Recession Finds Place in Rap's Latest Hits

Rapper leaves prison Thursday

(NEWSER) - Lil Wayne is not wasting any time: As soon as he leaves prison Thursday, he’s going to start recording … on the plane flying him home. “We're gonna deal with that microphone, no trip,” says a member of his team, which is currently trying to locate a plane with studio equipment. “You can't keep him out of the studio.” The rapper has been writing lyrics during his entire eight-month prison stint, Rolling Stone reports, and he had even more time to write when he got placed in solitary confinement last month. More»

Deen explains why the rapper should eat some collard greens

(NEWSER) - Barring yet another tooth-related emergency or fire , Lil Wayne heads to jail today. But what should he eat for his last meal as a free man? Celebrity chef Paula Deen has a suggestion, delivered to a charming TMZ paparazzo in her signature Southern drawl: “Collard greens, honey,” she suggests. Why? “They’d clean his butt out.” Watch the video here . More»

Wake-up calls at 4am, and a cell with a view—of a wall

(NEWSER) - Lil Wayne debuted his new teeth— TMZ reports they’re still blinged out, but not worth quite as much as they once were—and is ready to begin his one-year prison stint tomorrow. A guard talks to MTV about the rapper’s new life inside New York’s Rikers Island:

• Wake-up time: 4am
• Meals: breakfast at 4am, lunch at 11am, dinner at 3pm

Rapper will probably be allowed to keep jewel-encrusted teeth

(NEWSER) - Lil Wayne’s teeth, already famous for being encrusted with gold and diamonds, are now also famous for holding up the start of his prison sentence. Was his dental operation, which reportedly involved eight root canals and other work on his $150,000 mouth, actually a removal of the jewels in preparation for his jailing? Perhaps. Such valuables aren’t, technically, allowed in prison, Slate reports—but an exception is typically made when they’re part of a person’s mouth. More»

Rapper, director deny On To The Next One contains occult images

(NEWSER) - With the conspiracy-theory corners of the Internet gnawing through the idea that Jay-Z’s latest video, for the single On To The Next One, is chock-full of Satanic imagery and the symbols of Freemasonry, the rapper and the vid’s director are laughing it all off. “That’s crazy to me,” Jay-Z tells MTV . “I gotta remind people I’m from Marcy Projects. I can’t get into a golf club in Palm Springs.” More»