Actor, activist and educator are some of they words that are commonly used to describe Bill Cosby, but starting on Monday, you can add Hip-Hop music producer.

Cosby along with his band, the Cosnarati, will present State of Emergency, a conscious rap compilation addressing the issues of crime, teenage pregnancy, respecting women, education and other themes important to Cosby.

From ABC News:

Presented in association with Ustream, the town hall (7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT) will air on urban radio station Web sites across the country, on Cosby’s Facebook page (http://facebook.com/billcosby ) and on BillCosby.com.

Hosted by comedian/actor/educator/author Cosby and the Cosnarati Band, the event will include the band’s first public performance of several songs from “Emergency.” Those songs will be available at digital retailers Tuesday (October 20); the album’s physical and digital release is November 24.

Kudos to Bill Cosby for trying to make a difference.

By Sherri L. Smith, BlackWeb20.com

So apparently it’s okay to start rocking 80s throwback fashions. From that shag that Kanye was rocking awhile back to will.i.am’s  asymmetrical cut that has the makings of an undercover gumby, the 80s are slowly encroaching on the new millennium. What’s next, a resurgence of jheri curls? I shudder at the thought. Read the rest of this entry »

By Sherri L. Smith, BlackWeb20.com

2009 must be the year of the producer/DJ because it seems that a new gadget debuts every month for those that get geeked at the sight of a turntable and some vinyl. The latest edition to the growing line of DJ technology is a mouse, the DJ Mouse to be exact. Created by Chinese company DJ Tech, the DJ Mouse is the first of its kind and is “fully designed and made for all DJ applications.” Read the rest of this entry »

By Sherri L. Smith, BlackWeb20.com

Music apps are always fun. They combine two of our greatest loves — music and tech. But as our tech gets more sophisticated, it’s not enough just to listen to our favorite tracks, we want to make our own knockin’ beats. With increasing amounts of developers putting out sofware willing to oblige our fancy, those big name music producers may need to watch their back. IK Multimedia, maker of music programs Total Studio 2 and AmpliTube Jimi Hendrix has announced the release of a new application for iPhone and iPod Touch. Groovemaker is an application that lets fans of Hip-Hop, Electronic, and Dance music take the reins and create their own knocking beats. Read the rest of this entry »

By Sherri L. Smith, BlackWeb20.com

Hip hop is big business. Everyone’s getting fat off of the proverbial teat that is hip hop. Despite all this money floating around, the genre is still underserved when it comes to equipment. Beatmakers have been forced to make lemonade out of lemons, having to adapt hardware and software to their needs. Thankfully, this will no longer be a problem thanks to the Beat Kangz.

The Beat Kangz is a three man production team that has earned countless awards for their stellar work producing tracks for countless independent and big name artists including The Roots and KRS-One. They also create beats for ad and media agencies. But aside from being music geniuses, the Kangz are huge techies. Read the rest of this entry »

By Sherri L. Smith, BlackWeb20.com

Rap mogul Diddy is known for being the king of the remix, but if the folks at Moderati have anything to say about it that will soon change. The mobile app company that brought you the pyromaniac-friendly virtual Zippo Lighter app for iPhone has unveiled Romplr, a new music application. So what makes this app so special? Well, Romplr lets users take a track and create their own unique remix. The mixes are created via eight built-in loops and seven samples. Users are also given three tracks to mix per song. Wannabe remixers also control the length of the mix with a minumum time of 30 secs or a maximum of 3 minutes. After the mixes are created, they can be shared with friends via email, Facebook, or rompler.com, the online community for fans of the app.

At launch, people looking to take control of the music can let their creative juices flow, experimenting on Soulja Boy Tell ‘Em’s “Turn My Swag On.” (A side note: Love him or hate him, you have to respect the polarizing artist’s masterful grasp of using the online space to keep his name in the media and his pockets fat.) Rompler Dance is also set to launch this week. The dance version of the app will feature three original tracks that users can add their unique flavor to.

The app is currently retailing for $5 in the Apple iTunes store. Unfortunately, the app is currently only available for the iPhone, but never fear, Romplr will be coming to Android, Blackberry, and other mobile app stores at a later date.

BlackWeb20.com covers website and application launches; culturally relevant Internet industry news; and mainstream Internet industry news from an African-American perspective.  They also analyze emerging web trends and how they apply to web properties that target African-Americans or African-American culture.

The RZA is slated for the big screen and a little music in 2009. The Wu-Tang Clan’s RZA says he’ll mark 2009 with a big-time film and music project, reports AllHip-Hop.com.  RZA is featured on Afro Samurai: The Resurrection, which is to be released on Jan. 27 as the soundtrack to season 2 of the critically acclaimed animated series Afro Samurai. Voiced by Academy Award-nominee Samuel L. Jackson, the series debuted in 2006 on Spike TV and went on to become the best-selling anime DVD release of 2007, the Web site repots. The project will mark RZA’s second full-length album for the series. In summer, 2009, RZA’s talents will be featured on the big screen with a role in The Funny People, an upcoming comedy from writer/director Judd Apatow (”The 40-Year Old Virgin,” “Knocked Up”).

