CHE' MACK

At my pool acting a fool

CHE'MACK IS HER NAME AND I THINK SHE SEXY I WOULD WIFE THAT LOL

Author: Jay Carter
Read 23619 Times Since
Posted on 2008-04-15

From 2pac's famous “Thug Life” tattoo on his stomach to Mike Tyson’s Famous tattoo on his face more then ever Hip Hop artist like are not only expressing themselves with music but with ink. Artist such as Lil Wayne, Rick Ross, 50 Cent, Flo Rida, Birdman, Oschino (formerly of State Property), Plies, Pharell, The Game, Kanye West, Young Jeezy, Jim Jones, B.G., GunPlay of Triple C, Three 6 Mafia, Jacki-O, Willy Northpole, Young Buck, Cashis (artist on Shady Records), they are only a hand full of artist that don’t have any tattoos such as Jay-Z and T.I. to name a few that comes to mind. I recently sat down with Che’ Mack out of Philly and she began to tell me her story behind her tattoos…….

24: What was the first tattoo you got and how old were you at the time?

Che’ Mack: My first tattoo I got was when I was 18. I got it on my back, a tribal sign. I didn’t know any better but it’s covered up now.

24: After getting your first tat I know a lot of people stay that’s where starts but not where it ends so was it like that for you?

Che’ Mack: No, for me it’s more expression then an addiction or anything like that.

24: How many tattoos in total do you have?

Che’ Mack: I have about 30 something…

24: I know people get tattoos to express themselves in different ways from pain to joy some explain the meaning behind a couple of your tats?

Che’ Mack: My tattoos are a form of expression for me. They are my music, my art, my dancing since I cant don’t have any of those talents. I get tattoos to get my point across.

24: What’s the reaction you get from the average person that meets you for the first time about your tattoos?

Che’ Mack: Some people don’t like what they don’t understand I get stereotyped a lot! Then when they get to know me they say damn “ I never seen anyone that bold and then they say its dope”.

24: Personally, I think it fits you and you pull it off well and I have seen you in a sexy dress to jeans and a V-Neck T-Shirt, but have you been on any blind dates where the person did not want to be with you because of the tattoos?

Che’ Mack: That has never happened to me yet but I make men change their minds about women. Some guys hate tattooed women but it’s a certain way u carry it. I try not to be sexy because that’s simply not me. I’m not your typical girly girl but I still get the job done.

24: Also Have their been any jobs that you feel turned you away because of the ink?

Che’ Mack: No not at all because they don’t see them until I get the job. I love being in disguise and I don’t get judged to quick that way (lol).

24: Is their any tattoo that you have that you regret doing for example a ex-boyfriend name or something to a tattoo you wish came out better?

Che’ Mack: Oh, Hell yeah I’m not going to put the name out there but he knows who he is!

24: If you had to choose 2 tattoos that meant the most to you which would it be and why?

Che’ Mack: On my chest “I Dream Therefore I Am” that’s my favorite. I’m a Pisces and we are considered dreamers and we live in our own fantasy world. The second one would have to be my next tat I’m getting, the concept is crazy.

24: How much money have you spent on tattoos so far?

Che’ Mack: Let me see... maybe about 6,000 in total.

24: Anything you want to say to the readers or promote?

Che’ Mack: Yes, I am on the look out for a real good agent right know (lol)! Everyone can always check me out on myspace at www.myspace.com/chavantemack!

Wayne talks about his son...and other things

"I delivered him. I held the left leg the whole time," rapper says. Lil' Wayne is known for spending most of his waking hours in the studio cooking up tracks. But backstage at New York radio station Power 105's Powerhouse concert on Tuesday, Wayne said he happily stepped out of the box last week to be on hand for the birth of his first son, Dwayne Michael Carter III, at Christ Hospital in Cincinnati.
"It was nasty, very nasty, but it was wonderful. October 22, 9:25 a.m., 7 pounds, 12 ounces. He's the best thing to ever happen to me, next to my daughter."
The rapper broke the news that he was expecting another child while accepting the Lyricist of the Year trophy at the BET Hip-Hop Awards, telling the crowd at the Boisfeuillet Jones Atlanta Civic Center that his first son would likely be arriving in just a "couple of days."
Wayne's first child, an 8-year-old girl named Reginae Carter, is from a relationship with his high school sweetheart, Antonia "Toya" Johnson; the name of the boy's mother has not been revealed.
During the radio interview, Wayne did not discuss why he and Jay-Z did not collaborate onstage as expected at the Powerhouse show, but he did explain that he'd missed a show the previous night in Boston due to "technical difficulties." He also reiterated his desire to put out another Tha Carter III album before moving on to Tha Carter IV, being titled Tha Carter III: The Rebirth.

By: Gil Kaufman: MTV News

BOOOOOOTY!!!!!!

Rumor: Zune Phone Is Coming to CES 2009

By Jose Fermoso December 10, 2008 | 6:52:42 AMCategories: Audio, Microsoft, Phones

After years of rumors and brusque denials, it appears the Zune phone is the real deal.

According to Trip Chowdhry, an analyst at Global Equities Research, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer will announce a Zune-style mobile device during his keynote address at the upcoming Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, on January 7, 2009.

In an article in Barron's, Chowdhry claims that the company's new centerpiece will combine the best features of the Zune media player with the hardware design of Danger's mobile Sidekick, in addition to "motion enhancement features," like an accelerometer.

Basically, this means the device will come with a physical keyboard like HTC's G1 and will likely feature a larger screen to accommodate heavy multimedia elements. And since we're all here copying each other's mobile phone features, we'll be shocked if the Zune phone doesn't feature multitouch capabilities.

This report seems to confirm an earlier one revealing that Microsoft was working on a phone code-named "Pink."

It's a long way from Ballmer's original statement in April 2007 regarding the iPhone: "It's not a concept you'll ever get from us. We're in the Windows Mobile business."

In fact, this was always the excuse Microsoft gave as to why it couldn't build a phone -– its WinMo business was too successful and it couldn't afford to cannibalize the market. This year, Microsoft's WinMo profits are expected to be near $300 million in revenue.

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Happy Birthday Sidekick!

Happy Birthday Sidekick!

