian Curtis' Gravestone Stolen

(Swiped from Pitchfork Media)

Sad news of a slightly different sort coming out of the Joy Division fold: The BBC reports that the gravestone marking the grave of Ian Curtis, the late frontman for the legendary mope-rockers, has been stolen.

According to the BBC, at some point between Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday morning, thieves removed the stone from its perch at the Macclesfield Cemetery in Curtis' hometown of Macclesfield, England. Authorities currently have no leads as to the whereabouts of the stone, which bears the inscriptions "Ian Curtis 18 - 5 - 80" and "Love Will Tear Us Apart".

In other Ian Curtis grave-robbing news, a limited edition Unknown Pleasures-themed Zune was recently released.

• Video: Joy Division: Shadowplay [live]

Rage's Zach de la Rocha Starts New Band, Delivers EP/Tom Morello readies new Nightwatchman album

(Swiped from Pitchfork Media)

The name One Day as a Lion might not set off any alarms, but the parties involved should be familiar. The brand new thing from Rage Against the Machine frontman Zack de la Rocha and ex-Royal Trux/Mars Volta drummer Jon Theodore will release their self-titled debut EP to the world July 22 from the Anti- label. As you might recall, this project has been in the works for awhile.

Meanwhile, Rage guitar slinger Tom Morello and his Nightwatchman thing have a new disc on the way, too. This one's called The Fabled City, it was produced by Brendan O'Brien, and Serj Tankian of System of a Down and Shooter Jennings both make appearances. It's due September 30 from Epic.

All this outside expression hasn't quelled the mighty Rage these fellas share, which they'll bring to a few lucky festivals throughout the rest of the summer.

One Day as a Lion:

01 Wild International

02 Ocean View

03 Last Letter

04 If You Fear Dying

05 One Day as a Lion

The Fabled City:

01 The Fabled City

02 Whatever It Takes

03 The King of Hell

04 Night Falls

05 The Lights Are on in Spidertown

06 Midnight in the City of Destruction

07 Saint Isabelle

08 Lazarus on Down (ft. Serj Tankian)

09 Gone Like Rain

10 The Iron Wheel (ft. Shooter Jennings)

11 Rise to Power

Rage:

07-10 Lisbon, Portugal - Optimus Alive!08

07-12 Balado, Scotland - T in the Park Festival

07-13 County Kildaire, Ireland - Oxegen Festival

08-02 Chicago, IL - Lollapalooza

08-20 Paris, France - Rock en Seine Festival

08-22 Reading, England - Reading Festival

08-23 Leeds, England - Leeds Festival

Ice Cube Says He's Done Censoring Himself At 'Do Ya Thang' Video Shoot

Raw Footage, an album of 'hip-hop for the brain,' drops in August.

(Swiped from MTVNews)

It was another good day for Ice Cube in Los Angeles recently. He shot the video for his next single, "Do Ya Thang," without a hitch.

You could hear "Do ya thang, man/ F--- what they lookin' at" busting out of the playback speakers as Cube stood in front of a myriad of supporters throwing up a "W" made with their fingers. Everyone was dressed in black.

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"I released the Internet single called 'Gangsta Rap Made Me Do It.' The video was so hard-core, it just stayed on the Internet," Cube said, sitting in a cherry-red convertible as the sun beat down. "This one is gonna be released worldwide. It's one of those summer songs about doing your thing, not worrying about who's looking at it. It's about being yourself and doing you.

"I wanted to finally do a video and not worry about censoring myself or not taking things out that some censors don't like," he continued.

Cube's Raw Footage drops on August 19, and don't think that just because this new single and video are less stringent that he's decided to lighten up the overall tone of the album. He's promised weighty lyrics and concepts.

"I'm raw footage," he said. "I believe in speaking the real. I been waiting to do this album for a long time. I felt hip-hop wasn't ready for it, that street knowledge I used to do. What's going on with the politics of today — letting the politicians know what's going on with the streets — that's my specialty. This album is full of that. Hip-hop for the brain."

Guests on the album include the Game, Musiq and one of Ice's best friends.

"Dub C, he's my partner in crime," he detailed. "My right and left hand. We got the Game on there. We been talking to a few people out there. I have a song with Musiq Soulchild, which is something different. It was cool to have him do my hook."

On Tuesday (July 1), it was announced that Cube's next film, "Janky Promoters," will co-star Young Jeezy as a rapper. The plot centers on Cube's and Mike Epps' shady show-promoter characters. Cube wrote the screenplay.

Saul Williams Tours, Puts Deluxe Tardust on CD/LP

(Swiped from Pitchfork Media)

Just as Saul Williams-- like Radiohead and some other people-- used the internet to give away The Inevitable Rise and Liberation of NiggyTardust!, he'll also-- like Radiohead and some other people-- give the record a physical release.

