Def Jam Battle? Def Jam’s key artists are squaring off for a Thanksgiving showdown by releasing their albums on Nov. 24. Find out why!

T-Pain creates a scene? On the eve of releasing his third LP, Thr33 Ringz, T-Pain and friends takeover NYC night club. Check out this exclusive footage right here!

Brooklyn MC, Jay-Z revisits Obama.

During a recent radio interview with Hot 97’s Angie Martinez, Jay-Z reveals his feelings about Barack Obama’s win and dismisses Blueprint 3 2008 release. Read more!

Late R&B singer’s recordings to be released next month.

Former TLC member Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes, who died in a car crash six years ago, will go solo postmortem. A CD of songs that the rapper and background singer recorded for her own album is set for Nov. 11 release.  ”She knew she was going to pass away and it was her plan to get all of this out there so people could learn what she had done,” acquaintance Jay Marose tells AP. “She wanted people to hear it and wanted her family to do whatever they had to do.” Proceeds from Lopes’ solo debut will benefit her foundation in support of orphanages and schools in Honduras, where she died.

In the mid-90s, she told fans, through music, that her brother was her “Best Friend.”  And now Brandy is about to show fans she means what she sings with a collaborative album entitled “R&B” – short for Ray J and Brandy.  The singer, who’s scheduled to released a solo CD titled “Human” on Nov. 11, says the album with her brother is still in the planning the stage, but fans can look to catch her and her brother in records stores and on the small screen within the next few months. Ray J, who currently has out an album titled “All I Feel,” has a new VH1 reality series coming soon to TV similar to the popular show “Flavor Of Love.”

Dreamgirl and T-Pain link up for duet. And odd collaboration to say the least, Jennifer Hudson and T-Pain pour their heart and soul on the new track, “What’s Wrong”, off Jennifer Hudson’s self-titled debut. Listen here!

Ludacris seeks respect on new album. Despite numerous achievements, Ludacris still feels underrated, but says Theater of the Mind will finally earn him the lyrical praise he deserves. Read more!

Kanye West is ready! Super producer, Kanye West has put the finishing touches on his fourth Lp and is ready to share it with the world as soon as possible. Read more!

The ex- New York Giants wide receiver has had a troubled post-football life.
Mark Ingram, a former New York Giants wide receiver who starred in the 1991 Super Bowl, will spend the next seven and a half years behind bars for his latest crime spree that includes money laundering and bank fraud. Read more at BET.com/News.  What would make a former super star athlete jump from the limelight to the crimelight?

Jurors in accused mass murderer’s trial to be named today. In an Atlanta courtroom today, 12 jurors and six alternates will learn whether they are the ones who will decide the fate of Brian Nichols, the 36-year-old accused of shooting to death his judge, a court reporter and two law-enforcement officials during a daring escape three years ago from the Fulton County Courthouse. When – and if – the trial begins on Monday, as planned, it will begin a long-awaited march toward justice that has been stymied by a series of delays. In addition to the change in judges – from Superior Court Judge Hilton Fuller to Judge James Bodiford – defense attorneys convinced the original judge that the state had kicked in far too little for a case of this magnitude, compelling him to shelve the case until it had infused more money into the public defender system. The case is expected to be the most costly in Georgia history. Already, the defense has spent an astronomical $1.2 million, and it’s still nearly a week before trial. In a recent chapter in the case, Bodiford found that Nichols’ alleged confession was not the result of his deteriorated mental capacity following his arrest. The defense is arguing that Nichols is innocent by reason of insanity. Nichols is facing death if convicted.

Nagin wants to know how his residents were treated. New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin wants to know how his city’s residents were treated during the latest monster storm, Hurricane Gustav, to rock the Big Easy. As reports have surfaced that some city agencies didn’t learn from dealing with killer Katrina, Nagin has instituted a special phone hotline to gather and grade information on victims’ experiences. “If you evacuated with the city assisted-program, and if you went to a shelter where you want to report something, call our 3-1-1 number,” Nagin said in a news conference. His request came amid widespread reports of unsanitary or inhospitable conditions, mostly at shelters in northern Louisiana, according to The New Orleans Times-Picayune. But many shelter volunteers complained that evacuees threatened them “or acted in an unruly fashion during their stay,” the newspaper reported. The Times-Picayune also speculated that poor conditions at the Department of Social Services shelters could have been what led to the sudden resignation of DSS Secretary Ann Williamson earlier this week. While the city helped transport 18,000 residents out of town, all New Orleanians had the option of staying at DSS shelters.

