“Paper Trail’s on the way. We bout 30% into it, and everythang’s going great…”

Live and direct from House Arrest Avenue.

Most artists can either sing or rap. Some can even juggle both with impressive results (Lauryn Hill, anyone). Ciara may be the first to lack talent in both areas. Sure the girl can dance her way through traffic, but her mini-rap towards the end of “That’s Right” is ass backwards.

::Notorious K.I.M. at a recent club performance.

Others rock the stage; Kim freaks it. Seriously, this has to be the most decent she’s looked all year. (more…)

The Unit has been awful quiet ever since Curtis tanked. So Buck Marley decided to break the silence. Here’s Buck putting his own G-Unit spin on Lupe Fiasco’s “Superstar.”

Despite the fact the FBI is now investigating the Criminals Gone Wild DVD, the fake film director insists those were real crimes being committed on camera. Here’s the video from a CNN segment in which the fake director shows off the money he made from the DVDs.

“I’m willing to swear on the Bible that this is 100% real. And I would like to say God bless America and God bless Criminals Gone Wild.”

He’ll need God’s blessings when the feds decide to throw his black ass behind bars for the tomfoolery.

Sorry to ruin your Christmas this early. After weeks of negotiations and speculations, Jay-Z has confirmed that he will not continue as Def Jam president come January.

“Now it’s time for me to take on new challenges,” said Jay-Z in a statement. “I am pleased to have had the opportunity to build upon the Def Jam legacy.”

CEO of Island Def Jam Music Group, Antonio “L.A.” Reid, said: “Jay made it clear to us that he feels the time has come to take on different challenges in his life. While we regret his decision to move on, we certainly respect it.”

Word on the street is that Hov wanted more than the $10 million he was getting on his old contract. He’s still signed to Def Jam via Roc-A-Fella, with one album left laundry list. LL Cool J is somewhere smiling like, “I told you so.”

[Full Story]

2007 was truly the year of videos. With the advent of YouTube and SmashTube (shout out to Young Legend and the whole OnSmash crew), delivering an endless stream of topical content and the occasional buffoonery never seemed so effortless.

Grab a glass of water and join me as we countdown The Rap Up’s Top 10 Web Videos of ‘07.

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These days, you’ll hardly hear Joe Budden spit one verse without dissing the Jiggaman. Well, except if Beanie Sigel and Freeway are part of Joey’s live audience.