Two weeks after the Vibe Awards, police are probing into Suge Knight's possible role in the the attack of his former partner, Dr. Dre.

Less than two weeks after the Vibe Awards fracas, investigators are looking into whether Suge Knight, who has held ill will toward Dr. Dre since splitting with the platinum producer, could have been involved in the attack. Dr. Dre was assaulted and struck twice moments before he was scheduled to be honored with a lifetime achievement award at event held at the Santa Monica airport on November 16th. The attack sparked a melee and the assailant was stabbed and seriously wounde

Dre was not injured in the incident and later defiantly took the stage to accept his award. He reportedly met with police officials on Monday and requested that his attacker, Jimmy "James" Johnson, be charged with assault and battery.

The incident was captured on tape and authorities accused G-Unit's Young Buck of stabbing Johnson after reviewing the footage. The Nashville rapper turned himself in the following week and is now out on bail.

Suge Knight, who reportedly managed to attend the soiree without invitation and was seated a few feet behind Dre, has denied any involvement in the attack. Milton Grimes, who previously represented Suge and now handles Johnson, dismissed the allegations and ties between Suge and his client.

"We are conducting an investigation to determine whether any parole violations took place with [Knight] at the awards show," Alfred Martinez, Los Angeles regional parole administrator for the Corrections Department told the Los Angeles Times. "Mr. Knight has some special conditions attached to his parole, and we are working with the Santa Monica police to evaluate all the circumstances that took place that evening."

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After the gold success of his last effort, Trap Muzik, T.I is now poised to become the south's next superstar. In this exclusive SOHH.com interview, T.I speaks on his prison stint, crime glorification and bootleggers.

Earlier this summer, T.I violated his probation and was initially sentenced to three years in prison. Though the rapper was eventually released after serving a few months, heads are still confused about his legal situation and some think he's still incarcerated.

"I did my time, plain and simple," T.I told SOHH.com in a conference room at Atlantic Records' Manhattan office. "I had a probation violation. I went in and I went before the judge. The D.A gave me a certain amount of time. Him and my lawyers worked it out and I served my time and I'm back."

While in prison, the Atlanta rapper pulled strings and managed to shoot a video inside the correctional facility. Though the clip first landed him in hot water, T.I asserts that he obtained permission to shoot the video.

"They can't seize it [video]. No way possible. Basically I got with some people that I knew on the inside and asked them if I could make that happen. And they said that they would check with their superior and get back with me. Once they checked they said it was all good," the self-proclaimed "King of the South" explained. "It just so happens at the time, to no fault of our own, someone escaped, which made it a bigger deal than it needed to be."

T.I's rap sheet might be well documented in his music, but he refuses to exploit it to enhance the popularized thug image. In fact, he condemns rappers that take pride in their criminal records.

"I wish I could say I've never been locked up, never had a record. I got a partner. I only have one of them. He's never been arrested, 27 years old, never had handcuffs put on him. That's an accomplishment for a black man. I would take more pride in that that I would being locked up," T.I offered. "The only people who brag about that is people who don't know better. I don't see what's cool about that. I don't see what it is to glorify it. It ain't nothing cool about it. It don't make you real. That don't make you gangsta."

Several years after pushing his music independently, T.I's work is now a fixture with bootleggers. For these offenders, T.I deals out his own brand of street justice.

"I honestly feel like if the people like it, they gon buy it. Bootleggers, I deal with them just like the task force and the narcs deal with dope boys. I hit the ni99as on the corners. Then when they tell me where they got it from then I hit the warehouses. I do my thing," T.I. shared. "I mean they can't do sh!t. They can't call the police cause what they doing is wrong so they can either give my sh!t up or they can deal with me. Either way it go. I'm prepared for whatever."

T.I.'s Urban Legend featuring Lil Kim, Nelly, Lil Wayne and Trick Daddy with production from The Neptunes, Lil Jon, Jazze Pha and Scott Storch is in stores now.

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Following an impressive run with Kings Of Crunk, Lil Jon & the Eastsideboyz' latest LP, Crunk Juice, has set a record for the biggest first week sales for an independent album.