October 1st, 2008

Six years ago today (Oct. 1st, 2002), the first black and white Sidekick was released to the public. It was groundbreaking, and a completely new approach to the cell phone market. Happy Birthday Sidekick! For more important dates in Sidekick history, check out our Sidekick Timeline

IF YOU THINK GANGS IN THE U.S.A IS CRAZY AN ALL READ THIS

ha-shi-chi-ku-san-tsu-ki-ni

background

In Japan, organized crime and criminals come under the general heading of Yakuza. According to tradition, the name is derived from the worst possible score in a Japanese card game. It comes from Japan's counterpart to Black Jack, Oicho- Kabu. The general difference between the cardgames is that in Oicho- Kabu is that a winning total of the cards is 19 instead of 21. As you see, the sum of 8, 9 and 3, is 20, which is over in Oicho-Kabu. In a hand resulting in a score of 20, the worst possible score, a player's final score would be zero. Among the losing combinations, the phonetic sound of an 8-9-3 sequence is ya - ku - sa. It's from there the name, yakuza is derived... without worth to society. This doesn't mean that they have no use for the society, it means that the members are people that somehow do not fit in the society, in other words societies misfits.

The Yakuza were itinerant gamblers, peddlers, renegade warriors and roving bandits. They served shoguns and municipalities and their legend includes a distinct Robin Hood quality that recently emerged during the recent Kobe Earthquake. The Yamaguchi-gumi Yakuza clan quickly mobilized providing on the scene assistance to Kobe's earthquake victims long before the national government resolved to act. Yakuza form a central theme in Japan's popular culture and trace their origins to at least the 17th century. Therefore, among the world's criminal organizations the Yakuza are older than the Sicilian Mafia.

Yakuza strength rises and falls according to the tides of Japanese society, with estimates of core membership ranging from 80,000 to more than 110,000 in the years from 1945 to 1996. Some authorities believe Japan's National Police routinely undercount the Yakuza, numbering only those names found in confiscated membership rolls, or recorded from routine police intelligence reports. Like the Sicilian Mafia and other underworld organizations, the Yakuza are formed into families, but in Japan other distinctions emerge including that of the oyabun - kobun (father role - child role) relationship, between Yakuza chiefs and their underlings.

The Yakuza evolved into their current form late in the 19th-century under figures like Toyama Mitsuru. This son of a Samurai founded the Genyosha (Dark Ocean) Society, and later Toyama's top aide Ryohei Uchida founded the Amur River Society (Black Dragons). Like organized crime in other cultures, the Yakuza began to control construction labor and dockside labor, adding to traditional areas of enterprise in the vices, prostitution, gambling, liquor distribution, and entertainment. In the late 1960s or early 1970s the Yakuza moved into the lucrative narcotics trade and in recent years have stepped up their trade in firearms and other contraband. According to various sources, Yakuza have formed alliances and working relationships with Chinese Triads, Sicilian and American Mafia, Columbian drug cartels, Jamaican Posses, and assorted other criminal organizations throughout the world.

Because of their unique role in Japan's history and popular culture, and their usefulness in providing muscle to control labor unions, and providing anonymous services to the public for a variety of typical underworld products in vice and contraband accommodations between Yakuza, police, ultranationalists, government, political parties, and secret societies seems to be an accepted fact of life in Japan. Yakuza are active worldwide, wherever criminal enterprises flourish. The Yakuza have been very skillful in the employment of intermediaries and the absence of Japanese within a community does not mean an absence of Yakuza.

>kabuki-mono

Yakuzas origin can be followed far back as to the year 1612, when men known as kabuki-mono (the crazy ones). Their odd clothing style, the distinct haircuts and bad behavior, longswords quickly got everybody's attention. They were known as masterless samurais, ronin, and several of them began to wander around in Japan as a band of robbers, plundering villages and small cities.

>machi-yakko

Yakuza however not see kabuki-mono as their "ancestors" instead they feel that they are machi-yakko(City servant), Machi-yakko became the people's heroes, praised by the citizens for their help against kabuki-mono. The Machi-yakko were often weaker, far less trained and equipped than kabuki- mono. Therfore they were compared with England's Robin Hood. Kabuki-mono were known for their ruthless behavior and terrorizing all the surrounding areas. They were well known for stabbing people for pleasure. Kabukimono were gave their groups scary names and spoke in vulgar slang. The current yakuza did not evolve until about the middle of the 17th century. Its members were bakuto (gamblers) and tekiya (street vendors). Something that was remarkable were their loyalty to each other. They protected each other regardless even if it meant going against their own family.

Kabuki-mono generally came from shoguns or samurais whom during long peaceful times were forced into unemployment. Almost all yakuza have the same type of background poor, criminals and misfits. The Yakuza became a family for them. They got help with problems, got attention and could feel a certain saftey.

>The Industrialization of Japan

When Japan began to industrialize, the yakuza followed Japan's deploying society. They began to recruit employees within the construction business and people working at the docksides. They began to check the rickshaw business. The gambling side of the Yakuza was at this time sorta put to the side, because the police were cracking down roughly on the bakuto- gangs. Tekiya on the contrary flowered and expanded since most of their activities were not considered illegal but more importantly not on the surface of society. Yakuza began to develop an interest for policy and started affiliations with certain political officials. They began to cooperate with the authorities in order to get certain contributions and to ease the harassment from the authorities. About up until the year 1925 Japan had an Emperor. But the course of events in the world was proving that a democratic rule was better than aristocratic, therefore Japan initiated a public vote for all men 1925. Within a few years the communist and socialist parties were found. Around then the prince, that became emperor 1926, existed however his staff of military and some other officials did not agreed with democracy. The economical depression at the end of 20th century created suspicion against the western worlds liberalism. They took advantage of this and different secret organizations were created that trained its members in warfare, languages, assassination, blackmail etc. The ultranationalism terror lasted on into the 1930s. They murdered two prime ministers, two finance ministers, attacked several politicians, and industrialist. The Yakuza supplied them with the muscles and men in order to help and train these underworld organization. This type of yakuza is called the unyoke (political right).

