Chicago Church Targets Rappers
Snoop Dogg, Lil Wayne and 50 Cent are among several popular rappers that are being taken to task by a South Side Chicago church via billboards placed throughout the city. The St. Sabina Church rented 20 billboards around the city that target 10 rappers that it feels are demeaning to women and perpetuate violence. The billboards bear the phrase \"Stop Listening to Trash\" and feature the names of the rappers printed on a trash bin. In a press release, Rev. Michael Pfleger explained the church\'s stance on the matter. \"If we are going to end the violence and disrespect of women, we must fight every form of negativity, including the music industry,\" the statement said. In an interview with Chicago\'s NBC affiliate, Rev. Pfleger went on to say, \"When you disrespect women and you continue to demean a community or race by names and by language, that\'s unacceptable. We can kill with our words.\" Other rappers named on the billboards include Ludacris, Fat Joe, Nelly and Chicago-based rapper, Twista.
50 Cent Calls on a Few Famous Friends
50 Cent has revealed that his upcoming album, Curtis, will feature something that neither of his previous two albums did--multiple collaborations. In an interview with The Associated Press, 50 admitted that in the past, he felt like he had something to prove. \"I feel like I\'ve proven myself at this point. I just didn\'t want people to be able to interpret me making music with other people as if I need to,\" he said. \"So I just accomplished everything I needed to accomplish on my own and now its time for me to creatively merge with some of these people in order to create special songs.\" So far, the G-Unit head has teamed up with Justin Timberlake, Timbaland, Akon and Mary J. Blige on songs for the new album. On his previous albums, 50 has mostly stuck to collaborations with his G-Unit signees and Eminem. During his career, 50 has earned a reputation for speaking his mind at all times. However, shortly before performing at New York\'s Cipriani Wall Street Concert Series, the controversial rapper revealed that there is one area that he tries to remain tight-lipped about. \"My G-Unity foundation, I\'ve already donated over $3 million. I don\'t really talk about that. It\'s not anything that I\'m open about. I think if you\'re doing the right thing good things happen to you,\" he said. He went on to donate his six-figure performance fee to his foundation.