Posted April 28, 2008 -- David Banner has a few great stories to tell this year including one of weight loss success. The Southern rapper told Billboard.com that he shed 54 pounds and is making a DVD based on the exercise regimen he used. “Young Black and Latinos now are dying from heart attacks at 28 and 30 years old,” he said. “Hopefully, through my transformation I can get to people in the hood and encourage them [to be healthier].” As for his music, Banner is scheduled to finally release his album The Greatest Story Ever Told (previously slated for last fall) on Jun. 3 and already has two other albums lined up. One is a companion to his Adult Swim cartoon series “The Crook’d ‘Sipp” and the other, “It’s different than anything anybody’s ever heard,” Banner said. “It’s acid blues hip-hop. Everybody that’s heard it don’t know what to call it.” He’s calling it 13.
Ludacris went to work last week raising funds for HIV/AIDS research and youth organizations on behalf of his Ludacris Foundation. On Wednesday (Apr. 23), he hosted a $100/plate private dinner at his new Straits Atlanta restaurant and the following evening welcomed fellow celebs like Ciara, Jazze Pha, India Aire and Fergie at the “Benefit for the Ludacris Foundation at Ralph Lauren.” Reportedly, the benefit was the largest turnout in the event’s three-year history that includes raising more than $200,000 in 2007.
G-Unit soldier Tony Yayo will be making his acting debut as the legendary KRS-One in the much blogged about movie The Vapors and it may be the beginning of a flourishing independent career. “I want to make my own [moves],” he told XXLMag.com. “I’m looking towards movies right now. I’m working with people you wouldn’t even believe.”
Hip-Hop festival "Rock the Bells" continues in its reuniting tradition, this year bringing to the stage The Pharcyde for the first time the festival becomes an international traveling program. In 2004, A Tribe Called Quest reunited on the Rock the Bells stage, as did Rage Against the Machine in 2007. This year, the festival launches Jul. 19 in Chicago and will make several stops in the U.S. as well as dates in Canada, Europe and Japan. Nas (with new music from his forthcoming Nigger); Mos Def (with new music from his forthcoming The Ecstatic); Rakim; De La Soul; A Tribe Called Quest; dead prez; Immortal Technique; Method Man, Redman, Ghostface and Raekwon of Wu-Tang Clan; Wale; Kidz in the Hall; Murs; and Kid Sister are among others on the bill. For more information, visit RockTheBells.com.
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