Yung Joc signs another act to his Swagg Team label. Atlanta rapper Yung Joc has signed the second act to his Swagg Team Entertainment imprint, reports AllHipHop.com. The Grammy-nominated artist has picked up the Dallas-based GS Boys, who have generated an impressive Web following for their single “Stanky Leg,” the Web site reports.

Lung cancer patients are blamed for their disease. A majority of Americans, including many health-care workers, believe that people who have lung cancer are at least partly to blame for their disease, a new survey finds. In the poll of nearly 1,500 American adults, researchers found 59 percent of respondents agreeing with the notion that lung cancer patients helped bring the disease on themselves. It’s a bias that over time has led to fewer resources to investigate the No. 1 cancer killer in the United States and added shame to the burden that lung cancer patients carry, experts said. “Sadly, the stigma has been used to justify underfunding, not only of research but also of programs for early detection and treatment,” said Laurie Fenton Ambrose, president and CEO of Lung Cancer Alliance, a private organization providing support and advocacy for people with lung cancer. He added that too many people blame lung cancer on individual patients because they mistakenly believe that smoking causes all cases of the disease. Lung cancer is among the leading causes of cancer deaths in the United States. The American Lung Association estimates that more then 215,000 Americans will be diagnosed with lung cancer this year, and more than 161,000 will die of the disease. Between 10 percent and 15 percent of lung cancers are diagnosed in nonsmokers, the association estimates.

A little music does the heart good. Keep the gospel playing on your iPod or throw on a little Beyoncé and sit back and relax, knowing that your blood vessels are expanding wide open, letting the blood flow freely.  Turns out that hearing a joyful noise does the heart good. In fact, nothing could be healthier for your heart, a new study suggests. “Listening to music that makes you feel good may also be a good preventive measure for heart health,” said study author Dr. Michael Miller, director of the Center for Preventive Cardiology at the University of Maryland Medical Center, in Baltimore. “There’s no downside. It’s simple, economic and it may pay off dividends in regard to a healthy heart.” Dr. Carl Lavie, medical director of cardiac rehabilitation and prevention director of the Stress Testing Laboratory at the Ochsner Heart and Vascular Institute in New Orleans, also told HealthDay: “Although this was just [a short-term] study, it suggests that laughter and listening to relaxing music may provide cardio-protection or be heart-healthy. I suspect that the authors are correct in this theory. But the important thing to know is whether regular performance of this or similar activity would have long-term benefits on the cardiovascular system, similar to… such things as regular aerobic exercise that has been extensively studied and proved to have substantial long-term benefits.” Previous studies had found that music could affect heart rate and blood pressure. Prayer has also been shown to improve cardiac performance. And Miller’s group previously found that laughter improved vascular health.
  

Can you tell if he’s HIV-positive? A new feature at BET.com asks if you can tell by looking at someone whether he or she is HIV-positive. “Are You Positive?” provides information about HIV and AIDS as well as HIV-testing information and a site locater as part of a special feature that appears in advance of the BET News special of the same name. To find out more, go to BET.com/lifestyle.
(www.bet.com/lifestyle/bodysoul)

Lil Wayne will return to New York tomorrow. Having missed an earlier court date on a weapons charge, due to a dental issue, Lil Wayne returns to court tomorrow on a continuance. The rapper took a red-eye flight from Hollywood to New York after his Video Music Awards performance and win for Best Hip-Hop Video, in order to appear Monday. Weezy was arrested last summer after cops stopped his tour bus and searched the vehicle, allegedly finding a .40-caliber pistol. He’s charged with criminal possession of a weapon.

Actor is confirmed to play ancient Egyptian ruler.
Will Smith will portray Last Pharaoh. Will Smith is set to take on one of his most challenging roles in the film The Last Pharaoh. After earlier reports surfaced of his interest in the role about the ancient Egyptian ruler Taharqa, Variety.com confirms that Braveheart writer Randall Wallace is taking on the screenplay at Smith’s behest. Taharqa ruled Egypt from 690 B.C. to 664 B.C. and became known for his fierce battles with Assyrian king Esarhaddon.

Shhhh! Not while he’s trying to sing!
Actor hushes fans at performance. Terrence Howard takes his newfound music career seriously, according to Web reports. The Oscar-nominated actor whose new CD, Shine It Through, was recently released reportedly shushed a couple of fans at his New York performance last week. The star appeared at “The Beat of Chic,” an event for special invited guests at Bloomingdale’s department store, and was reportedly annoyed by the constant chatter of two women in the front row. “Obviously you two are talking about something that’s more important than my music,” Howard is said to have announced. “Why don’t you share it?” After the man who rapped the words “whoop dat trick” in the film Hustle & Flow stuck the mic in their faces, the ladies apparently decided to shut it up. But it’s not only the two front-row spectators who’ve been underwhelmed with Howard’s musical debut: Fan feedback on the CD has been less than favorable.

T.I. sets Billboard records. With Paper Trail one month away, T.I.’s lead single, “Whatever You Like” hits two Billboard chart milestones. Find out which at Sound Off!

Soulja Boy returns for sophomore set. Ringtone leader Soulja Boy talks about the Ice T beef, working with Bow Wow and his new album, iSoulja Boy at Music News.

Check out The Dream’s road to success. The Dream is an All-American triple threat. Read about his journey to the top here!