Nas, Common to Rock The Bells
This year’s edition of Rock The Bells will feature the likes of The Roots, Common, Reflection Eternal, Nas, KRS-One and others. Full story.

Eminem Talks Lil Wayne, T.I. & Hip Hop
After a four-year hiatus, Marshall Mathers is finally back to reclaim hip hop’s vacant throne. See what he has to say in his interview with XXL. More.

T.I.’s Fiance Opens Nail Salon
Tamika “Tiny” Cottle, formerly of the R&B singing group Xscape, is opening Tiny’s Nail Bar in Stockbridge, Ga.  More here.

 
Akon & ‘Slumdog’ Composer Unite
Akon plans on working on a new album with the man behind the “Slumdog Millionaire” soundtrack. Click here.

Jim Jones Tells All
Jim Jones upcoming documentary reveals his past relationships with Jay-Z, Damon Dash and Cam’ron. Read on.

T.I. Speaks On ‘Snitching’
T.I. once again says, “Ain’t no such thing as a secret snitch.” Click for more.

Did Keri Hilson Diss Beyoncé?
Keri Hilson denies dissing Beyoncé & Ciara on “Turnin Me On” remix track. Check this.

Dipset Fibs

Did Cam’ron really speak with Jim Jones? That’s not what Jones said. Read on.

T.I. Covers Vibe
T.I. speaks with Vibe magazine in one of his final interviews before going to jail. Check it.

Rihanna Photo Controversy After receiving much criticism, TMZ defends posting the photo of a battered Rihanna.  

 T-Pain Death Threats? T-Pain cancels show after receiving “credible death and kidnapping threats” by phone and email. Continue reading.

T.I. Speaks To Teens Continuing with his court-mandated community service efforts, Clifford “T.I.” Harris spoke to troubled teens about the importance of school. More.

T.I.’s Journey to Jail is Documented
Rapper T.I. will be going to jail in a couple months, and MTV is documenting his voyage. The series, “T.I.’s Road to Redemption: 45 Days to Go” – the title will count down each day as he nears his incarceration date – provides a close-up look at T.I.’s lifestyle and family. “No amount of jail time is gonna teach me the lesson I learned at that moment,” T.I. says of the November night he got arrested in 2007. He said that as police raided his home, he thought to himself, “Oh sh**, you done f***ed up.” He was looking at a possible 30 years in prison for purchasing illegal weapons, but he’s likely to get a seriously reduced sentence because of a plea deal.  In “Road to Redemption,” T.I. also offers positive advice for seven at-risk teens across the country, urging them to change their lives. “We’re gonna shake his world up, and then we’re gonna help him whether he wants our help or not,” T.I. says of one of the troubled teens.

Naomi Campbell’s agreement was not made public.
Supermodel Settles with Maid Naomi Campbell has settled out of court with her ex-maid, who said the 38-year-old, hot-tempered supermodel hit her and called her names. The terms of the settlement were not released. Gaby Wilson, who worked for Campbell in 2005 and 2006, said in her lawsuit that Campbell also threatened to charge her with theft after she couldn’t find a pair of designer jeans.

Oprah Gives a Fat Check to Atlanta Educator
On Christmas Eve, Ron Clark, the creative, inspiring educator, got a Federal Express package from the Queen of Talk TV, Oprah Winfrey. It was $365,000. Turns out that Winfrey had been monitoring the success of his South Atlanta school and thought that $1,000 a day for an entire year made sense as she was looking for the recipient of her most generous gift this year, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. Clark, who said his school needs $2.4 million to operate, says the extra money will enable him to provide 26 full scholarships for a year. Last month, his academy also got $300,000 from Tony Cann, vice chairman of Promethean Ltd, the leading manufacturer of collaborative classrooms systems.

Foxx’s ‘Intuition’ Pays Off
Jamie Foxx’s third album, Intuition, debuted at No. 3 on the Top 200 Albums chart, according to Nielsen SoundScan. The disc’s success goes in part to the offerings of such sidemen as T.I. (on “Just Like Me”) and Ne-Yo and Fabolous (on “She Got Her Own”). With a total of 265,196 units sold in the first week, Intuition also reached No. 2 on the R&B Albums chart. The video for “Just Like Me” was the Spotlight video on VHI, netting more than 100 spins a week on VH1 Soul.

Check out these exclusive clips from Hot 97’s, Holiday Bash featuring T.I., Young Jeezy, Ludacris, Jim Jones and many others! Click here.

Debbie Allen returns to “Fame.” It’s been close to 30 years since she starred in the original film and TV series, but now Debbie Allen is slated to star in an updated version starting production, according to Variety magazine. Allen may be reprising her role as Lydia Grant, as she did in both film (1980) and series (1982 to 1987), the entertainment magazine reports. She will be the principal of the school this time. As with the 1980 original, the remake follows dancers, singers, actors and artists from auditions to graduation at the New York City High School of Performing Arts. In addition to Allen, Charles S. Dutton, Kelsey Grammer, Megan Mullally and Bebe Neuwirth have been added to the cast, Variety says. Produced by Lakeshore and MGM, the upcoming Fame has been set for release Sept. 25, 2009.

Rapper T.I. wins the charts battle. Despite the riding a wave of success, Beyoncé didn’t have the goods to knock Rapper T.I. from his No. 1 charts status. T.I. started a fifth nonconsecutive week at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with “Live Your Life” featuring Rihanna, according to The Associated Press. Beyoncé is, however, gaining on him with her two new songs. The R&B songstress’s “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)” rocketed from No. 28 to No. 2 after selling 204,000 digital downloads, while “If I Were a Boy” held at No. 3. In the week ended November 23, Beyoncé scored her third-straight No. 1 debut on the Billboard 200 album chart with “I Am … Sasha Fierce,” which sold 482,000 copies. Meanwhile, T.I.’s other recent No. 1, “Whatever You Like,” slipped from No. 2 to No. 4. 

Killer of T.I.’s assistant could get life sentence. A 35-year-old man has been convicted of killing rapper T.I.’s assistant in 2006. Hosea Thomas faces 20 years to life in prison after the freeway murder of Philant Johnson following an earlier beef at an Ohio club. Thomas was reportedly hit with a bottle in the incident and he and his brother chased down two of T.I.’s vans, seeking revenge. Thomas’ brother Padron Thomas will receive a lesser sentence in the incident after testifying that his sibling fired the fatal shot that hit Johnson in the temple.