Joe Budden Arrested

Rapper Joe Budden was arrested prior to a performance by his group Slaughterhouse at New York City's Best Buy Theater. The supergroup took the stage without Budden on Thursday night (March 29th) as the rapper had been taken into custody by the NYPD.

The hip hop star was reportedly arrested for a warrant stemming from a 2007 traffic violation. The audience began chanting "Joey, Joey, Joey" in Budden's absence.

"We love Joey too, chanting for him ain't gonna get him outta jail," responded Royce Da 5'9.

Royce On Yelawolf's Illness

Rapper Royce Da 5'9 of Slaughterhouse gave an update on the health of his Shady Records labelmate Yelawolf. Royce also took the time to praise Yela for his enthusiasm for performing--which the rapper says directly led to Yela's current hospital stint.

"I have [spoken] to him, I spoke to him, I called him and checked on him. I think he stage-dove or something like that," Royce da 5'9" told MTV News. "I don't know if people know this because Yelawolf is such a mild-mannered, laid-back kinda guy, but he gets real rowdy onstage and he doesn't mind putting his physical health in danger as well as the fans', which makes for a greater show. ... He's well, he's doing well -- He just had to cancel a couple of shows just so he could get right."

Rihanna Flirting With Royce?

The playful flirting between singer Rihanna and rapper Royce Da 5'9 continued on Twitter. Royce got attention by constantly name-dropping Rihanna during his cypher appearance at the 2011 BET Hip Hop Awards. Royce said that he mentioned Rihanna after she approached him in England told him she was a fan. Rih-Rih responded to Royce's flirts with a simple tweet.

"Hi @Royceda59," she tweeted late Wednesday (October 12.)

Of course, Royce playfully responded soon after. "*Wave* RT @rihanna: Hi @Royceda59," he tweeted back in response.

Royce and Eminem Go Gold

Rappers Eminem and Royce Da 5' 9's collaborative project Bad Meets Evil: Hell The Sequel, has crossed the 500,000 unit mark. Royce announced that the album has struck gold sales status via Twitter, and showcased his new gold plaque online.

The project marked the first full project the longtime friends and former rivals from Detroit have recorded together and is one of two high-profile collaborative albums released this summer, the other being Kanye West and Jay-Z's Watch the Throne.

While Em has had multiplatinum successes throughout his career, this is one of Royce's fastest-selling releases; and the rapper received accolades on various social networks. Bad Meets Evil... was released June 14.

Eminem Rocks Lollapalooza

Eminem took the stage this weekend at the Lollapalooza festival, performing hits from his latest album Recovery and its lesser-celebrated predecessor Relapse. The rapper gave a show-stopping performance that was part-retrospective, part-remainder of how he can still put on a killer show.

Em surprised many in attendance by bringing out special guests Bruno Mars, Skylar Grey, and Royce Da 5'9.

The rapper also decided to go even farther into his past by performing a medley of his wackier hits; such as "My Name Is...", "Real Slim Shady" and "Without Me," as well as performing more serious tunes, such as "Cleanin' Out My Closet" and "Lose Yourself," in their entirety.

Bin Laden Dead: Hip Hop Reacts

The world was stunned by the news late Sunday (May 1) night that al-Qaeda figurehead Osama Bin Laden had been killed. President Barack Obama addressed the announcement. "Tonight I can report to the American people and the world the United States has conducted an operation that has killed Osama Bin Laden," President Obama said. "Today, at my direction, the U.S. launched a targeted operation against that compound. A small team of Americans carried out the operation with extraordinary courage and capability. No Americans were harmed."

Various hip hop artists reacted via Twitter, with responses that ranged from skepticism to fear to ambivalence.

"Osama dead!?!" Lupe Fiasco tweeted. "Afghan operation done now!?? Now kill wack schools and US imperialism."

"I'm in Korea right now watching CNN and I just heard Osama Bin Laden is dead," will.I.am tweeted. "USA is at it again, number one in the rankings of killing championships. Stealing the gold in the murder Olympics and the crowd goes wild!" added Chuck D.

"They are saying Bin Laden is dead, I need to see the body," Jermaine Dupri tweeted.

"Don't nobody care about no Bin Laden death," tweeted Royce da 5'9.

"So I just landed and heard this Bin Laden news," Just Blaze tweeted. "That's cool and all but I feel like this is only gonna rile them al-Qaeda boys up crazy…Like 'Oh you just killed the boss? OK check this out. We's blown up evvvvverything! Hide ya kids hide ya wife!"