Reebok has signed Jay-Z to a multi-year deal, giving the rapper his own "signature" line of sneakers. Jay-Z's "S.Carter Collection by RBK" is scheduled to hit stores nationwide in June. The shoe will sell for around $150. Reebok says it will also market a $95 version to attract kids. A special CD single from Jigga written specifically about the sneakers will be included with every pair sold for a limited time.

Jay will start appearing in the Reebok advertisements in February. The campaign will start running during the NBA's All-Star weekend, which takes place February 7-9.

(Jay-Z has officially gone too "pop." The only direction he can go now is down. Watch and See!)
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7th annual Mixtape Awards were marred by violence as minor altercations and random acts caused organizers to put a halt to the event shortly after is started. The cancellation was sparked when DJ Kay Slay (The Drama King) and DJ Pudgee P had a verbal dispute that escalated into chaos.

The event, which took place at the Hammerstein Ballroom, honors the influential mixtape DJs for their contributions to hip-hop. While producer Easy Mo Bee was reading the list of nominee's for Best Artist on a Mixtape, the confrontation spun out of control. But, in the pressroom, when a member of Kay Slay's entourage struck P in the cheek, the unnamed individuals began fighting and smashing DJs awards, effectively ending Justo Faison's annual Mixtape Awards.

As the crowd speculated what was going on, Kay-Slay came to the stage and announced that the show was over. A few moments later the founder of hip-hop DJ Kool Herc took to the stage to issue troubled words of criticism to the
DJ's. "Leave that ni**a shit outta here, we all fu**in' brothers. Clue and Kay need to stop that sh*t," Herc said in regards to the beef that has spawned between Clue and Kay-Slay. "If Clue was about anything, his ass would be
here and this would be televised on MTV." According to insiders, Clue boycotts the awards, claiming that the voting process is tainted.

Taking the mic from Herc, Kay Slay then returned to the stage stating, "I'm not going to let no f**kin' punk from nowhere talk no sh*t to me. F*ck the Drama King, my name is Keith, man. Respect comes first. If a ni**a disrespect me, he gets the sh*t beat out of him right there."

Of the incident, many artists and spectators were bewildered as to the reasons for the outbreak. "Why," inquired radio personality Steph Lova without further comment.

"There is rap and entertainment," Capone from Capone-N-Noreaga said. "Don't get it all confused." Capone went on to say that people should exercise more restraint when attending hip-hop events.

Others, like Gangstarr, were appreciative of the awards, but had concerns with the disorganization.

Nevertheless, the other awards were given out at the after party, which took place at Nyla. J-Love won for Best Graphics, Best DJ Producer honors went to Ron G and Best Radio Mixtape DJ was bestowed on Enuff. Finally, Kay Slay won
honors for best Mixtape DJ amid all the drama.
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The Beatnuts recently criticized production team The Trackmaster for sampling their hit "Watch Out Now," which is used in Jennifer Lopez's "Jenny From The Block." "Niggas is biters," Psycho Les told AllHipHop.com. "I had nothing to do with that shit. Come with some paper, if not we gonna settle that shit on the streets." The Beatnuts latest album "The Originators," is in stores now