Reports are true about men invading the home of teen rapper Soulja Boy and robbing him and several of his close friends on News Year’s Eve, a representative for the entertainer said this weekend. On New Year’s Day, a video surfaced on the Internet showing two masked men who claimed responsibility for the crime, AllHipHop.com reports. The shows the two men bragging about how they had stalked Soulja Boy and followed him home after his album-release party. The purported assailants described the robbery in detail, but rejected earlier reports that there had been six gunmen armed with AK-47s. They said they had done it between the two of them, using only one gun. The video was so dramatic and overproduced that it was widely perceived as a hoax. But AllHipHop.com says the rapper’s rep said that an incident definitely took place, declining to go into detail. The crime was a “serious situation,” he told the Web site.

Ludacris &, Floyd Mayweather team up for new video

Check out these exclusive pictures of Ludacris and Floyd Mayweather at their video shoot for Ludacris’s new song, Undisputed! Check Music News for the latest.

Louis Vuitton don, Kanye West talk new album

Still riding the success of his third album, Graduation, Kanye West is prepping his fourth LP, 808’s and Heartbreak, for a Dec. 16 release. Here’s more.

Beyoncé is set to release third LP

R&B songstress Beyoncé Knowles is prepping the release of her third solo project this November. BET.com/Music News has more here!

Rapper, ex are due back in family court in custody dispute.
 A rapper’s ongoing battle with his ex over the couple’s son has led to another date in family court. Eleven-year-old Marquise’s dad 50 Cent reportedly wants visitation every other weekend and one month during the summer. The performer recently re-connected with Marquise after weeks of a lengthy separation and such high-profile incidents as the house fire that Marquise’s mom accused Fiddy of orchestrating. He denied any involvement. Fiddy’s lawyer Brett Kimmel says the rapper’s visitation request “maximizes the time the child can spend with his father while remaining sensitive to the child’s own schedule.” The matter is due back in court on Monday.

Rapper’s nightclub in Las Vegas closes its doors.

The rumored deal involving a Sands Corp. takeover of Jay-Z’s 40/40 club in Vegas for even more millions than he could ever spend is complete. But rather than expanding the 40/40 as part of its casino and hotel property empire, as previously reported, Sands is eager to recycle the 24,000 square feet that 40/40 occupied in the Palazzo Hotel Casino for its own purposes. Open for just nine months, the Nevada location reportedly shut down last week and will now be renovated into more casino space.

Detroit rapper denies “jacking” Yung Berg for chain

 Despite praise he’s received for his alleged involvement in a recent beat-down of rapper Yung Berg, Detroit’s Trick Trick says he wasn’t a participant. Berg was attacked at a club and robbed of his chain recently before his scheduled appearance at the annual “Summer Jamz” concert in Michigan. Trick has been applauded by fans still angry over Berg’s comments that he’s not attracted to dark-skinned ladies. Berg later apologized, but Trick says he’s innocent anyway. “Karma’s a motherf***er, so I’m not taking no n*gga’s sh**,” the rapper adds. “I earn mine…You can’t be saying, ‘F**k Trick Trick’ and you don’t like dark-skin women. I was gonna school the little n*gga to the ropes of the game! If you gonna take some notes, take notes from an OG. The lil’ homies got that trophy (the chain). I don’t want that sh**.”

The Game faces new charges after incident at his relative’s funeral 

                                                                  
The Game’s troubles stemming from that ugly confrontation at his cousin’s funeral a few months back have new life. Robert “Kirky” Kirkwood , brother of the relative who passed, apparently wasn’t content to bad-mouth Game about his alleged disrespect of the family at an L.A. homegoing. He’s now filed charges against the Game for criminal battery. The Game says Kirkwood confronted him in a dispute about Game’s alleged agreement to cover funeral costs. Game says he responded only when Kirkwood became threatening. The rapper is already on probation for a felony weapons charge he caught last year at a basketball game.