On July 8, FADERLABEL will issue the Trent Reznor-produced album on CD and vinyl with five bonus tracks, including minor classic "List of Demands (Reparations)".

Williams also has tour dates this summer in Europe and a few big U.S. cities, and he plans to add even more shows soon.

The Inevitable Rise and Liberation of NiggyTardust!:
01 Black History Month
02 Convict Colony
03 Tr(n)igger
04 Sunday Bloody Sunday
05 Break
06 NiggyTardust
07 DNA
08 WTF!
09 Scared Money
10 Raw
11 Skin of a Drum
12 No One Ever Does
13 Banged and Blown Through
14 Raised to Be Lowered
15 The Ritual16 Pedagogue of Young Gods *
17 World on Wheels *
18 Can't Hide Love *
19 Gunshots by Computer *
20 List of Demands (Reparations) *

* bonus track

Saul Williams:
07-03 London, England - O2 Wireless Festival
07-04 Arvika, Sweden - Arvika Festival
07-05 Oslo, Norway - Oslo Live Festival
07-06 Turku, Finland - Klubi
07-07 Tampere, Finland - Klubi
07-08 Helsinki, Finland - Tavastia
07-10 Feldkirch, Austria - Poolbar Festival
07-11 Zurich, Switzerland - La Rote Fabrik
07-12 Bruges, Belgium - Cactus Festival
07-13 Montmartin-sur-Mer, France - Chauffer Dans la Noirceur
07-16 New York, NY - S.O.B.'s
07-17 New York, NY - Virgin Union Square (in-store)
08-03 Chicago, IL - Grant Park (Lollapalooza)
08-23 San Diego, CA - PETCO Park
08-30-31 Seattle, WA - Bumbershoot

MP3: Saul Williams [prod. by Trent Reznor]: World on Wheels [from the forthcoming The Inevitable Rise and Liberation of NiggyTardust! LP]

Re-Up Gang LP Due in August, Clipse in November

(Swiped from Pitchfork Media)

f you're expecting to stroll up to your local mixtape dude August 5 to land yourself a copy of that new Re-Up Gang disc, you may find yourself the recipient of a puzzled look. Indeed, the next release from the lyrically venomous VA-to-PA supergroup featuring Malice and Pusha T of Clipse and Philly MCs Ab-Liva and Sandman will in fact be traveling through some atypically traditional channels to get to your ears.

Clipse Presents: Re-Up Gang is due in stores August 5 from Koch Records. The disc sports nine new songs-- including the recently Forkcasted "Fast Life", produced by Scott "Mayor of Clowntown" Storch-- and a trio of previously unreleased remixes of cuts from the fab free-to-download We Got It for Cheap, Vol. 3 mixtape they laid on us this winter. Oh, and lest you forgot, British soul singer Joss Stone was at least at one point slated to appear on the set, though there's no mention of her involvement in the recent press material.

Clipse, meanwhile, are still busy working up their third LP, now slated for a November release on their new label Sony/Columbia. I'll believe it when I own it.

MP3: Re-Up Gang: Fast Life [from the forthcoming Clipse Presents: Re-Up Gang LP]

RZA, Hans Zimmer Team for Vin Diesel Movie Score

(Swiped from Pitchfork Media)

Babylon A.D. is a futuristic thriller kinda movie starring Vin Diesel, Michelle Yeoh, and this guy. From what I gather from the preview I saw before The Happening and a sentence on IMDB, it sounds a bit like Children of Men without all the stuff that should've won that one some Oscars.

Seems like the kind of flick that an Ibiza resident DJ with aspirations of LP-making would kill to provide the "hard-charging, action-packed" score for. But nope, this one's being handled by none other than the collective powers of Wu-Tang Clan maestro RZA, Oscar-winning film composer Hans Zimmer, and System of a Down bassist Shavo Odadjian. [via the Playlist].

In an interview with Denver Westword music blog Backbeat Online, RZA said, "It's a big, big blockbuster type movie, big sci-fi type movie that comes out in September, and I'm involved with the score on that one. They actually combined me with Hans Zimmer and his team. The RZA's team and Hans Zimmer's team have combined to create a hybrid kind of score for this movie that's based in the future. So I think it's going to be a good vibe for the audience out there, and it's a good movie anyway – a very thought-provoking movie."

RZA's publicist confirmed that Odadjian also worked on the score. RZA and Odadjian are currently working together in the new group Achozen.

The RZA's new album as Bobby Digital, Digi Snacks, is out this week from Koch Records, and RZA, too, is out on the road promoting the thing.