>occupation years

After WWII when the American troops occupied Japan they saw the yakuza as the biggest threat against their forces. They began to watch the yakuza's activities. The American troops rationed out food and as a result the black market flowered and made the gangs rich and powerful. It were during the occupations that a new sort of yakuza began to grow, gurentai (street hustler). They were for the most part involved in robbery and black market. Yakuza became influenced by the American gangster movies and began to dress in black suits with white shirts, black sunglasses and cropped hair. They became tougher and more violent, the sword became history, now it was firearms. It was about this time that not just gamblers and storekeepers became exposed to violence but also the ordinary person was becoming more of a victim. Between about the years of 1958 and 1963 the number of yakuza- members increased with over 150%, to 184,000 members, now are they well below that. There are an estimated 5,200 different gangs in Japan. Also during that time they began to mark out their territories and wars started between the gangs. It is believed that the wars between the gangs were settled by a man named Yoshio Kodama. Kodama was Japan's underworld counterpart to America's Al Capone.

>organization

For the yakuza it doesn't matter were you came from, which country or from which class of society you belonged to, you can become a member anyway. Yakuza takes care of the misfits in the society. Yakuza members can be youth that been abandoned by their parents, youths seeking refuge from the high pressures of school, refugees from Korea, China etc. The boss becomes their father and their comrades as brothers. The Yakuza offers not only companionship but also money, status, and authority. A part of a group were you feel useful and needed. There are no thresholds or requirements in order to become a member. But when you are inside strict obedience to the superiors is demanded. The yakuza sees himself, as Machi-yakko, the people's rescuer and helper. Far before any working courts existed in Japan the yakuza existed. If your clans chief couldn't or wouldn't help resolve a dispute you could turn to the local yakuza for help. They solved the problem in return for money. The solution however was more brutal than if you had turned to the police. The yakuza structure exists in two types of yakuza, clan yakuza and freelance yakuza.

>freelance yakuza

Freelancing yakuza are generally wanna be's yakuza that don't commit serious crimes and they are usually little more than a group of hustlers. They have however some difficulties surviving since the clan yakuza do not afford them any protection or assistance and generally doesn't allow them to operate within their territories. Clan yakuza can tip the police about crimes that the freelance yakuza commit. If the freelance yakuza earns to much money, the clan yakuza kills the freelancing yakuza or makes him disappear without a trace. The clan yakuza however have certain uses for a freelance yakuza. If the clan yakuza needs something done that they not want the clan to be associate with, they can turn to a freelancing yakuza that, for a sum of money, does the job for them. A freelance yakuza can also be used as a scapegoat for crimes. A freelancer is truly a genius if he can manage to begin his own clan and stay alive. Usually a freelance yakuza becomes a clan member unless he gets killed.

>clan yakuza

The clan have been compared to the Sicilian mafias "family". The clan is structured much like a common family in traditional Japan. The clan has a hierarchy structure. The clans head chief is called Oyabun, that means Father. Beneath him he has his children(Wakashu) and brothers(Kyodai). These are not his real children and brothers, only designations of rank and position they have within the clan. All the members in the clan obey the Oyabun and in return he protects them against all dangers. Oyabun is almighty within the clan and his words is the law. All obey him without hesitation or concern for their own life. Beneath him, oyabun has an adviser that is called Saiko-komon and he has a staff of advocates, accountants, secretaries and advisers. The children's (Wakashu) boss called Waka gashira. He is number two in the clan after Oyabun, not in rank but in authority. He acts as a middleman to see that the oyabun's orders are being accomplished.

The children leaders over their own (sub) gangs and over time can move up in the structure. In that way the clan becomes a ramification with several sub families. The oyabun's "brothers" or Kyodai, boss is called Shatei gashira. Shatei gashira is of higher rank than Waka gashira but doesn't have more authority. "The Brothers" have their own "children" or "younger brothers"(Shatei). Shatei, has its own sub gangs etc. Everyone obeys its gangleader, but it's always the oyabun's word that counts.

>Tattoos

It's usual within yakuza circuits to tattoo themselves, usually is it their clan's badges that they have all over their body. The origin of the yakuza tattoo comes from the Bakuto. They usually tattooed a black ring around the arm for each crime they committed. Finally it became a symbol of strength. It can take over 100 hours to do an entire back tattoo. The tattoo was to illustrate you were unwilling to accommodate yourself to societies rules and norms. Now is it to illustrate your clan affiliations.

>Yubitsume

The manner comes originally from the Bakuto. If a gambler couldn't pay back a debt or something like that the persons tip of the little finger got cut off, which damage the hand and the person could not hold his sword as well as before. Also that way other people could see if a person haven't paid a debt, which could bring certain problems, since gambling always been prohibited in Japan. Yubitsume is when you cut of one of your fingers and send it to the Kumicho. This is done as an apology for disobedience. It can be done to atone for a wrongdoing but can also be done to spare one of your "children". When you have done something that your Kumicho dislikes you take a sharp item, cut off a fingertip, wrap it in paper and send it to the Kumicho and beg for his forgiveness. If it's the first time you cut off the little fingertip there after it becomes the next little finger and so on. Because of that you may see yakuza members that are without several of his fingers. This helps often at wrongdoings, but if you've done something all to seriously, as e.g betray the entire clan, there´s nothing that can help you from becoming a statistic.

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H.L.R

Who Are Hip-Hop's Top Cash Kings

It's been some year for Shawn "Jay-Z " Carter. In the past 12 months, the Brooklyn, N.Y.-born hip-hop demigod released a platinum album; signed a 10-year, $150 million deal with concert promoter Live Nation; and tied the knot with longtime girlfriend Beyoncé Knowles. Quite a record -- but only good enough for a silver meda.

Whereas Jay-Z topped Forbes.com's inaugural Hip-Hop Cash Kings list of the top-earning people in the business last year, in 2008 he cedes the throne to Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson, who raked in $150 million during the past 12 months -- almost twice what Jay-Z made.

The new king of hip-hop wealth banked $100 million after taxes on one deal alone when his stake in VitaminWater's parent, Glacéau, was bought by Coca-Cola as part of a $4.1 billion deal. 50's portfolio also includes the popular G-Unit clothing line and record label, plus films, video games and a slew of platinum albums, including last year's "Curtis." Also in the works: a mining partnership with South African billionaire Patrice Motsepe (see "The 50 Cent Machine").

