Universal Music has signed Lil Kim, a former rap prodigy, to their record label. This is the first deal Kim has struck since parting from Atlantic Records in 2008. Although no formal statements have been made in relation to this new addition, Lil Kim’s name officially appears on the list of artists on the label’s website.

Kim released four albums with Atlantic Records from year 1996. Her classic debut, Hard Core, was certified double platinum by 2001. In 2001, Lil Kim also sang in a remake of Lady Marmalade alongside sensations Christina Aguilera, Pink, and Mya for the film soundtrack of Moulin Rouge. The single remained #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for five consecutive weeks and landed Kim her first Grammy award.

Lil Kim’s other albums include The Notorious K.I.M., La Bella Mafia, The Naked Truth. These albums solidified her placement in the hip hop industry as a highly talented female rapper.

Despite her many achievements, Lil Kim failed to meet the commercial successes of Missy Elliot and Lauryn Hill. She was also involved in disputes against Nicki Minaj, and recorded a mixtape called Black Friday dissing Minaj’s recent album. However, rappers Kim and Nicki might settle their differences as they both currently work under the same label.

Lil Kim is currently working hard on her comeback with Universal Music on a new album which includes a soon to be released single called Looks like Money.

Multiplatinum-selling rapper Ja Rule is set to go to prison, but he’s leaving fans with an album on the way.

The rapper-actor – whose gravelly voice, thuggish tough talk and duets with R&B divas made him one of rap’s stars in the early 2000s – is set to be sentenced Wednesday to two years in a New York prison.

“My last day out,” he tweeted Tuesday afternoon, adding that he was spending it at the movies with his family.

Ja Rule, 35, pleaded guilty in December to attempted criminal possession of a weapon, resolving a nearly 4-year-old case.

Police said they found a loaded .40-caliber semiautomatic gun in a rear door of his $250,000-plus Maybach sports car, which they’d said they’d stopped for speeding as he left a star-laden concert at Manhattan’s Beacon Theatre on July 22, 2007. Rap superstar Lil Wayne was arrested separately after headlining the same show. He later pleaded guilty to the same charge, spending about eight months in a city jail last year.

“Laws are laws,” Ja Rule said Monday on “Good Day New York,” which airs on New York’s Fox 5 TV station. “There’s nothing I could really do but own up to the situation.”

“You know, I try not to regret anything I do in life, because you go through life and you do things, and you man up to them. You own them,” he added.

Born Jeffrey Atkins, Ja Rule emerged as a hardcore rapper in the late 1990s but then became known for his collaborations with female pop singers, including Jennifer Lopez and Ashanti. He scored a best rap album Grammy Award nomination in 2002 with “Pain Is Love.” He also has appeared in movies, including the 2001 film “The Fast and the Furious” and 2003′s “Scary Movie 3.”

He’s recently been wrapping up a new album, “Pain Is Love 2,” but he told “Good Day New York” he’s also been trying to prepare himself mentally for prison. He lives in Upper Saddle River, N.J., with his wife and three children.

Meanwhile, he also pleaded guilty in a New Jersey federal court in March to failing to pay taxes on more than $3 million in income. He faces up to three years in prison in that case, though his lawyers are expected to try to arrange for his sentences to be served at the same time.

Ja Rule had some previous brushes with the law, including pleading guilty to assault for punching someone at a Toronto nightclub in 2004. He was fined $1,200.

He recently told TMZ.com he plans to keep busy behind bars by writing a book, getting his GED and possibly taking up the guitar.

“I’m gonna try to make good of my time while I’m inside,” he said.

His expected sentence will make him the latest in a long line of rappers to do time. Hip-hop stars including Tupac Shakur, Lil’ Kim, Foxy Brown, Shyne, Mystikal, Gucci Mane and T.I. have been in jail or prison for periods ranging from months to years.

Under state prison policies, Ja Rule might be able to shave up to six months off his sentence by meeting requirements for good behavior and other standards.

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Posted: Sunday – June 13, 2010

As Lil Kim continues to throw verbal darts at those associated with Nicki Minaj, it only makes sense that her cross-hairs are set on Drake as she attacks the rapper after he defended his “sister”.

Taking a direct shot at his manhood, Kim compares the young phenomenon to showcasing some female traits and losing her support after blatantly disrespecting the Queen Bee.

Speaking on Miss Info TV, the female rapper elaborated on her feelings toward Drake now that he placed himself in her affairs with Barbie.

“I used to really like Drake…for him to have the audacity to disrespect me? He’s gonna shout me out, when Ray-J the one who said it? How b*tchy do you look right now? You look like a straight pussy.”