RZA:

06-27 Calgary, Alberta - Sled Island Music Festival

06-30 Minneapolis, MN - First Avenue

07-01 Chicago, IL - House of Blues

07-02 Pontiac, MI - Crofoot Ballroom

07-03 Montreal, Quebec - Montreal Jazz Festival *

07-04 Ottawa, Ontario - New Capital Music Hall

07-05 New York, NY - Webster Hall

07-07 Philadelphia, PA - Trocadero

07-08 Washington, DC - 9:30 Club

07-24 Seattle, WA - Showbox Studio

07-26 Toronto, Ontario - Wakestock *

* with GZA

MP3: RZA as Bobby Digital (ft. David Banner): Straight Up the Block [from the Digi Snacks LP]

Video: Babylon A.D.: TrailerVideo: RZA: You Can't Stop Me Now [from the Digi Snacks LP]

Because I ain't posted in a minute...

"I'm gangsta too! What's hood?"

Been awhile folks....

Hey there folks! Been awhile.

As some of you can tell, I started my own label awhile back; Background Noise. I have been in a mad dash wanting to post to you guys the latest news and also promote the folks I know as my good friends and counterparts in the music scene in general. Imagine to my surprise when I had received all this press regarding my label showcase that occurred at a very intimate venue in Minneapolis. And little did I know on a rather joyous 28th Birthday for me that I would get my chance to show the scene what it has taught me and the exact affirmation I needed to show I was doing the right thing.

I thank you, the loyal readers and the passerby readers for stopping by my blog on the daily to await my many multi-posts regarding your favorite news on music, pop culture, and sometimes satirical stabs at politics.

You stuck through it all and I owe you nothing less.

My resurrection shall soon come. Promise.

Don't consider this a swan song, but consider this more of a, "I'll be posting much as I can."

Devin The Dude Leaves Rap-A-Lot‏

(swiped from AllHipHop)

With a desire to purse other career options, rapper Devin the Dude is parting ways with his longtime recording home Rap-A-Lot Records.

The departure marks the end of a 15 year-plus relationship between Rap-A-Lot and the Texas rapper, who decided not to renew his contract.

According to Devin the Dude, there was no ill will behind the split.

"Rap-A-Lot has been my family for a long time and there's no bad blood at all," said the rapper, who carved a niche for himself after signing a deal with the Odd Squad on Rap-A-Lot in 1992.

“Change is a part of life and I feel like this is the time to make a change and focus more on the business side of my career,“ the rapper said. “I've had a nice run so I'd like to develop artists and give some of these other cats out here a platform to shine."

Before going solo, Devin the Dude encountered success as member of Odd Squad on the group’s 1994 album Fadanuf Fa Erybody.

The release captured the attention of revered Houston rapper Scarface, who invited Devin the Dude to join his collective Face Mob.

The alliance resulted in Face Mob’s 1996 offering The Other Side of the Law.

As a solo artist, Devin the Dude released his classic debut The Dude, an ode to wine, women and weed that featured the emcee's humorous brand of risqué funk over production from the Coughee Bros.

Other Rap-A-Lot albums that were recorded over the last 10 years by Devin the Dude included Just Trying 2 Live in 2002, 2004's 2 Tha Extreme, and Waiting to Inhale, which was released in March 2007.

The rapper's most notable guest appearance was on the song "F**k You" from Dr. Dre’s album 2001.

This past year saw Devin the Dude promoting the recently released independent album Waitin Our Turn while touring with his original Coughee Bros.

The rapper, who expressed a desire to make new music, is currently exploring options concerning over several offers from various record labels.

Public Enemy, Raekwon Do Classics for Don't Look Back

(Swiped from Pitchfork Media)

Yeah boyeeeee! Once May rolls around, Public Enemy will take their 1988 classic-among-classics It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back to a trio of UK stages as part of All Tomorrow's Parties' Don't Look Back. (As you already know, Don't Look Back is an ongoing series of live performances of classic albums in their entirety.)

In addition to all the cold lampin' and the noise bringin' from the mighty PE, each of the three Nation of Millions UK shows will be bolstered by supporting performances from Dr. Octagon (Kool Keith and Kutmasta Kurt), Edan and MC Dagha, and the reunited Anti-Pop Consortium.

What's more, Raekwon will follow in his Wu-Tang cohort GZA's footsteps in bringing a solo album to the stage as part of Don't Look Back. The Chef will take 1995's Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... to London's Koko on May 19. (And then my apartment, right?)

These new events join Sebadoh's performance of Bubble and Scrape (taking place May 7 at Koko) to round out the current schedule of UK Don't Look Backs.

And as you're well aware by now, ATP is doing big things with both Pitchfork and Explosions in the Sky in May as well.

It Takes a Nation of Millions, Dr. Octagon, Anti-Pop Consortium, Edan and MC Dagha:

05-23 London, England – Academy

05-26 Manchester, England – Academy

05-27 Glasgow, Scotland – ABC1

Video: Public Enemy: Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos [from the It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back LP]

Video: Raekwon: Incarcerated Scarfaces [from the Only Built for Cuban Linx LP]

'King of the Congas' dies in Cuba

(Swiped from BBCNews)

Tata Guines, Cuba's most famous percussionist, has died of a kidney infection in Havana. He was 77.