In Pictures: Hip-Hop's Top Cash Kings

More galleries on Forbes.com
Most Powerful Hip-Hop Impresarios
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World's Most Powerful Celebrities
2008's Hottest New Music Stars

50 Cent isn't the only star in the growing firmament of "hip-hopreneurs." After years of violent rivalry marked by the murders of icons such as Tupac Shakur and the Notorious B.I.G., rap's focus has shifted from beef to cake -- making money, that is. Unlike most pop and rock musicians, who make the bulk of their earnings from record sales and tours, rappers have more diversified portfolios.

These impresarios have mastered the arts of branding and cross-promotion, with licensing deals for everything from booze to books. Others own record labels, clothing lines, bars and restaurants. As 50 Cent says of lesser entrepreneurs, "They're trying to buy some Gucci/I'm trying to buy the mall."

For the second year in a row, Sean "Diddy" Combs finished third on our list. The ageless Dapper Don of rap banked a cool $35 million from his revenue streams, including his clothing line Sean John, record label Bad Boy, premium vodka Ciroc and two reality-TV shows. Last year Diddy collaborated with fellow list-toppers Jay-Z and 50 Cent to release "I Get Money (The Forbes 1, 2, 3 Remix)" in honor of their success.

Kanye West clocks in at No. 4 with $30 million. The pink-polo-sporting rapper and producer released his third solo album, "Graduation," last September. After handily outselling 50 Cent's "Curtis" in a head-to-head opening-week matchup, West's album went multiplatinum and won four Grammys. West has penned hits for Jay-Z, Alicia Keys and Diddy, among others. Earlier this month, he headlined the music festival Lollapalooza in his native Chicago.

Some hip-hop legends don't need to do anything to keep earning outrageous sums of money. Andre "Dr. Dre" Young banked $15 million even though he hasn't had a hit in years -- he still gets rich on royalties from two decades of hits. A founder of the seminal rap group N.W.A, he released his multiplatinum solo opus "The Chronic" in 1992 and has produced hits for the likes of Snoop Dogg, 50 Cent, Eminem and Tupac Shakur.

Tupac himself pulled in a handsome sum this year -- about $15 million -- despite being dead for more than 10 years. Tupac is probably having himself a last laugh from beyond the grave, knowing his onetime friend Suge Knight isn't cashing in on the bonanza. Knight, the bodyguard-turned-president of Death Row Records, long rumored to have arranged Shakur's killing, filed for bankruptcy and put his Malibu, Calif., mansion up for sale last June.

DAME TODAY IS A SAD DAY.........

© AP

Bernie Mac

Actor, comedian and exasperated dad Bernie Mac dies at 50

Aug. 9, 2008, 3:36 PM EST

CHICAGO (AP) -- Bernie Mac blended style, authority and a touch of self-aware bluster to make audiences laugh as well as connect with him. For Mac, who died Saturday at age 50, it was a winning mix, delivering him from a poor childhood to stardom as a standup comedian, in films including the casino heist caper "Ocean's Eleven" and his acclaimed sitcom "The Bernie Mac Show."

Though his comedy drew on tough experiences as a black man, he had mainstream appeal — befitting inspiration he found in a wide range of humorists: Harpo Marx as well as Moms Mabley; squeaky-clean Red Skelton, but also the raw Redd Foxx.

Mac died Saturday morning from complications due to pneumonia in a Chicago area hospital, his publicist, Danica Smith, said in a statement from Los Angeles. She said no other details were available.

"The world just got a little less funny," said "Oceans" co-star George Clooney.

Don Cheadle, another member of the "Oceans" gang, concurred: "This is a very sad day for many of us who knew and loved Bernie. He brought so much joy to so many. He will be missed, but heaven just got funnier."

"This is a very sad day for many of us who knew and loved Bernie," said Don Cheadle, a member of the "Oceans" gang. "He brought so much joy to so many. He will be missed but heaven just got funnier."

Mac suffered from sarcoidosis, an inflammatory lung disease that produces tiny lumps of cells in the body's organs, but had said the condition went into remission in 2005. He recently was hospitalized and treated for pneumonia, which his publicist said was not related to the disease.

Recently, Mac's brand of comedy caught him flack when he was heckled during a surprise appearance at a July fundraiser for Democratic presidential candidate and fellow Chicagoan Barack Obama.

Toward the end of a 10-minute standup routine, Mac joked about menopause, sexual infidelity and promiscuity, and used occasional crude language. Obama took the stage about 15 minutes later, implored Mac to "clean up your act next time," then let him off the hook, adding: "By the way, I'm just messing with you, man."

Even so, Obama's campaign later issued a rebuke, saying the senator "doesn't condone these statements and believes what was said was inappropriate."

But despite controversy or difficulties, in his words, Mac was always a performer.

"Wherever I am, I have to play," he said in 2002. "I have to put on a good show."

Mac worked his way to Hollywood success from an impoverished upbringing on Chicago's South Side. He began doing standup as a child, telling jokes for spare change on subways, and his film career started with a small role as a club doorman in the Damon Wayans comedy "Mo' Money" in 1992. In 1996, he appeared in the Spike Lee drama "Get on the Bus."

He was one of "The Original Kings of Comedy" in the 2000 documentary of that title that brought a new generation of black standup comedy stars to a wider audience.

"The majority of his core fan base will remember that when they paid their money to see Bernie Mac ... he gave them their money's worth," Steve Harvey, one of his co-stars in "Original Kings," told CNN on Saturday.

Mac went on to star in the hugely popular "Ocean's Eleven" franchise with Brad Pitt and George Clooney, playing a gaming-table dealer who was in on the heist. Carl Reiner, who also appeared in the "Ocean's" films, said Saturday he was "in utter shock" because he thought Mac's health was improving.

"He was just so alive," Reiner said. "I can't believe he's gone."

Mac and Ashton Kutcher topped the box office in 2005's "Guess Who," a comedy remake of the classic Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn drama "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?" Mac played the dad who's shocked that his daughter is marrying a white man.

Mac also had starring roles in "Bad Santa," "Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle" and "Transformers."

But his career and comic identity were forged in television.

In the late 1990s, he had a recurring role in "Moesha," the UPN network comedy starring pop star Brandy. The critical and popular acclaim came after he landed his own Fox television series "The Bernie Mac Show," about a child-averse couple who suddenly are saddled with three children.

