Cracked Tooth Delays Lil Wayne's Jail Start

Rapper could serve a year over 2007 incident

(AP) - Grammy-winning rapper Lil Wayne pleaded guilty to attempted weapons possession today and expects to receive a one-year jail sentence. He previously had pleaded not guilty to illegal gun possession charges that carried at least 3 1/2 years in prison upon conviction. Police said a gun was found on his tour bus in Manhattan in 2007. His trial had been due to start Jan. 20. Lil Wayne remains free on bail while awaiting his February sentencing. He did not speak as he left court. More»

Jay Sean finds a home on Lil Wayne's Cash Money label

(NEWSER) - “It doesn't matter if we're from a little place called Hounslow,” Jay Sean tells the BBC. “If you have some good music, you can make it anywhere.” That’s how the British R&B singer found himself collaborating with Lil Wayne, and climbing to No. 2 on the US charts—making him more successful abroad than he is at home in the UK. More»

Kanye, record execs come to hear buzzed-about rapper

(NEWSER) - Child-actor-turned-rapper Drake had fans and luminaries like Kanye West enthralled at a small New York show Tuesday, where the as-yet-unsigned artist tried to live up to the buzz.

• “Drake's greatest gift is his ability to translate his love of rap's many styles into his own music,” Chris Ryan writes of the Lil Wayne protégé in the Village Voice. “His stage presence had a degree of effortless charm and showmanship that suggested a real star quality at work.”

He says US foreign policy helps foster terror

(NEWSER) - Conservatives slammed President Obama for hosting Chicago rapper Common at the White House. Now Obama is taking criticism from a different Chicago rapper. "To me, the biggest terrorist is Obama, and the United States of America,” Lupe Fiasco told CBS in an interview noted by the Huffington Post . “I'm trying to fight the terrorism that's actually causing the other forms of terrorism.” He said “the root cause of terrorism” includes “the foreign policies that we have in place in different countries that inspire people to become terrorists.” More»

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»