When I first started listening to rap, I was big fans of OutKast, Tupac, and Snoop Doggy Dogg. Thinking back on it now, it was kind of funny thinking that I was all about the rap music. I would say though, that rap music has change throughout the years. Before the music was mellow, had a flow, and had a message in most of the songs. Now the music is mostly, what Lil’ Jon would say, “Crunked out.” Seriously, I hate listening to soungs about spinners, grills, and laffy taffy.

But, not to get off subject, Rolling Stone recently ran this story about Snoop Dogg:

West Coast gansta rappers Snoop Dogg, the Game, Kurupt, Soopafly and Daz Dillinger have all been named in a $22 million civil lawsuit filed April 12th in Los Angeles. The suit, brought by Richard Monroe II, claims that a group of men, including Soopafly and Snoop’s bodyguards, mercilessly beat the twenty-five-year-old after he jumped onstage during an Auburn, Washington, concert last May and attempted to put his arms around the superstar rapper.

Check it out here.

…album sales that is. According to CMT.com:

Garth Brooks’ album sales now stand at 116 million to place him just behind Elvis Presley as the best-selling solo artist in history, according to the Recording Industry Association of America.

Read the rest of the story here.

check out this story about Apple and Recording labels.  In brief, Itunes sells music for 99 cents.  The recording labels want to negotiate changes to the price of the songs on Itunes.

All of the major labels’ current deals with Apple for the iTMS are set to expire within the next two months and both sides have been in negotiations for months for new deals. The labels have hoped for variable pricing, where a new song would cost consumers more than an older track.

Read the rest of the story here.

According to US Weekly this duo could come together sooner than you think:

The rest of the story, here.

Illegally downloading and the copying of music and software has become a part of everyday for many people. Congress is currently looking at a bill that will make the penalties much more severefor people that intend to illegally get products and software. According to FMBQ.com:

Congress is readying a proposed copyright law that would expand Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) restrictions on software that can bypass copy protections. The bill reportedly encompasses many different proposals. One would create a new federal crime of just trying to commit copyright infringement. An attempt at piracy could be punished by up to 10 years in prison.

For more information on this story, click here.

Even though this happened about a month ago, I thought you would want to know that Aerosmith cancelled their last 12 dates of their tour. I was actually supposed to go to the concert in Oklahoma City, until this cancellation happened. According to FMBQ:

Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler will endure throat surgery… After the surgery, Tyler will be unable to sing for two to three months. (www.fmbq.com)