Mac mined laughs from the universal frustrations of parenting, often breaking the "fourth wall" to address the camera throughout the series that aired from 2001 to 2006. "C'mon, America," implored Mac, in character as the put-upon dad. "When I say I wanna kill those kids, YOU know what I mean."

The series won a Peabody Award in 2002, and Mac was nominated for a Golden Globe and an Emmy. In real life, he was "the king of his household" — very much like his character on that series, his daughter, Je'niece Childress, told The Associated Press on Saturday.

"But television handcuffs you, man," he said in a 2001 Associated Press interview before the show had premiered. "Now everyone telling me what I CAN'T do, what I CAN say, what I SHOULD do, and asking, `Are blacks gonna be mad at you? Are whites gonna accept you?'"

He also was nominated for a Grammy award for best comedy album in 2001 along with his "The Original Kings of Comedy" co-stars Harvey, D.L. Hughley and Cedric The Entertainer.

Chicago music producer Carolyn Albritton said she was Bernie Mac's first manager, having met him in 1991 at Chicago's Cotton Club where she hosted an open-mike night. He was an immediate hit, Albritton said Saturday, and he asked her to help guide his career.

"From very early on I thought he was destined for success," Albritton said. "He never lost track of where he came from, and he'd often use real life experiences, his family, his friends, in his routine. After he made it, he stayed a very humble man. His family was the most important thing in the world to him."

In 2007, Mac told David Letterman on CBS' "Late Show" that he planned to retire soon.

"I'm going to still do my producing, my films, but I want to enjoy my life a little bit," Mac told Letterman. "I missed a lot of things, you know. I was a street performer for two years. I went into clubs in 1977."

Mac was born Bernard Jeffrey McCullough on Oct. 5, 1957, in Chicago. He grew up on the city's South Side, living with his mother and grandparents. His grandfather was the deacon of a Baptist church.

In his 2004 memoir, "Maybe You Never Cry Again," Mac wrote about having a poor childhood — eating bologna for dinner — and a strict, no-nonsense upbringing.

"I came from a place where there wasn't a lot of joy," Mac told the AP in 2001. "I decided to try to make other people laugh when there wasn't a lot of things to laugh about."

Mac's mother died of cancer when he was 16. In his book, Mac said she was a support for him and told him he would surprise everyone when he grew up.

"Woman believed in me," he wrote. "She believed in me long before I believed."

Mac's death Saturday coincided with the annual Bud Billiken Parade in Chicago, a major event in the predominantly black South Side that the comedian had previously attended.

"It's truly the passing of one of our favorite sons," said Paula Robinson, president of the Black Metropolis National Heritage Area. "He was extremely innovative in putting his life experiences in comedic form and doing it without vulgarity.

"He was an ambassador of Chicago's black community, and the national black community at large."

Copyright 2008 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Sidekick Gekko / 2008 / Aspen Details

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Catalog: Download more apps, themes and games faster from the catalog

Address book: improved intergration. see what friends are online and immediately start chatting. activity logs. easier dialing for phone calls. improved interface.

Shortcuts: QuickFind, SpellCheck, Shortcut key strokes, and QuickJump(unified inbox and recent applications list)

Headset jack: 3.5 standard audio headphone jack

External memory: 512 mb for videos, pictures and music. can take up to 4 gb card.

Notifications: sounds, vibrations and multi colored trackball.

SMS: yes

MMS: yes

MyFaves: capable

Target Customer: Young fashionable, predominantly female who likes to express themselves and be creative.

Demensions: 120×57.5×18 mm “slightly wider, yet shorter slightly thicker than the sidekick slide”

Weight: 140 g lighter than both slide, and lx

Display: 2.6 diagonal viewing “400×240 pixel WQVGA” Mobile advanced Super V LCD (.4 inches smaller than LX)

Camera: 2.0 Mp still camera and video recorder (should be obviously noticable difference in quality of pictures and video recordings)

Instant Messaging: AIM, MSN, Yahoo. with group chat, stealth mode, and links to profiles.

Media Player: video and music player. 3gp and MPEG 4 with WMA and ACC formats.

Web Browser: yes, with zoom, pan, and scan.

Bluetooth: yes, stereo, phone calls, watching/listening to music and vidoes, sending and recieving media files.

standby time for battery: 10 days talk time: 5 hours 128 mb ram 64 mb flash rom

GUESS WHAT ITS THAT TIME ONCE MORE

NEW SIDEKICK

Create your own Sidekick Shells

Another hiptop3.com exclusive coming at you. A little birdy showed us some stuff that shows that T-Mobile is working on a site (probably http://www.sidekick.com/shells)where you can create your own shells for your Sidekick. It looks like it’s going to be going to have a fancy flash interface where you can upload your own images to help customize your device. Links at this time indicate that the actual shells are going to be made by skinit.com. (It looks like this means the “shells” might be more like the “skins” we know and love already) In addition, reminiscent of some theme sites out there, you’ll be able to browse around and see what other people have created, and you can even vote on them. I can’t wait to see what sort of theme/shell combinations people come up with. Some screenshots of the site still in development below:

What is the name of the next Sidekick device?

For several months now, we’ve heard all sorts of rumors on the next Sidekick device, scheduled to come out at the end of this month. We’ve done our best to keep track of everything and weigh out which one is more likely. We’re tired of it. Here are the names so far that we’ve heard:

Gekko

Gecco

Aspen

2008

Style2

Snap

here at Hiptop3.com, we’re going to go with Sidekick Gekko until we hear otherwise officially. It’s the internal name used by Danger and it’s also shown up on T-Mobile things as well. This is a rumor blog, we do our best to check on things before reporting, but sometimes we feel it’s better to report based on what we have and give a disclaimer. Sometimes we get it a bit wrong. Sorry!

TO THE FAM (H,L,R)

TO ALL MY FRIENDS AN FAM U KNOW WHO U BE LOL ANYWAY HAPPY 4TH OF JULY DEM COOK OUTS BE CRAZY AROUND THIS TIME RIGHT LOL YEAH I KNOW BUT WAT TO SHOW LOVE TO ALL MY NIGGA EPIC I SEE U DOING YOUR THING SKELLY!!!! WHATS GOOD BRO (BISHOP I KNOW THAT MIXTAPE IS GOIN TO BE HOT KEEP YOUR HEAD UP AN KEEP DOIN UR SHIT SON YOUR GOIN TO MAKE IT JUST KEEP DOIN U) AN WITH THAT AM OUT ITS YA BOY (BE) AN YES ILL BE H.L.R TIL THE DEATH OF ME!!


