50 Cent calls himself, Kanye West “yin and the yang.” Following that old-fashioned butt-whoopin’ he suffered around this time last year, 50 Cent’s not challenging fellow rapper Kanye West to any new CD sales battles. Though the MCs are again slated to drop new music in the same week – Fiddy on Dec. 9, Kanye on Dec. 15 – rap’s biggest trash-talker is less brash with his words. “There’s no comparisons in us as artists,” says Fiddy. “It’s the yin and the yang.” Who knew Fiddy had taken up Eastern philosophy? A far cry from his vow to retire if Kanye’s CD outsold his after their simultaneous Sept. 11, 2007 releases.

“Who’s the master?” Samuel Jackson. Just weeks after the death of the original actor who played one of Black film’s most memorable villains, Samuel L. Jackson plans to take a crack at the role. Julius Carry, who passed due to cancer, draws laughs every time he’s on screen as The Last Dragon’s outrageous Sho’nuff, a.k.a. the “Shogun of Harlem,” although the film came out in 1985. For the update, Jackson is set to revive Sho’nuff, the character who led a kung fu crew, demanding answers to such queries as, “Am I the prettiest?” and “Who’s the master?” No word on whether he’ll order the film’s hero to kiss his Converse.

The rap super star denies rumors that he’s planning to get therapy

So he’s known for throwing a fit every once in a while. What grown man doesn’t? Rap star Kanye West has put to rest rumors that he has any plans of seeking anger management. The man who recently filled his blog with profanity after he was criticized for taking the stage late at a Tennessee music festival has posted the following kinder, gentler clarification on his official site: “Now the media is saying I’m going to anger management something or ‘nother. I have never had any conversations about anger management. If anything, I need anger enhancement! lol! I get off the plane in Hawaii today and the world is saying my management team said blah blah blah… Oh and a sidebar – I don’t know if everyone has realized this yet, but I don’t do interviews; if there’s anything I wanna say, I’ll say [it] right here on my own blog.”

“Boss Lady” won’t face drunken driving charges.
Maybe she was only doing her mug shot impression of a person who’d been driving drunk. A Cali court has thrown out charges against rapper Snoop Dogg’s wife Shanté Broadus, following her arrest for alleged DUI. Citing a lack of evidence – apparently including her booking photo – a judge dismissed the count against “Boss Lady,” as she’s known on Snoop’s reality series. Guess you really can’t judge a book by its cover, if “Boss Lady’s” best drunk woman pose is any indication.

Nelly joins singer Sheryl Crow on Olympics CD

The rap world is making its contribution to the U.S. Olympics through Nelly’s contribution on a forthcoming, exclusive CD. The St. Louis rapper joins pop singer Sheryl Crow and other artists to lay tracks that will be used to help motivate athletes bound for the Games in Beijing. “I know this soundtrack is something we will all be able to enjoy while we’re in Beijing and will help motivate us to compete at our very best,” says swimmer Michael Phelps. The Olympics begin Aug. 8.