Rakim Discusses Kanye West's Antics

In a lengthy interview with The Atlantic, celebrated rapper Rakim shared his perspective on mercurial rapper/producer Kanye West and West's history of outbursts and head-scratching behavior. Rakim supports Kanye's artistry and says that music needs more outspoken artists like West.

"At the end of the day, you've really got to appreciate an artist that's really outspoken and feels like his music can change the world. Don't even go to the studio if you don't think that your music's going to do something. You're wasting your time and my time," Ra said. "You feel that in the award shows stuff where Kanye has these episodes, right? It's because he's passionate. If a lot of us don't take it that serious, then it's not going to be serious no more. People say, "That was his opinion, but he was so passionate about it," like that's bad. You've got to say, "Well, really?" We need that. We need the media to know that some of us are really passionate about music."

"I think he's maturing, and I think he wants other people to see it, too. That kind of helps explain Kanye. I kind of hear in his rhymes. He's living hard, and he's maturing now, and I think he's seeing both sides of the fence. We need a few more Kanyes, people that's really passionate about hip-hop and who keep it alive," Ra added.

Lil Wayne Coaches Charity Game

Superstar rapper Lil Wayne got to display his coaching abilities at a middle school charity game in Miami. Alongside a few other celebrities, Weezy joined the seventh and eight grade South Beach All Stars AAU team for Celebrity Court of Dreams, a charity game that was hosted by American Airlines Arena.

Lil Wayne coached the YMCMB All Stars, with Baltimore Ravens offensive tackle Bryant McKinnie coaching the South Beach All Stars. The two coaches switched after halftime, with South Beach winning by one point.

"Whatever dream you have, don't quit," Wayne told the kids. "Don't let anyone try and stop you."

Curren$y Detained By Cops In Dallas

Rapper Curren$y was in Dallas for a performance at the House of Blues, when he ran afoul of the authorities yesterday (April 23rd.) The rapper almost missed his show due to police detaining him and an associate for smoking marijuana.

Curren$y is currently headlining the "Stoned Immaculate" Tour with Smoke DZA, Fiend, Young Roddy, Styles P and others.

“Locked the CEO up, and I’m da CEO f**k,” Curren$y tweeted. “Ni**az was jus chiefin and bumpin dat new fiend s**t….Then some strangers came thru wit these bracelets that made my arms hurt…”

He nonetheless made the show, and Curren$y walked out on stage and appeared to be smoking a joint.

“Thanks for all those #freeSpitta tweets – sh*t f*ck it let’s go…Y’all know all the lyrics. I see the Jet hats and the gear, and I don’t smell no cheap s**t either!” he tweeted.

Jennifer Hudson Testifies

R&B singer/actress Jennifer Hudson testified yesterday (April 23rd) in the trial of William Balfour, the man accused of murdering her brother, mother and seven-year-old nephew in 2008. The tragedy captured international headlines, coming shortly after Hudson claimed an Academy Award for her performance in Dreamgirls.

Balfour has pleaded guilty to three charges of murder in the first degree.

he 911 recording of the star's sister, Julia Hudson, calling the police was played before Julia testified that Balfour, who was her estranged husband, became enraged after the sisters went to Japan to promote the Jennifer's movie.

"We didn't like the way he treated [Julia], and I didn't like the way he treated my nephew," explained Jennifer Hudson. She reflected on her young nephew. "It was always me and my Tugga Bear. That's what I called him."

Amber & Wiz Share Coachella Experience

Rapper Wiz Khalifa and his fiancee Amber Rose enjoyed themselves during this year's Coachella festival. The couple decided to share their fun with the fans, posting several of their pics online. The high-profile couple snapped themselves and friends partying at the music showcase.

Even Amber's mom, Ms. Dottie, snapped some pics at the festival.

With her engagement ring on full display, Amber posed and preened. Wiz performed during Coachella's first weekend with his big homie Snoop Dogg. There are pics of the twosome partying with Florence of Florence + the Machine and pop superstar Katy Perry.

T.I. Fires Back At Azealia Banks

The feud between Azealia Banks and Iggy Azalea took another twist today (April 23rd) with Iggy's mentor, rapper T.I. addressing Banks' previous comments directed at him. Banks criticized T.I. via Twitter for speaking on the feud before and for supporting Iggy despite the Australian femcee's controversial rhyme about being a 'runaway slave master.'