He’s preparing to defend his Sean Bell acquittal protest

The Rev. Al Sharpton will take his public nuisance and disturbing the peace case to court Oct. 6, a Manhattan judge ruled Thursday. Sharpton, who was arrested in early May – along with scores of protestors who froze up major New York City thoroughfares as a statement against the acquittal of three police officers in the shooting death of Sean Bell – had an opportunity recently to admit guilt and avoid a trial and jail time. But the civil rights leader, who heads the Harlem-based National Action Network, wanted a public airing for a case that focuses attention back on what he and others say is the egregiously unfair freeing of the NYPD cops who shot down the 23-year-old Bell outside a Queens nightclub on the eve of his wedding day, Nov. 25, 2006. The officers shot the unarmed groom and his two friends in a haze of 50 bullets. Bell’s friends, Joseph Guzman and Trent Benefield, survived but were seriously wounded. On Wednesday, Sharpton said there is nothing unlawful about a peaceful protest. “Every time they bring me back, it further exposes the disparity of justice in this city,” he said.

Kirk Douglas petitions symbolic gesture. Long-time actor Kirk Douglas is using his MySpace page to help generate support for a national apology by the United States government for its involvement in slavery. Douglas, whose talent has earned him roles in everything from old Western flicks to TV shows like “Touched by an Angel” and a voice part on “The Simpsons,” is collecting signatures. The Oscar-nominated legend plans to eventually send his petition to the president. Douglas, 91, is the father of actor Michael Douglas.

Taraji Henson provides woman with food, shelter. A Hurricane Katrina survivor has three months of rent-free housing courtesy of actress Taraji Henson. Henson, who co-starred in Baby Boy and Hustle & Flow, was in New Orleans filming The Curious Case of Benjamin Button when she met the single mom and her children. “This woman lost everything during Katrina and came back and got her little apartment,” Henson says. “She had two daughters she was raising by herself and then her apartment caught on fire, so she lost everything twice. I wanted to give her something besides toys because where would they put it? They didn’t have anywhere to stay.”

Snoop owes actor Russell Crowe a favor. Rapper Snoop Dogg will have to speak to a group of Australian children as partial repayment of a favor to Gladiator star Russell Crowe. Snoop expects to tour the continent late next month after recently having his ban from the country lifted. Crowe, who lives in Australia, helped plead Snoop’s case to the government, calling the rapper a “friend.” “I submit to you that Snoop Dogg poses no threat to Australia or to any individual in this country,” Crowe wrote in a letter. “He has toured here three times before without incident and there are no reasons to assume this tour will be anything but the positive experience the last three have been. Snoop has built a stellar reputation with promoters and audiences worldwide.” Crowe added that he had a “selfish motivation” as well, saying that Snoop promised to appear at a youth charity event for Crowe’s South Sydney Rugby League Club. He wrote:  ”Some of our First Grade players will attend with him and he will deliver a powerful and positive message about rising through adversity, drawing on his own underprivileged background as an example. As you can imagine, such a visit will have a phenomenal effect.” Snoop had been banned due to his criminal record.

Warith Deen Mohammed was the son of Nation of Islam leader Elijah Muhammad

Imam Warith Deen Mohammed, who for many years led the nation’s largest contingent of Muslims and steered Islam away from the more separatist doctrine of his father, the late Elijah Muhammad, died Tuesday at his home near Chicago, The Washington Post reported. A spokesman for the Cook County Medical Examiners Office in Illinois told The Associated Press that the 74-year-old former head of the American Society of Muslims died of heart disease. Find out more about Mohammed’s life and death at BET.com/News. Send your condolences below.

They killed an African-American man – just because he was Black

Two Kansas City men will spend the rest of their lives in prison for killing a man who was on his way to work – just because he was Black. A federal judge ruled that Gary Eye  and Steven Sandstrom, whose lives were spared by jurors for the March 2005 murder of William McCay, should never be free again. “I’m innocent of all these charges,” Sandstrom said. “This was not a hate crime. Not even close to it, your honor.” But Eye opted not to say anything during his sentencing hearing. Yvonne McCay, the victim’s mother, said she is now ready to move forward. “Justice has been served,” McCay said. “None of this will bring him back, but I pray constantly to God to remove this malice from my heart for these individuals.”