Dallas authorities have reason to believe that a nightclub shooting between rival gangs, which left two people dead and four others injured last weekend, was sparked by a Lil' Jon song.

According to Dallas Morning News, two gangs -- one from East Dallas and the other from South Dallas -- were at the El Angel nightclub on Sunday (July 16) to attend a birthday party and had agreed to put their rivalry aside for the evening.

An hour later, police say Lil Jon's "Put Yo Hood Up" was played and the two gangs begun fighting, quickly emptying the club. The skirmishing between the two groups continued outside and guns were eventually pulled out.

22-year-old Lendl Carey and 20-year-old Kenneth Haggerty were shot and killed. The injured were rushed were to a nearby hospital where they were treated and released.

"Put Yo Hood Up," which urges listeners to represent their neighborhoods via hand signs, has been linked to another murder in Arkansas.

When police reports associating the murders to hip-hop surfaced, Dallas based rappers and DJ's responded by voicing their outrage.

"It's crazy that police would say something like that," Mr. Pookie told the Morning News. "When alcohol is involved and tempers flare, shit happens. A song can't make somebody shoot someone."

"Dallas police have no business calling 'Put Yo Hood Up' a 'flashpoint' for violence," said DJ Big Bink of The Beat. "When they make statements like that, it shows how ignorant they are toward hip-hop culture."

"The songs played, they have nothing to do with nothing," Marcus Francia, the brother of the man whose birthday was being celebrated at the club told the Associated Press. "I've been to a lot of clubs, and they play the same songs at every club. I don't think that would prompt nobody."

Authorities are still looking for shooters.
______________________

Word is Jay-Z will soon be coming out of retirement and has been working on a new album with A-list producers like Dr. Dre, The Neptunes, Cool & Dre, Timbaland and Kanye West.

Though the God emcee has secretly been working on his comeback, Kanye and The Neptunes have hinted to be working on the project in various interviews. In Playboy Magazine's August Issue, red hot production team Cool & Dre revealed that they contributed to Jigga's project. Earlier today (July 24th), the New York Daily News reported that the Brooklyn lyricist had been recording in a Chelsea (Manhattan, NY) studio.

While it doesn't look like Jay will release the rumored Sean Carter album via Dr. Dre's Aftermath Records, the legendary producer is expected to produce on the CD.

"Dre will E-mail Jay some new beats," a source told the Daily News. "Jay will E-mail him the lyrics, then Dre will E-mail him the mix."

The untitled album would mark Jay's first release since 2003's The Black Album. To date, Jigga has released eight solo albums: 1996's Reasonable Doubt, 1997's In My Lifetime Vol. 1, 1998's Hard Knock Life, Vol. 2, 1999's Vol. 3...Life and Times Of Sean Carter, 2000's Roc La Familia compilation and 2001's The Blueprint, 2002's The Blueprint 2 and the aforementioned Black Album.

The album could hit stores as early as Thanksgiving or early 2007.
__________________________-

After a five-year absence Hi-Tek has returned with his second album, Hi-Teknology 2.

Entirely produced by Tek, the star-studded album features guest appearances by Nas, Busta Rhymes, Common, Talib Kweli, Snoop Dogg, Slim Thug, Raekwon, Dogg Pound, Bun B, Q-Tip, Mos Def and The Game among others. The LP will be released via Hi-Tek Music/Babygrande Records.

Despite the long break between his two LPs, Tek has been quite productive in recent years. The Cincinnati Boardsman racked up production credits on albums for Xzibit, Talib Kweli, 50 Cent, Lloyd Banks, Busta and Game to name a few.

Hi-Tek's Hi-Teknology 2 is slated to hit stores in October.
________________________-

Six months into 2006, and so far overall R&B/hip-hop album sales have suffered a 22.4% drop to 53.8 million units from the 69.3 million units scanned during the same six-month period in 2005. (Note: These Nielsen SoundScan R&B figures include hip-hop sales.)

Taken alone, rap sales for 2006's first half stand at 29.5 million units versus 35.1 million units for the same period a year ago, a 15.9% drop. (Looking at all genres, album sales for the first six months of 2006 are down 4.2% to 270.6 million from 282.6 million in 2005.)

Though such drops are a concern -- especially in an industry that's witnessed more downward movement than upswings in recent years -- the alarm is tempered when you look back at release schedules.

This time last year, R&B/hip-hop was celebrating major-league blockbusters from three artists: the Game, whose album had the best week of any January release in Nielsen SoundScan history; 50 Cent, who had the only million-selling week last year; and Mariah Carey, who released her best-selling album in 10 years.

In the first half of 2006, R&B/hip-hop counts several million-plus sellers in the top 10: Mary J. Blige (1.5 million), T.I. (1.3 million), Ne-Yo (1 million) and Jamie Foxx (1 million). Although those numbers are strong, they don't compare to the tune played by the 50 Cent/Carey/Game troika last year.

When you subtract the 8.4 million that those three projects sold in the first half of last year, R&B/hip-hop's 2005 sales would remain ahead of the 2006 number but by a more narrow margin. And remember, there are still a few superstar releases coming in late third quarter into the fourth quarter, including Beyonce, Ludacris, OutKast, Janet Jackson and the Game's long-awaited follow-up. Factoring in those sales may help level the sales picture by year's end.

Sounding a higher note for this six-month period is gospel. Sales in the genre rose 5.9%, from 3.7 million to 3.9 million

_______________________

Dr. Dre graces the cover of Scratch Magazine's September/October issue.

Though Dre actually wasn't interviewed for the issue, the cover story has Hi-Tek, Denaun Porter, Nottz and Mahogany, producers who have worked on the perpetually delayed Detox, revealing the legend behind the highly secretive album. The aforementioned producers tell what tracks were cut and put onto their respective albums.

Dre was Scratch's first cover back in April 2004.

Elsewhere in issue 13, Scratch discusses selling out with will.i.am while Sa-Ra (Pharoahe Monch, Kanye West), DJ Scratch, Ayatollah and Clinton Sparks are also featured. Rick Ross gives the "Play by Play" on his debut album, Port of Miami, the winner of Fatman Scoop's beat search is announced and Mr. Collipark gives advice to up-and-coming beatsmiths.

Scratch Magazine's September/October issue is on newsstands now.