But T.I., while claiming to not be involved, made sure to let Banks know how he felt about her and the feud.

"I ain’t even know nothin’ about it. I didn’t even see it. I know they going through their thing, but the fact that she’s speaking upon me and mine, that is what I consider b*tch sh*t. I’m a man. You ain’t got no business addressing me," he said. "You and me, keep dealing with that woman. Y’all handle that. You and me, we ain’t got nowhere to go with that."

Azealia Banks' Anti-T.I. Twitter Rant

Azealia Banks fired back at hip hop star T.I. after Tip dismissed Banks during a radio interview. Hopping on Twitter to vent her frustration, Banks went on a lengthy rant criticizing T.I. for speaking on the ongoing feud between Banks and Iggy Azalea, T.I.'s artist.

"@tip What a f-cking clown," she tweeted. "Ain't you the same dude that got photographed butt naked n a pair of sneakers and a beanie???!?!"

"It's dead... The streets already know what kind of dude you are. Stop making yourself look softer by dragging this out," she continued. "Funny how you have plenty of time to address me but nothing to say to the dudes who have been calling you a snitch forever."

"T.i .... Please shut the f-ck up about this. Like seriously quit it," Banks added, before revealing that she was deleting his music from her iTunes account.

"LMFAOO every time I delete a t.i song from my iPad I imagine him dying in some bloody horror film like being eaten by a zombie," she said. "Whatever, I shouldn't be letting T.I bait me for his artists' promo. I'm giving him what he wants. That's no good."

Dr. Dre Says No Hologram Tour

Dr. Dre has shut down any lingering speculation that he had any intentions of taking the infamous 2Pac hologram on a tour. While thanking fans for their enthusiastic reaction to his performance at Coachella and the hologram, Dre said that a tour just won't be happening.

"What up, it's Doc Dre, backstage, Coachella, 2012 and I want to thank everybody out there for all the love and support," Dre said in an interview. "As you know, we had a hologram of Tupac Shakur show up as a part of our show. I want to thank a couple of companies out there that made my idea come to life. I want to say what's up to AV Concepts which actually projected the hologram. I want to say what's up to Digital Domain for actually putting the image together. They did an incredible job -- it was strictly for Coachella, get it right. I want to get rid of all the rumors out there. This was not done for a tour. If a tour happens, we'll see. This was done strictly for Coachella 2012, baby, just for you."

Drake Isn't Going Dance?

Young Money superstar Drake isn't interested in making you dance. At least, not yet.

Drizzy was asked about the recent surge in dance-oreinted music by hip hop and R&B stars like Usher and Drake's own labelmate Nicki Minaj. The Canadian rap star says that fans shouldn't expect him to be hopping on the bandwagon anytime soon.

“For me, the David Guetta stuff just doesn't work. I don't really wanna go there,” he told NME. “There's other artists, that's their sound. They feel in order to thrive internationally that they gotta do straightforward, four to the floor, David Guetta, Pitbull music."

“For me, I'd rather go to somebody like Jamie xx and tell him, 'Look, I really wanna turn the club upside down, but I wanna do it with integrity, with soul," he added.

Deion Sanders Jumped By His Wife Pilar Sanders

NFL great Deion Sanders' extra-nasty divorce took another ridiculous turn last night (April 23rd) when reportedly "Prime Time" Sanders had to call the police after his estranged wife, Pilar, and one of her friends jumped him and beat him up.

Authorities were called to the star's home in suburban Dallas and Deion said that Pilar was taken to the hospital after claiming she needed medical attention. He says Pilar and her friend kicked, bit and scratched him in front of his young sons.

"Pray for me and my kids now! They just witnessed their mother and a friend jump me in my room," he tweeted shortly after the incident, along with an image of he and his sons filling out a police report. "She's going to jail n I'm pressing charges!"

"I'm sad my boys witnessed this mess but I warned the police department here that she was gone try n harm me and my boys," he added.

Nicki Minaj Explains Leaving Twitter

Nicki Minaj addressed, albeit somewhat half-heartedly, the furor surrounding her deletion of her Twitter account. The Young Money rapper's abandoning of the social networking site created quite a stir due to her massive popularity on Twitter, but she didn't give details as to why she left.

"A voice in my head told me to delete Twitter, and that's what I did," explained Nicki on "The Graham Norton Show."

When asked about disappointing her fans, Minaj seemed to imply that she may be returning at some point.

"I hope they'll wait for me," she said."I know they will."