The music market results are in and it feels good to be on top. According to the RIAA's 2002 consumer profile, rap/hip-hop has overtaken pop music as the second-most-preferred music genre, with 13.5% of the market.

Hip-Hoppers nationwide led the way in sales, knocking Pop music out the box. Rap/hip-hop increased almost 2.5% from the previous year to snatch the second spot with R&B/urban following in third place at 11.2%. When combined into a joint category traditionally labeled "Black Music", Rap/Hip-Hop & R&B/Urban make up a whopping 24.7%, a virtual tie with Rock music which took the #1 spot this year.

Hip-Hop can credit the success of 2002's major releases for the honor. Rappers cha-ching'ed at the register including heavyweights Eminem (The Eminem Show, multi-platinum), Jay-Z (Blueprint 2, multi-platinum, Best of Both Worlds, platinum), Ludacris (Back for the First Time, multiplatinum) and Nelly (Nellyville, multiplatinum). Notable mentions go to The Bigtymers, Busta Rhymes, The Clipse, Fat Joe, Eve, Ja Rule, Nas and Nappy Roots.

The RIAA's annual survey polls more than 3,000 music consumers in the United States with a 95% confidence level. The domestic sound recording market last year was valued at $12.6 billion, compared with $13.7 billion in 2001 comprised mostly of CD sales.
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Snoop Dogg seems to be as down with the remake as he is with the remix. He's currently shooting a big-screen version of "Starsky & Hutch," and now he's signed up with Method Man for a remake of "Airplane!" called "Soul Plane."

Snoop will play a pilot in MGM's upcoming urban version of the 1980 satirical farce starring Robert Hays ("Dr. T & the Women") and featuring Leslie Nielsen ("The Naked Gun"), with Meth onboard as his best friend Muggsy. A spokesperson for Snoop said the rapper will begin work on the flick in June. Jessy Terrero, who helmed the clip for Snoop's "Tell It Like It Is" as well as 50 Cent's "Wanksta," will direct.

Snoop is playing Huggy Bear in "Starsky & Hutch," which reunites the "Zoolander" duo of Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson as the hip cops with the cool car from the '70s TV show. The project was written and is being directed by Todd Phillips ("Old School").

Method Man has a number of projects lined up with his pal Redman, including one in which they'll play a couple of DEA agents and another that's a fish-out-of-water comedy from "Barbershop" co-writer Don Scott.

The original "Airplane!" spawned a sequel in 1982, but without writer/directors Jim Abrahams and David Zucker's direct involvement. Abrahams, who directed Nielsen's "Police Squad!" TV series, went on to make the similarly over-the-top and exclamation-point-titled comedies "Top Secret!," "Hot Shots!," "Hot Shots! Part Deux" and "Jane Austen's Mafia!" as well as the "Naked Gun" series, working on and off with Zucker. Source: MTV