(H.L.R)

Sunami is her name yeah i know she thick and sexy!

Sunami is her name She has an incredible 52 inch booty. This pretty young thang just turned nineteen and she loves being a dancer and a model. Hopefully big things will happen for her in the near future. she cuz ill be putin up more vids lmao

MONEY!! ON HE's MIND!!

Lil Wayne doesn’t come cheap. To let him tell it, the self-proclaimed “best rapper alive,” who has collaborated with artists ranging from Enrique Iglesias to more subterranean acts like Little Brother, commands between $100,000 to $75, 000 for a guest verse.The cheaper rate (75k) goes when Wayne likes the song or beat, and apparently, exceptions are hardly made. “I wouldn’t do a song for my sister for less than $75,000,” Wayne told Rolling Stone Magazine.Sure, major labels are likely to fork up to 100k for a Wayne verse or hook, but what about indies with little to no budget? Though signed to a major imprint, Akon’s Kon Live/Interscope, Kardinal Offishall was fortunate enough to get the five-finger discount. “At the time, he had did it for free,” Kardi told XXLMag.com regarding Weezy’s verse on “My Swag,” which also featured the Clipse’s Pusha-T. “We didn’t even pay him. Mind you, it was a minute a go. I don’t wanna bust Wayne’s buble like that, but, big up to Wayne for sure.”While Bun B, who featured Weezy on “Damn I’m Cold” off his recently released LP, II Trill, wouldn’t talk prices, he salutes Wayne for getting his money. “Go Wayne,” Bun cheered. “I wish I got 75, 100 a cameo.”Wayne’s sister may have to save up for a verse, but Ludacris doesn’t necessarily have to. In addition to working on songs on one another’s projects, Wayne has also worked with Luda signees Playaz Circle.“I can say that I’m on his album and he’s on mine,” Luda offered. “But as far as the business is worked out, no disrespect, but I rather keep that private. It’s his business, so he can tell it. But as far as I handle mine, shoot, it was just a mutual respect thing. So read between the lines.”

Tha Carter III goes platinum in its first week

Coming out on top was the plan and VIBE cover artist Lil’ Wayne a.k.a Weezy F. Baby did just that, selling 1,005,545, of his latest LP Tha Carter III in one week – a feat not accomplished since 50 Cent’s The Massacre in 2005.

Tha Carter III’s opening day sales reached approximately 423,000 despite a very controversial leak that took place a week prior to the release, all the file sharing had little to no effect on the project’s numbers. It is officially the largest first week sales for any album in 2008 in the United States.

Wayne’s monster first single “Lollipop” took over radio, TV and web. Produced by Deezle and Jim Jonsin, the song is Lil Wayne’s most successful single to date, holding the number one spot so far for 5 non-consecutive weeks on top of the Billboard’s Hot 100 chart. Current radio smash “A Milli”, produced by Bangladesh, is also making noise on the charts.

Other features on the album Diddy has dubbed "classic", include Robin Thicke, Jay Z, T-Pain, Babyface and many more. The album also features production from big names such as Kanye West, David Banner, Cool & Dre, and Swizz Beatz.

To keep the momentum going, Lil Wayne told MTV News he plans to collaborate with T-Pain on a joint tour and collaboration album. Lil Wayne is also releasing a champagne next month and set to co-star along side Forest Whitaker in the upcoming Tim Story film The Patriots. Production on the movie is through The Weinstein Company and is being filmed currently in New Orleans.

WEEZY CLAIM TO FAME

Government Name: Dwayne Michael Carter

Hometown: New Orleans, Louisiana

Fun Fact: When Wayne was 15, his mother Gloria Carter, asked him to find someone to have a baby with so she wouldn’t be bored around the house. He had a daughter with a 14-year-old girl.

Claim to Fame: at the age of 11, Wayne signed to Cash Money Records but was overshadowed by older Cash Money artists like the former member Juvenile. It wasn’t until 2004, when Wayne released his fourth album, and first crossover hit, “Tha Carter” that fans and doubters took notice of his talent, eventually landing him to be called one of the best lyricists in 2006 and 2007.

WHO IS NICKI MINAJ ??

You see Nicki Minaj on the Internet posing and the first thing that might come to mind is porn star. You hear her high pitched voice and see her chocolate skin and you associate her with a fellow soprano rap phenomenon Foxy Brown. The fact is that we have seen much of Queens, NY female MC on the Internet and DVD’s lately. She has the body of a porn star and is often posing like one. Lastly, Lil Wayne was so impressed with her that he wanted to meet her and they even did a song called "Higher Than A Kite." You would think that a co-sign from Weezy F. Baby would be enough to calm the naysayers; however it appears that her judgment has just begun.

With that judgment comes the natural interest; who Nicki Minaj? Rap audiences do not know much about her besides the aforementioned. Nicki knows that she has peaked the curiosity of her peers and the tribunal audience members and is ready for the delay to end. Good news folks. It has.

AllHipHop.com: At one point you used to sing so what got you interested in rapping?

Nicki Minaj: I always liked rap. I used to beat on the tables in the lunchroom but I didn’t think I would ever be any good at it. I used to do it as a joke. When I asked one of the dudes I was singing for to let me spit. I did like 8 bars on the spot. I wrote it from the top of my head. He said he liked it. That was it. To be honest I never thought I would be a rapper. Once I did one and someone said it was good I felt like I could only get better. Also singing was so boring to me at that time. I didn’t want to be singing love songs. Rapping was so much more creative and I felt like I could just be myself.

AllHipHop.com: What brought you to the point where you decided you were going to pursue it professionally?

Nicki Minaj: I started rapping with a group. It was three guys and just me. I met them when I was just fazing into deciding whether I was going to rap. Being around them made me feel like I could do this. I would love to be with a crew like this. They gave me so much props. Before I left the group a lot of people would ask me why wasn’t I solo. Before that I was hiding behind the group. But then after three years I felt like I knew what I was doing. I just started thinking that I was loosing time rather than gaining time.

AllHipHop.com: You have a sexy image. Are you ever concerned that your image will over shadow your talent?

