Industry rap giant Jay-Z has joined the ranks of those boycotting high end champagne company Cristal, in response to the negative comments made by Frederic Rouzaud, managing director of Louis Roderer Cristal.

In a special summer edition of The Economist magazine, Rouzaud commented on the Hip-Hop community's patronage of the champagne brand in an article titled "Bubbles and Bling."

Rouzaud stated that he observed the rap community's constant patronage of the pricey drink with "curiosity and serenity."

Rouzaud further stated that other brands like Dom Perignon and Krug "would be delighted to have their business."

Jay-Z has announced that he will no longer support or distribute Cristal champagne at his 40/40 sports bar/restaurant.

"It has come to my attention that the managing director of Cristal, Frederic Rouzaud views the 'Hip-Hop' culture as 'unwelcome attention,'" said Jay-Z. "I view his comments as racist and will no longer support any of his products through any of my various brands including The 40/40 Club nor in my personal life."

Jay-Z, Sean "Diddy" Combs, and several of the Hip-Hop industry's biggest stars have supported Cristal through patronage and homage in rap lyrics.

Jay-Z and his popular 40/40 Club will now be serving only Krug and Dom Perignon to their customers seeking high end champagne products.

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Rapper Chamillionaire has inked publishing deal with Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG).

Through the exclusive deal the Houston rapper will be represented by one of the industry's largest global music publishing operations.

With offices in 41 countries, UMPG currently owns or administers more than 1 million copyrights.

The addition of Chamillionaire to UMPG solidifies an already successful R&B/Hip-Hop roster, which includes 50 Cent, G-Unit, Ciara, Chris Brown, Mariah Carey, Ice Cube, Ludacris, Amerie, Ashanti and Mary J. Blige.

The signing comes after the success of Chamillionaire's platinum debut album, The Sound Of Revenge, which is the highest debut week of a new Universal album since 2003.

His new single, "Ridin'" featuring Krayzie Bone, currently sits at No.1 on the Billboard Hot 100.

In March of this year, Chamillionaire was tapped to serve as the new face of the spring 2006 tribute advertising campaign for Makaveli Branded, the official clothing line of the late Tupac Shakur.

Chamillionaire is also up for the "Best New Artist" category at this year's BET awards scheduled to take place on June 27 in Los Angeles.
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A member of the Atlanta-based group Dem Franchize Boyz was arrested yesterday (June 13) during a police raid at a local recording studio.

Authorities confiscated more than 11 pounds of marijuana, $150,000 in cash, two handguns and a stack of pornography from the Making Money studio in Atlanta.

Sources told AllHipHop.com that all of the recording equipment was also seized, as well as four cars. The identity of the group member arrested was not immediately available.

"They were in the bathroom and they were trying to flush a lot of the drugs down the toilet," Atlanta Police Officer Richard Light told Channel 2 Action News. "They just had too much and couldn't flush it all down."

Two children, who were at the studio during the raid, were taken into custody and were later released to their mother.

WSBTV reports that eight people were arrested, including Making Big Moves Records CEO Anthony Blalock. The raid occurred after authorities received a tip that drugs were being sold at the studio.

The suspects tried to get rid of the evidence after noticing officers on surveillance cameras, according to police.

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Juelz Santana, Mos Def, N.E.R.D. and Don Omar are among the list of hip-hop artists featured on the soundtrack for the latest installment of The Fast and Furious series titled The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift.

Directed by Justin Lin (Annapolis, Better Luck Tomorrow), Tokyo Drift centers on loner street racer Sean Boswell (Lucas Black) who is sent to Tokyo to live with his uncle to avoid jail time. There he makes friends with another street racer named Twinkie, played by Bow Wow, who introduces him to the underground world of drift-racing.

Inadvertently, Boswell challenges a local champion and yakuza associate named D.K., The Drift King, and loses. He is then forced to fully immerse himself in drift-racing to pay the debt.

The Fast and The Furious: Tokyo Drift soundtrack hits shelves June 20, while the movie opens in theatres this Friday (June 16).