Def Jam Records has reportedly pushed up the release date for the latest albums from Kanye West and Ludacris.

Kanye’s 808s & Heartbreak and Luda’s Theater of the Mind were initially set to hit shelves on November 25th (Tuesday) but will now be available on November 24th.

According to Billboard, Def Jam claims they want to capitalize on the Thanksgiving shopping weekend.

808s & Heartbreak will feature appearances from Lil Wayne and Kid Cudi while Theater of the Mind will feature appearances from T-Pain, Nas and Jay-Z , among others.

RZA’s much beloved character Bobby Digital returns this summer with “Digi Snacks,” a brand new studio album via KOCH Records. “Digi Snacks” will be out in July of 2008. The Bobby Digital character was introduced some ten years ago with the release of “In Stereo” and went underground seven years ago after the release of “Digital Bullet.” To date, Bobby Digital releases have sold a combined 1 million units.

“This world wasn’t in a digital format in 1998. Now digital is the most compelling force of commerce and entertainment,” RZA explains. “So this is like a re-launch of the character.” And some of the ‘real life’ characters that Bobby Digital tapped for “Digi Snacks” definitely lend to the mission: John Frusciante, Dhani Harrison, The Black Knights, Dexter Wiggles, Shavo Odadjian (System of a Down), Reverend William Burke, Stone Mecca and Scandinavian newcomer Thea. There’s even a track produced by David Banner. He continues, “I think ‘Digi Snacks’ is an album with a lot of fun. This album is more of a performance album too. When you see it live, you’ll get a difference experience. I’m not trying to get into the world… I’m trying to bring the world to come to us.”
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Lil Wayne was crowned the World’s Best Hip Hop/Rap artist on Sunday (11/9) by the World Music Awards. Held in Monte Carlo, Monaco and hosted by Desperate Housewives actor Jesse Metcalfe and Destiny Child’s Michelle Williams, The World Music Awards based their selections on the worldwide sales figures by the London, England company IFPPI. With their numbers, Weezy has sold over 3 million copies of his album while the other nominees were Kanye West and T-Pain.

In related news, Weezy is planning to release a new mixtape called “The Dedication III.” The third mixtape from Weezy and DJ Drama is set to be released on November 14th and will feature appearances from Kanye West, T-Pain, Ludacris, Jae Millz, Willie Da Kid, and La the Darkman.

DJ sets make for a fun dance party, but it’s never been fun to watch a DJ stand around while mixing records. Mike Relm and Peanut Butter Wolf’s recent efforts aim to remedy that by adding video to the mix, manipulating film footage and records simultaneously. Watch two of hip-hop’s biggest A.V. geeks throw down sets for your listening and viewing pleasure at the Mezzanine on Dec. 5. We’ll bring you ticket info soon. 

Panama is a musical crossroads, a silk road of beats, tempos and rhythms reflecting the country’s unique geography that has brought political calamity as well as a rich diversity. But it’s a country few in the United States know much news about. One place to start might be the Oakland-Panamanian hip-hop duo of Ricardo Guillam Bethancourt and Abdull Dominguez — aka Los Rakas.

Their first CD “Panabay Twist” is a lesson in the events that have shaped the Latin American country that celebrated its 105th year of independence yesterday. One of the most significant was the 1989 U.S. invasion of Panama City to oust military dictator Manuel Noriega — an event recalled in Los Rakas’ song “Invasion of Panama 1989.”
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Not only is the Ludacris planning to release his highly anticipated sixth major release, Theater of the Mind, on Disturbing Tha Peace/Def Jam (October 21), but Luda will also co-star in the upcoming films Max Payne (October 17) and RocknRolla (October 31), according to Billboard.com.

Theater of the Mind, for which Luda has had the concept at least since the release of his previous project, Release Therapy, is made up of tracks that act as short plots from movies. Featured guests such as T-Pain (”One More Drink”), The Game (”Call Up the Homies”) and T.I. (”Wish You Would”) are co-stars. Contributors on production include Dre & Vidal and 9th Wonder.
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Rumors are now circulating that Eminem’s new album will come out in December 23rd. Of course, you can take that with a grain of salt. The actual source is Amazon.com and I know everybody is going to cop the album from there.

50 Cent and Kanye West will be battling for album sales again. 50 Cent will be dropping Before I Self Destruct on December 9th whereas 808s And Heartbreak will be coming out on November 25th.

50 Cent has begun speaking about Kanye’s new project.
There’s no comparisons in us as artists”, 50 Cent told MTV. “We’re almost the yin and the yang, it’s almost the opposite. It almost was taboo for you to make a love record from a Hip Hop perspective. That was actually reserved for LL Cool J and “I Need Love” and “I Can Love You Better.” He was the only Hip Hop artist that actually did that prior to what I see coming from Kanye, and for him to make an entire love album. Like it’s pretty much based on love and Auto-Tunes, 808’s, and heartbreak. I can’t wait to see what this does.
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Hip-hop legend Slick Rick, who faced deportation over a 1997 warrant, received a full and unconditional pardon from New York Gov. David Paterson on Friday.

Rick – originally from London, England – has been in-and-out court for almost two decades, beginning with an attempted murder conviction in 1991, for which he served over five years in prison.

But more recently in 2002, he was arrested by immigration agents as he returned to Miami, Florida, from a cruise in the Caribbean islands.
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Dr Dre has filed a lawsuit against Bruce Williams, author of the book Rollin’ With Dre. TMZ reports that Dre filed the lawsuit in an LA Country Superior Court on October 18th, claiming that Williams received a $101,377.85 loan from himself which was never returned.

The book was released last March, and was essentially a detailed account of his own life, whilst working closely with the producer over a 16 year period. Williams describes himself in the book as Dre’s go-to guy.
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Grammy award winning alternative rock band Maroon 5 will soon be getting a helping hand from some of Hip Hop’s greatest producers.

According to Billboard, Maroon 5 has enlisted the help of Pharrell Williams and Just Blaze for their upcoming remix album, “Call & Response,” hitting stores on December 9th.

“I’ve always found it really interesting that a group of people looking at the same painting can all see different things,” Maroon 5 frontman Adam Levine tells Billboard.
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