Nicki Minaj: I worry about that all the time. That’s why a lot of people waited so long for my second mixtape. I need people to know that I just started being this sexy Nicki Minaj. Prior to the last year I was just a rapper. A lyricist trying to figure out how to convey my thoughts into rap. Now all of a sudden the sex thing has taken off. The name and all that. When people don’t know me they think I’m a porn star.

AllHipHop.com: What made you go with the sexy image? You could have debuted being hard.

Nicki Minaj: Fendi. When he saw me, I had on regular jeans and sneakers. Fendi saw me and said you can take yourself to the next level if you show more sex appeal. I’m not going to lie, I was afraid to go that route. I wasn’t the girl in the club that walks around like that. Do you know what I’m saying?

AllHipHop.com: Yeah, I do. That’s not me either.

Nicki Minaj: Right! I feel like it’s an art. It started happening from the name. People just started to expect it. I guess I just gave people what they wanted.

AllHipHop.com: What do you think about being compared to Foxy Brown?

Nicki Minaj: I love Foxy Brown. I haven’t heard anybody flow like her. She definitely has got the hottest flow. As far as female rappers that I looked up to when I was coming up, I always admired her for her flow. So if I’m compared to her then that’s fine.

AllHipHop.com: What was so dope about her flow to you?

Nicki Minaj: That she was very precise. Whenever she rapped it sounded like she spit that shit over in her head a hundred times and she knows exactly how she wants to get it across. It doesn’t matter how many takes she has. I love that! I want it to sound the way I hear it in my head and I will do a thousand takes if it takes that.

AllHipHop.com: Female rappers like Foxy Brown, Lil Kim, and Trina; they all have a sexy image. What are you going to bring to the game that is going to make you an individual? What is it that they don’t bring to the game?

Nicki Minaj: I don’t see them being playfulness. I don’t see them bringing swag…Well I shouldn’t say swag.

AllHipHop.com: Yeah, I was going to say, some of them do have swag.

Nicki Minaj: I would just say the playfulness. I appeal to the younger crowd. I don’t take myself too seriously. Sometimes I feel like telling the other girls to loosen up. People want to be entertained at the end of the day. Everyone else is a female rappers but Nicki Minaj is an entertainer. I’m not only a rapper; I’m a singer, an actor, a writer. All those other things are going to come to life very soon.

AllHipHop.com: Do you mind me asking how old you are?

Nicki Minaj: I’m 23.

AllHipHop.com: Where do you get your material from?

Nicki Minaj: I get up and start writing. On my mixtapes its old beats that I always wanted to rap on. I wake up in the morning and something would come to my head and I will write it down and go back to it. Sometimes, I will go a week and it’s like I can’t be a rapper I can’t think of shit right now. But it comes. [laughs].

AllHipHop.com: How did you link up with Lil Wayne?

Nicki Minaj: Wayne saw me on the Come Up DVD. I was right after his section on the DVD. He made calls. Well one call to Fendi. He knew Fendi. I met him. He told me he wanted me to be the female face of Young Money.

AllHipHop.com: What were your thoughts when you heard that Lil Wayne wanted to meet you? Were you nervous?

Nicki Minaj: My thoughts were to scream to the top of my lungs and jump out of my seat and go crazy. [Laughs] I was like there is no way in hell that Lil Wayne likes me. I didn’t shop my demo to anybody. He saw me and liked me. What I love about him is that he didn’t need a co-sign from anybody to say yeah I f*ck with her. A lot of people jump on the bandwagon. Now that Lil Wayne cosigned me I got a lot of people saying they f*ck with me. He was just like I like her.

AllHipHop.com: What is it like working with him?

Nicki Minaj: It is like watching a superstar and hoping you learn as much as possible from him. He doesn’t write. He is very cocky and forces you to be cocky. He will tell you in a minute. I’m about to body you on this beat. We have a lot of friendly competitions but it’s good.

AllHipHop.com: What do you think is the most important thing you have learned from him?

Nicki Minaj: That anything is possible. When I think about it, he signed his first contract at eleven. Two years ago if you told somebody that Lil Wayne would have been in the same category or even stage as Jay-Z, they would have been like hell no.

AllHipHop.com: He did blow up.

Nicki Minaj: Exactly. I draw strength from that. Before Wayne, Jay-Z was my favorite rapper. But before people were even up on the Lil Wayne bandwagon I still loved him. He has a lot of hard work in. That’s another thing I have learned. He is still so hungry. His work ethic is so crazy. Who am I to say I’m tired and I don’t want to go to the studio.

AllHipHop.com: Will Young Money be your home? Or are you shopping for another record label?

Nicki Minaj: Young Money is my home. But you know… Umm…

AllHipHop.com: Take your time

Nicki Minaj: [Laughs] No. Young Money is my home.

AllHipHop.com: Have you signed with them?

Nicky Minaj: The negotiations have really gotten far. Its looks like 99 percent.

AllHipHop.com: How do you think your videos helped your career? It seems like the videos helped you stand out?

Nicki Minaj: Yes. It is a very visual thing. When people think of Nicki Minaj they think of my video. I think that with the videos, people get to see your personality.

AllHipHop.com: I was going to say that. The whole story you had going on in “Warning.” You’re acting was realistic. Even your body language.

Nicki Minaj: It was a mini movie. I studied acting for four years at LaGuardia. I was a drama major. People get to see my personality. There are a lot of closet cornballs because you can’t see them.

AllHipHop.com. The videos make you connect with your audience.

Nicki Minaj: Right! It was a low budget video but it was on point. I want people to feel like they know me. That is what was going on in Hip-Hop before. Like when people use to see Biggie in Brooklyn. Even though I’m not hood mentally, I still rep the females there.

AllHipHop.com: I want to touch on your sexy image again. Do you think that your image plays into the stereotypes of women being sexual objects?

Nicki Minaj: It does. I’m gonna get a lot of backlash from it. People are always going to have something to say. If I dressed another way they would say I look like a dude. If that what makes people ask who the hell is she? I’m cool with that because when you research me you will see that I have skills. I address that on my mixtape. I have what it takes. Whether it’s sexual or skills. It’s a lot of girls that could be sexy and still not garnish the attention I do. I add personality. I do it with Swag and style. It’s cool when I do it.