Stalking’s not sexy, but can be inspiring, Terrence Howard says

He once rapped in the movie Hustle & Flow that it was hard out here for a pimp. But Terrence Howard knows from personal experience that it can also be hard for an ex, like it was when he separated from his wife. Howard, whose acclaimed acting will soon be compared with his music, wrote about the experience of stalking the mom of his three children after the couple split up. The song “No. 1 Fan” from his debut CD Shine It Through discusses the experience. “It was raining, and I was sitting there in front of the house, watching her come home from a date after we were divorced,” Howard tells the New York Times. “I was imagining what she did on this date, and watching her giving him a kiss. I went home and wrote this song.” Howard hopes his next big hit will be on the song charts, not in an appearance on “Cops.”

Rapper will tour with Ice Cube

Snoop Dogg will appear in concert in Australia with Ice Cube this fall after a ban against him was lifted. Snoop’s criminal record resulted in his being blocked from entering the continent by Immigration Minister Kevin Andrews last spring. But now he’s set to perform in the country for a 17-day tour beginning Oct. 21. The lift of Snoop’s ban has been met with anger by local activists who wanted the punishment to remain.

Bee actress will portray hip-hop pioneer in new film
“Akeelah & The Bee” star Keke Palmer proved she’s got some spelling skills, and now she’ll rock the mic in the film Vapors. Palmer joins Evan Ross, rapper Nas and others in the forthcoming movie about a legendary New York hip hop posse, the Juice Crew. Palmer has signed on to play rapper Roxanne Shante, one of the first popular lady MCs, who paved the way for Queen Latifah, Da Brat, Lil Mama and others. “She was 14 when she recorded those songs,” Palmer tells Giant magazine. “She had it in her contract that the label would pay for her to finish high school and college. That’s inspiring.”

Spike Lee takes helm of “Passing Strange”

Director Spike Lee will shoot a floundering Broadway production for cable TV, in hopes of helping to increase interest in the play. Despite a recent Tony Award, Passing Strange has reportedly performed poorly at the box office since its opening last spring. The production focuses on a Black musician who goes to Europe in search of his identity. No word on whether Spike plans to point out that a Black musician may have chosen a different continent to find himself.

Rapper’s birthday celebration cut short by nightclub scrap.

Missy Elliott’s 37th birthday bash went bust this past weekend after a woman identified as the rapper’s makeup artist allegedly clashed with a waitress. Deborah Padilla was arrested at the NYC Marquee nightclub where Missy was celebrating when Padilla reportedly fought with a waitress at the spot. The unnamed server filed charges against the makeup artist, saying she’d been “hit above the eye.” No comment has been issued by reps of the nightclub.

A rapper is arrested twice in less than a week.
DMX is really needing those prayers right about now. Within days, he was arrested on a traffic warrant, had his investment property seized for auction and, most recently, is alleged to have sought cocaine from an undercover cop. X was arrested this past weekend, adding yet another mug shot to several displayed on Web sites and TV in 2008. He allegedly tried to buy marijuana along with the “powder” he reportedly requested from the Miami cop. Sounds like the lyrics he once rapped — “I’m slippin’, I’m fallin’…” — are increasingly true.

An actor’s California school will have no basis in Scientology, he claims
Acting couple Will Smith and Jada Pinkett-Smith say the children’s school they planned to open in September isn’t influenced by a controversial religion. Though it’s been rumored that the planned California academy will incorporate Scientology into the curriculum, the pair dismisses the idea. Will Smith recently acknowledged studying the religion with his good friend, actor Tom Cruise, but denied being a Scientologist. Smith’s planned school was reportedly conceived so he could have his own children educated in an alternative environment.

R&B star ponders a retirement from the music business.
At 27, with multi-platinum records under her belt and enough money to be comfortable, Alicia Keys is pondering a retirement date. “I am working hard now so I have the choice to retire when I want,” she’s quoted as telling Contactmusic. “I would like to travel the world and stay in places instead of having to move on like I do now. I want to experience difference cultures.” Keys says she could make her exit from recording as soon as a few years from now. She recently made an extended visit to Egypt.