Here's a round-up of the latest news around the hip-hop world...


-> M.O.P. LEAVES G-UNIT

According to a story from AllHipHop earlier this morning, the BK duo M.O.P. has decided to part ways with G-Unit. This shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone considering the fact that since signing with the label a few years back, they've yet to release a mixtape or album, and only recorded a handful of songs. According to their manager, Billy Danze & Lil Fame will now be on the hunt for a new deal. Since reaching success with their "Warriorz" album in 2000, the duo has been jumping from label to label including stints with Loud, Roc-A-Fella, and G-Unit. They've had continuing issues everywhere they've gone and as result have only released two original albums in the 7+ year span. Their manager has told AHH that the recent split stemmed from some creative issues between 50 Cent & Lil' Fame however the departure was "amicable" and there's "no animosity between both camps". I'll bring y'all more info on where M.O.P. lands *cough*Koch*cough* As soon as I hear it.

In other G-Unit news...despite reports to the contrary, 50 Cent was on Shade45 w/ DJ Kay Slay last night and shot down the rumors that Young Buck is leaving G-Unit and explains why he wasn't present on any tracks in their latest mixtape "Respect The Shooter".

Click here to hear out the interview w/ 50 Cent & Kay Slay.

(Source: AllHipHop/NahRight)

-> GAME COPS PLEA, SENTENCED TO 4 MONTH BID

According to SOHH, left coast rapper Game has decided to plead guilty on felony gun possession charges he caught in California last February. By accepting the plea deal, he will be sentenced to serve 4 month in an L.A. prison. Game aka Jayceon Taylor is "accused of making criminal threats, possessing a firearm in a school zone, and exhibiting a firearm in the presence of an officer after allegedly getting into a fight during a pick-up game of basketball." The Game originally planned to fight the case and pleaded not guilty to the charges in September. He was facing up to five years if convicted of the felony charge but since then, he's had a change of heart and decided to not spend the money to fight the case, and will be pleading guilty to avoid a lengthy trial.

"The crazy part about this is that I've had guns before in my life," he explained. "But this time I didn't have a gun. And because one person said I had a gun and coaxed his homies into saying that I had a gun, I'm in a predicament where I'm asking, Do I want to spend another million dollars to fight this trial so who knows what jury's gonna come in and say I'm guilty? Or do I want to save my money, go sit down for four months and accept this felony they're trying to give me for no reason?"

Game's currently in the studio with Dr. Dre and a mix of other producers completing his concept album "L.A.X" which is scheduled to be released this summer. Stay tuned for more details.

(Source: SOHH)

-> STILL WAITING ON THE WONDER YEARS

Despite numerous sources claiming that 9th Wonder's latest compilation "The Wonder Years" was going to be released early this month, 9th recently spoke with HipHopDX and cleared the air. Although his last release "The Dream Merchant 2" dropped on an indie label last year and bricked hard, this upcoming album will be released on a major label: Asylum Records. Considering the opportunity he has to reach a wider audience, 9th's understandably taken his time to craft this record.

"My best friend told me that The Wonder Years is the best record he's heard me produce so far. It's R&B and Hip Hop together. The records are very big, and they sound very big. They show growth. You can hear the growth between The Dream Merchant [Volume 2] and The Wonder Years. The beats sound epic. It fills the room up. That's what The Wonder Years is. It's a cookout record."

Although 9th declined to offer a concrete release date, he said it's very close to being finished. The confirmed guests include: Erykah Badu, Talib Kweli, Styles P, Travis McCoy of Gym Class Heroes, Jean Grae, and of course members of the Justus League.

(Source: HipHopDX)

-> MOOD MUZIK 3...THE REMIX?

According to URB, Joe Budden has announced yet another reincarnation of Mood Muzik 3. On this go-round, Joey will be hooking up with DJ Benzi to cook up "Mood Muzik: We Got The Remix". The tape will feature remixes of Budden's MM3 tracks over fresh, original production from a gang of underground producers including: Benzi, The Amps, Les Bitches, The Knocks, Nick Catchdubs and more. Although I love MM3 how it is, the mixing and sound on a lot of those tracks make me cringe, so I'm interested to hear how this will sound. Benzi has been putting out some high quality blends for a minute now and if the clean, hard hitting production on his Clipse "We Got The Remix" tape is any indication of what this Budden joint could sound like, things could start getting ugly. The tape will be released via Budden's new online label/distributor "Amalgam Digital" sometime this spring.

Click here to download DJ Benzi's Clipse "We Got The Remix" tape.

(Source: URB)

->WARNER MAKES OFFER FOR DEATH ROW CATLOG

It's been reported by the New York Post that Warner Music Group has recently made a 25 million dollar offer to acquire the entire catalog of Death Row Records. The former superpower label has been in bankruptcy since Suge Knight filed in 2006, and has been managed by a court trustee ever since. On February 1st, Warner's CEO Lyor Cohen filed the offer in US Bankruptcy court to control The Row's entire catalog. Some may consider 25 million to be a hefty price for a label that hasn't been relevant since the 90's, but then again they'll acquire the rights and masters to music from legends Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, and especially 2PAc. But that right there may prove to be a deal breaker. For years, Dr. Dre + Afeni Shakur have been claiming rights and unpaid royalties from thousands of tracks in the Death Row catalog and Warner will only pay up if those debated tracks are included. Although Warner is the current high bidder, there are many other investors interested in acquiring the catalog, and they'll be able to make offers up until April, at that point the bankruptcy court will award the catalog to the highest bidder. I'll keep y'all posted on what goes down.

(Source: NY Post)