Guines, whose real name was Federico Aristides Soto, died on Monday, Cuba's state media reported.

The "King of the Congas" shared the stage with some of the world's most renowned performers during a career spanning more than six decades.

In the US in the 1950s, he performed with the likes of Frank Sinatra, Josephine Baker and Dizzy Gillespie.

He had spent his formative years playing with some of the greats of 1930's and 40's Cuban music.

Despite his success in the United States, Guines returned to Cuba after Fidel Castro's communist revolution in 1959, saying he had never been able to get used to the racial segregation in the US at the time.

"Fame did not extend beyond the stage. Once you left the stage, it was like the signs said: 'Whites only'," he said in an interview published last year.

After spending years away from the public eye, he enjoyed renewed success in 2004 when he performed on the Grammy nominated hit album, Lagrimas Negras - Black Tears.

Pimp C Died From Accidental Cough-Medicine Overdose, Sleep Condition: Autopsy

(Swiped from MTVNews)

UGK member rapped about his affinity for codeine in Three 6 Mafia track.

UGK rapper Pimp C's death was the result of an overdose that was triggered by a large consumption of codeine medication combined with a pre-existing sleep condition, according to the Los Angeles County coroner's office.

The autopsy ruled that the rapper (real name: Chad Butler) died accidentally.

Pimp C was found dead December 4 in a Los Angeles hotel after headlining a few spot tour dates in California with Too Short. He was 33.

As one-half of UGK, along with rhyme partner Bun B — who reflected on his friend to MTV News shortly after his passing — Pimp C was instrumental in shaping the sound and influence of Southern rap, which dominates hip-hop today. On "Sippin' on Some Syrup," a track for which UGK collaborated with Three 6 Mafia, Pimp C boasted of his affinity for codeine. Cough medicine combined with a number of mixers is a popular beverage in some Southern regions.

"I got the red promethazine, thick orange and yellow 'Tuss," Pimp C rapped on the track.

According to the autopsy report, Pimp C had prescription promethazine/codeine in his system when he died. Initial reports at the time of his death suggested the rapper had over-the-counter codeine in his possession. Pimp C also suffered from sleep apnea, which causes blockage of the airways during sleep.

The assistant chief coroner in the L.A. County coroner's office, Ed Winter, reportedly said the effects of codeine when combined with a condition such as Butler's are deadly.

"Sleep apnea, you stop breathing," Winter told the Houston Chronicle. "Coupled with a medication that suppressed your respirator abilities, you end up with an accidental death."

For more on Pimp C's passing, read:

"UGK's Pimp C: An Underground Legend Who Defied The Mainstream"

"UGK's Pimp C, Remembered By Sway Calloway"

"Bun B, Outkast's Big Boi, Swizz Beatz Remember 'Real Honorable, Real Cool, Really Respected' Pimp C"

"Pimp C Is Given Uplifting, Heartfelt Farewell At Funeral"

Prodigy To Perform H.N.I.C. 2 Live and In It's Entirety

(Swiped from Pitchfork Media)

That Prodigy sure knows how to say goodbye in style. He's facing a three and a half year jail sentence for a 2006 gun charge, and his term begins February 13. The Mobb Deep rapper knows his days of freedom are, for the time being, numbered.

So on February 6, P will take a break from video blogging (dude is a regular Ron Paul with this internet game) to join a few friends at New York City's B.B. King Blues Club for a sendoff party. But not just any farewell: Prodigy will perform the entirety of his forthcoming H.N.I.C. 2 LP onstage at the event, and guests aplenty-- including a few of his G-Unit associates-- are expected to appear and pay tribute to P.

H.N.I.C. 2 is due March 25 from Infamous Music/Voxonic. Wired reports that Prodigy will employ the company's really sci-fi "Voxonic" speech-conversion software that will translate the album into up to 1,500 languages. (Indeed, H.N.I.C. 2's last track is a Spanish version of "ABC".) That's kind of like how Avril Lavigne made a bunch of "Girlfriend" translations.

Man, Avril and Prodigy, together at last.

H.N.I.C. 2:
01 Real Power Is People

02 The Life

03 Young Veterans

04 Illuminati

05 New Yitty

06 ABC

07 Click Clack (ft. Big Twinz)

08 Veteran's Memorial Pt. 2

09 Field Marshall P (ft. Un Pacino)

10 3 Stacks (ft. Un Pacino)

11 When I See You

12 Dirty New Yorker

13 I Want Out (ft. Havoc & Un Pacino)

14 ABC (Vox Spanish remix)

Video: Prodigy: Mac 10 Handle [from the Return of the Mac LP]