It’s Friday and I’m in a good mood, so I’m going to play Concert Calendar today and point you to some shows worth checking out for the weekend and beyond:

Soulbrotha at The Grab, Houston on 7/21
If you know anything about The Rap Up’s own Soulbrotha, then you know you’re guaranteed a swell time at this event. Show kicks off at 9 pm. (See above flyer for details)

Smif N Wessun and Dead Prez at Red Hook, Brooklyn on 7/24:
The is also part of City Parks Summer Showcase. Red Hook is located on 155 Bay Street, BK, NY. Show starts at 7 pm.

Scarface and Black Moon at the Canal Room on 7/26 (FREE show & drinks)
The Canal Room is situated at 285 West Broadway @ Canal Street. The event is hosted by MTV’s own Sway, BET’s DJ Kelly G. DJ Evil Dee of Black Moon will be spinning all night long.
Sean Price and Uncle Ralph McDaniels will be in attendance.
Head over to Duck Down to RSVP

Big Things Poppin’ on 7/21, hosted by Shaquille O’neal at Hush, Houston
Hush is located at 15625 Katy Freeway. $10 cover before 10: 30 pm.

2007 Rock the Bells Tour
This year’s RTB is a 13-city tour featuring the avant garde of hip-hop: Rakim, Wu-Tang, UGK, EPMD, etc. Consult the Rock the Bells listings for dates and venues.

(Photo by: Ivan)

-Sample and Example: Common and Paul Simon [Hip-Hop Is Read]

-Apparently, Curtis doesn’t want to share the spotlight with Kanye. He wants Hov to pushback Ye’s album. I think one of these guys will just have to swallow their pride and back the f*ck down. Better yet, they need to go ahead and slug it out and let consumers decide. Isn’t it sad enough that they’re dropping on 9/11 (of all dates)? [About]

-Top 7 MCs who never released a solo album. [Street Census]

-Jim Jones comments on Cam’ron beef, says he’d like to collaborate with 50 Cent and Nas, but never Jay-Z. [MTV]

-Suge Knight is a biter. No, I mean literally. [Nah Right]

-The 199-Day Check In: Music of the Half Year. [Straight Bangin']

-Trouble seems to follow D’Angelo around everywhere he goes. Maybe he’ll harvest enough inspiration from all these arrests to deliver another classic. [Stereohyped]

-The O’Reilly Factor blames Michael Vick’s dog fighting controversy on ‘gangsta rap’. DMX and Jay-Z are specifically fingered (pause) for their contribution to dog-fighting culture. [GooTube]

It’s been 9 months since Press Play hit the shelves, yet Diddy can’t stop, won’t stop caking off that album. “Through the Pain” is the fourth single and fifth video from PP. Now, you know damn well that Aasim can only hope for a $50 video budget when his album drops. (Sorry, were you saying something about Black Rob?)

::DTP – Celebrity Chick

-Khia: The Project’s Next Top Model. Almost cracked my neck and my back laughing at these photos. [Bossip]

-Music industry continues its assault on journalists/people willing to pay for its product. [Idolator]

-Pepsi’s DJ Battle/show at S.O.B. looks like one hell of a good show. [Miss Info]

-Let’s get armored vehicles for Iraq. [Prohiphop]

-Don Imus returns to radio, with a black, female co-host as his sidekick. [Hip-Hop Crunch]

-Yes, it’s true. Graduation will now be released on September 11, same date as Curtis. Uh-oh. [Reliable Sources]

-Internet Celebrities’ How to Attend an Outdoor Concert. [Internet Celebrities]

-The folks att Bump-Mag have some super-official pics from Vida Guerra’s Bedroom Party. Whatever that is. [Bump]

(Pic via Complex)

Exactly two months ago, Beans called out Kanye and Pharrell on their fashion sense. In true Angie Martinez style, the issue was fully addressed during Kanye’s latest Hot 97 interview. He repeatedly orders them to turn down the music while speaking on the issue, so you know this really hit him in the bone. But to his credit, ‘Ye keeps his response funny without necessarily fanning the fire that Beans instigated. He wins again.

Listen up: Kanye Speaks on Beanie’s comments
(The interview starts around the 2-minute mark.)

More?
Miss Info has the rest of the interview, including Ye’s in-studio freestyle.

This, according to Amazon.com, is the official Graduation cover art.

Update: Def Jam has just confirmed to me that this is only a temp cover. I’ll keep you posted…

The King of Free Mixtapes That Actually Bang returns with his latest installment in the Mixtape Messiah series. This one finds Koopa rocking hard-body beats like “Big Things Poppin’,” “I Get Money,” “International Players Anthem (I Choose U),” and–believe it or not–”Stronger.” Enjoy.

Mixtape Messiah 3 Tracklist
1. Get Ya Burners Out
2 Money Already Made
3. Get on My Level
4. Livin Good
5. Its Just Pain
6. The Call
7. Nothin But Lies
8. Ima Playa Fasho
9 Roy Woods Jr. Skit
10. Failures Not an Option
11. Got a lot of options
12. See it in My Eyes
13 Don’t Hurt ‘Em Hammer
14. Roy Wood Jr. Skit
15. It’s On
16. You A Dummy
17. Chamillionaire Speaks
18. Mo Scrilla
19. The Crowd Goes Wild
20. Makes Me Stronger
21. Chamillionaire Speaks
22. Rain (w/ Famous)

Download: Chamillionaire – Mixtape Messiah 3
Bonus: Mixtape Messiah DVD
On the Web: Chamillionaire.com

Previously:
Chamillionaire – Mixtape Messiah 2

David Banner rounded up all the cameo kings on his speed dial and somehow managed to fit their egos on one screen.

Taken from The Greatest Story Ever Told.