She added that it looked worse on his part due to the fact that she’s a female and he was attacking her as though she was the one the sparked the events that have happened since that performance.

“I didn’t even know [Ray J] was gonna do this sh*t….when he was on stage and he said what he said, I had no choice but to back him…”

Clearly, there is a LOT of ego going on in Hip-Hop these days and people need to calm themselves down. Whether Lil Kim is aware of the fact or not, her career has been over for quite some time, or has definitely been in a coma on life support, and as much as she might demand the respect of Minaj, she might need to show some as her name is beginning to be relevant again.

When’s the last time anyone was bumping a track from Lil Kim that wasn’t from back in the day?

What have you done lately that’s worth mentioning?

Don’t ruin a legacy with such childlike actions Kim, it’s not really worth it.

Posted: Saturday – June 5, 2010

It’s long been speculated that when female rapper Lil Kim returned to the music world she wouldn’t take too well to realizing that her spot was taken by Nicki Minaj and perhaps in an attempt to ignite what could be a great battle, fans are suggesting that the first shots have already been fired.

Kim was performing her single, Crush On You, during a Buffalo, New York concert recently when she tossed her wig out into the crowd and said, “I’m going to another level. I love the wigs and everything but I’m so above this. I’m so above this… I’ll be back!”

Leading some to believe it was a strike at Nicki, who in a move that reflects Kim’s former days, has taken to wearing various color wigs.

Whether that constitutes as a diss differs with each listener and really people may be grasping at invisible straws, but all the chitter chatter surrounding the issue highlights just how excited the Hip-Hop community is to hear about the return of the Queen Bee.

Kim’s last release, 2005’s The Naked Truth, was released on the same day that she reported to prison on perjury charges. She was released on July 3rd, 2006, and since then she has popped up here and there on various projects including a stint on the reality show Dancing With The Stars and a feature on Ludacris’ LP, Battle Of The Sexes.

Posted: Wednesday – May 19 ,2010

Is this some form of Hip-Hop blasphemy or something?

Known for being part of Biggie Smalls’ clique during the Junior M.A.F.I.A. days when the rapper was alive, Lil Cease is one of the rare rappers today that can say they were actually with the late great Black Frank White.

With that being said, it’s almost puzzling that Cease would make such a claim and state that Rick Ross and Nicki Minaj are the most comparable to Lil Kim and The Notorious B.I.G.

An interview with MTV revealed what Cease finds in Ross that he saw in his late friend.

“He’s lyrically hands-on. Just his whole swag, to me, he’s just the dude. That big black dude. Every time I see him, he gives the feel of just B.I. Just his whole swag too. He’s got that confidence that B.I. had. B.I. was real confident. No matter how he looked, he would say it in rhymes: ‘Fat, black and ugly as ever.’ That’s one of the most quoted lines.”

In regards to Minaj being similar to Lil Kim, it’s all about her presence.

“Nicki ain’t really got too much competition out there. Ain’t too many female rappers out there. But she’s a female, one that’s bringing the sex appeal back to it. No matter what Kim talked about, she had the appeal to it. Kim would dress up. She looked like a lady. Kim could rap about the hardest thing ever, but she would still dress up: hair done, she still got on the flyest stuff. Nicki is kinda taking it to that same mind frame. She’s having fun with it too.”

First Diddy was saying it and now Cease? Man, it feels like the twilight zone. Next thing you know, Teflon Don is going to be Ready To Die? Let’s pray otherwise.

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Posted: Friday – April 16, 2010

Young Money princess Nicki Minaj has recently been garnering a lot of press lately.

As previously reported, Nicki recently found herself making headlines after firing her longtime manager and Waka Flocka Flame’s mother, Debra Antney. After the departure, executives and fans alike were expecting a big announcement and it seems that is what we have got.

According to the rumor mill, Nicki has reportedly hired Bad Boy mogul Sean Diddy Combs as her new manager. Although the announcement has yet to be made via either of the celebrities Twitter pages, many are speculating that the news is actually true.

A source close to the entrepreneur/rapper has confirmed that Diddy is not only co-managing Lil Wayne protégé Nicki Minaj but also Rick Ross.

This wouldn’t be a far stretch for Diddy who has helped launch the careers of everyone from Mary J Blige, Jodeci, Lil Kim, Ma$e and his most recent venture with Dirty Money.

There is no word yet from Minaj’s camp regarding the rumors. Minaj’s highly-anticipated debut album is said to be coming in the fall of 2010 via

Young Money/Cash Money/Universal Motown.

We hope this collaboration is true, regardless of what anyone has to say about Diddy, he definitely is a hit maker. We will keep you posted as this story develops.

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