After selling 38,578 CD's before the official November 16th release date, Crunk Juice moved and additional 363,117 copies to bring its 10-day total to a strong 401,705 LP's according to Nielsen's Soundscan. The set registered the chart's highest boost with a staggering 1,014% hike to leap to #3 on Billboard's 200 and #2 on Billboard's Hip-Hop/R&B Album chart.

"This incredible feat solidifies the position of Lil Jon & The Eastside Boyz in the ranks of music superstars," Steve Gottlieb, TVT Records president, said in a statement. "It is also a testament to the careful and methodical artist development executed by our staff. That an album this massive was financed, produced, marketed and distributed 100% independently makes a point bigger than the sales mark it set. It shows the sea change in the music industry which has given a level of power to independent labels never before seen."

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In the January/February XXL magazine, on stands December 7, Eminem gives his first public statements following the election and speaks candidly about his scorching political statement—the pre-album release “Mosh” from his fourth album, Encore, on Interscope Records, as well as the media-fueled hoopla following the video for the “Just Lose It” single where he impersonates and mocks prominent celebrities,including Michael Jackson.

Elliott Wilson, editor-in-chief of XXL, the fastest growing music magazine on newsstands today, says, “Once again we’re honored to provide the platform for hip-hop’s most successful and outspoken star to speak to his audience. Eminem is the most multi-dimensional figure in hip-hop today. Unlike other rappers he's never afraid to express all his emotions: anger, embarrassment, humor, humility. He does it all with candor and witty wordplay, rightly earning him the respect as one of our
culture's most talented artists.”

In the interview, Eminem calls the outcry over the “Michael Jackson” video “blown out of proportion” and criticizes those who turned his mocking of Michael into a race issue. He straight out cites others who engage in parody and he asks why is it
that “…things seem to be worse when I do ‘em.”


“Yeah, I do got a little bit of regrets about that. We got it out there as soon as we could… We didn’t want to get “Mosh” out there and come off too political. Eminem’s never been too political. I never been the militant type like political
rapper. I just been the type to speak my mind on certain subjects that I know
about.”

About the election, Eminem says, “I’m disappointed and I voted for Kerry… hopefully (Bush) can live up to the promises that he made during his debates and all his speeches and all that and pull our troops… out of this war so that we ain’t so deep into this… He started it, so maybe he knows how to get us out of it. That’s kind of the message that he’s been preaching. That’s the message the American people obviously followed. I tend to not believe that.”

As usual, the hype around an Eminem album release also adds fuel to the fire surrounding the rap world’s ongoing conflict between two of its chroniclers, the Source and XXL magazines and their differing viewpoints of Eminem as an artist.

Although the controversial video, which Michael Jackson called “offensive” and “disgusting”, was banned by the BET network and had The Source magazine calling for its removal from Encore and a demand for an apology to Mr. Jackson, fans of Eminem just see the star’s stance as parody and even Eminem himself raps,”.That’s not a stab at Michael/That’s just a metaphor/I’m just psycho.”

“That’s Slim Shady talking,” Eminem says in XXL,“ I guess Michael’s very sensitive
and he probably felt like he got it the worst. I’m doing MC Hammer moves, the Pee Wee Herman thing. Obviously, this is a joke. Michael Jackson sitting on the edge of the bed with little boys jumping on the end of it—that’s not nothing he didn’t tell us.”

As for Eminem’s own troubles concerning the racist tapes he made as a sixteen year old teenager, XXL continues its groundbreaking coverage of Slim Shady’s evolving career that included the exclusive Eminem cover story and interview in the March 2004 issue, “Is the Best Rapper Alive A Racist?” In one of Encore’s many standouts, “Yellow Brick Road,” Em once again apologizes to the African American community. He tells XXL, “People know when issues come up in my life, I gotta address ’em. And the best way for me to do it is to put it in the form of music.”

This exclusive interview in XXL adds another level to Eminem’s stature as music’s most controversial magnet. With candor and charm, he challenges our opinions on freedom of speech, paranoia, satire, race and music.

XXL magazine is published by Harris Publications and was founded in 1997. The editorial focus is “hip hop on a higher level” steered by journalist, author and television producer, Elliott Wilson.