AllHipHop.com: I know you say you are expecting backlash. Do you have any kids? Do you worry about the reaction from your family about your image?

Nicki Minaj: I don’t have any kids. I would cry if my mother saw that picture to be honest. I had a conversation with Fendi before he put that picture out. Do you know which one I’m talking about?

AllHipHop.com: Is this the one where you are squatted down with your legs open and you have a lollipop?

Nicki Minaj: Yeah. At some point you have to decide whether you are going to do what you have to do.

AllHipHop.com: Do you think that was the only route you could have gone?

Nicki Minaj: Well, I could have but I’m doing what I feel works for me. I’m not worried about what anyone has to say. I also want to put it out there that I came from an abused home. My father was very abusive and my mother was very submissive. So, this is almost an outlet for me. I can be how I want free from worrying about judgment. I can be bold. I’m not a submissive woman. I’m doing this for me.

AllHipHop.com: What can we expect from you?

Nicki Minaj: I’m still working on some projects and I don’t want to say but the “Sucka Free” mixtape is in stores right now and can be purchased at myspace.com/NickiMinaj.

THA CARTER III IS OUT BITCH!!!!!!!!!

How huge will it be? Tha Carter III just came out Tuesday morning, so it’s difficult to tell from less than a day’s worth of sales, but an exec at Lil Wayne’s label estimates the disc will sell between 850,000 and 950,000 by the end of its first week. If their numbers are correct, that would be about double the opening figure for 2008’s current record-holder, Mariah Carey’s E=MC2, which opened with 443,000 copies.

SOURCE: EW

So how much did Lil Wayne sell on his first day? Well Billboard has confirmed that “Tha Carter III” has sold at least 423,000 copies on its first day. Although artists have been struggling a lot these days, it seems as though the buzz that Lil Wayne has generated for years now.. is actually paying off. I guess Lil Wayne will end up with a Millie on his first week of sales. Congratulations… to my nigga weezy and me being a weezy crack head yall know am getin the cd son yup no DL from the web fuck that unlike skelly lol anyway am out 1 its ya boy nardz

Nicki Minaj

Nicki Minaj

I know you probably heard Lil Wayne on tracks talking bout a female artist named Nicki Minaj….When I heard her spit I was really impressed and then I ran across this picture, and video of her. Check her out. She’s pretty dope, her skills are on point…and she knows it. She reminds me of a young Foxy or Lil Kim (before the fame). Oh and she’s the president of her own company, Dirty Money, top that!

Lil Wayne Named Best Of Rock 2008’s Best MC

Lil Wayne has two primary passions: making music and smoking weed. Tonight, those have come into conflict. Wayne is sitting on his tour bus in New Orleans, having come back to his hometown for two concerts. He’d like to head into a studio to do some mixing for Tha Carter III, 2008’s most anticipated rap album. But there’s a problem. Wayne isn’t allowed to smoke in the studio. So he stays on the bus, lighting blunt after blunt and watching Animal Planet on the TV. He’ll sleep there tonight for the same reason: Wayne can’t smoke in his hotel room either.

When Wayne speaks, it’s with that same voice from his records: a needling, grizzled croak that’s one of the most distinctive sounds in pop music. On the bus, Wayne comes off as a funny motherfucker. He leaves everyone in stitches with a story about how he had to clean graffiti off a house owned by Cash Money Records founder Bryan “Baby” Williams. “We were out there scrubbing for a day!” he shrieks. “That shit is still on the house, nigga! Even after Katrina!”

Wayne’s not always like this. Sometimes he’s pensive, and he can turn surly without notice. Oftentimes, he’s just plain weird: Over dinner in Miami last summer, he spluttered through a half-coherent, very stoned monologue in which he compared people in New Orleans to crabs in boiling water, then segued into the kind of crabs that show up in your pants: “I had that shit! The worst!”

Wayne’s rhymes are as varied as his moods, ranging from quick-tongued braggadocio about girls, cash and guns to gut-wrenching expressions of personal pain. He’s a compulsively listenable dude who will sometimes sing (badly) and rhyme in French; a five-foot-six-inch bundle of energy spitting left-field references — Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Bill Laimbeer, tooth fairies — and consistently great punch lines: “My spot remain, like a bleach stain, or cranberry/It’s murder she wrote, like Angela Lansbury.” He’s been getting stranger lately, too, turning out stream-of-consciousness flows and trippy flights of fancy like the amazing mixtape cut “I Feel Like Dying,” on which he sounds seriously zonked: “I can mingle with the stars and throw a party on Mars/I am a prisoner locked up behind Xanax bars.” He may be all over the place, but this is certain: Lil Wayne — a.k.a. Dwayne Michael Carter Jr., a.k.a. the Pussy Monster, a.k.a. Weezy F. Baby — is one of the most unusual rappers of all time. And right now, he’s the best around. Just ask him. Wayne began calling himself “the greatest rapper alive” in 2005. Since then, he’s been repeating and backing up that claim on cameos and countless mixtapes. Two of those mixes — Da Drought 3 and The Drought Is Over 2: The Carter III Sessions — were among the best albums of 2007.

Wayne grew up a wild kid in New Orleans who dealt crack and once accidentally shot himself in the chest. “It was my mom’s gun,” Wayne says. “It was like a chopper hit me. But the bullet went straight through, and I bounced back in two weeks.” Thankfully, Wayne soon discovered hip-hop and began battle-rapping. When he was eleven, he had the good fortune of befriending Baby Williams and started helping out at Cash Money Records. By the time he was fourteen, Wayne had a record deal.

From there, Wayne became moderately famous as a pint-size member of the rap supergroup Hot Boys, and he proved an above-average gangsta MC on his early albums. Recently, though, he’s attained a level of greatness hardly anyone could have expected, spitting rhymes that are wittier, odder and broader in subject matter than anyone else’s. In the past year, stars like Kanye West and Jay-Z have featured Wayne on their songs. And he’s become a constant presence on hip-hop message boards and blogs, which feature feverish chatter about Wayne’s latest stanzas, his sexual preferences (sparked by a photo of him kissing mentor Williams), his drug use and occasional legal troubles. (He’s currently facing gun- and drug-possession charges in New York and Arizona. Wayne pleaded not guilty in both cases.)