Kanye West.'s rapper pal Rhymefest has formally entered the race for political office in his native Chicago, Illinois.

The hip-hop star, real name Che Smith, is bidding to become an alderman for the 20th Ward at the Chicago City Council and he has now officially announced his candidacy.

In a series of posts on his Twitter.com page, he wrote, "It's already starting! I talk about helping my community and the villains are attacking my character and family! I won't stop!

"The 20th Ward in Chicago needs help, shorties (women) are out here selling dope to pay the family bills. Grandmothers are...

Rapper Kanye West is developing a new puppet show project for Comedy Central. A 30-minute pilot for "Alligator Boots" has already been shot. West has teamed up with comedians Jimmy Kimmel and Adam Carolla's Jackhole Productions for the project, which has been described as hip-hop meets the Muppets.

West and fellow executive producer Rhymefest will serve as musical directors on the show, which is scheduled to debut in 2009.

According to Billboard.com, West hosts the pilot. Like The Muppet Show, the idea is to have a different celebrity guest host for every episode.

Click the p...

Rapper Jay-Z led the tributes to Kanye West's mother on Sunday night, by dedicating his New York gig to the late Dr. Donda West. The 99 Problems hitmaker marked the end of his concert at the Hammerstein Ballroom with a moment of silence for the 58-year-old, who died on Saturday after suffering complications from cosmetic surgery.

During his encore, Jay-Z told the crowd: "Let's get serious for a minute. This show is dedicated to Kanye West who had a death in the family. We got you, Kanye. Stay strong."

Hip-hop star Rhymefest - who co-wrote the hit Jesus Walks with longtime pal Kany...

Hard Rock Hotels and Casinos will pay homage to its distinctive music heritage with the launch of a limited-edition CD series, Mark Ronson Presents Hard Rock, curated by DJ/producer Mark Ronson. The debut CD, featuring 14 rock songs hand selected by Ronson, will be available for purchase beginning May 22 at all Hard Rock Hotel and Casino locations, select Hard Rock Cafe Rock Shops and online at www.hardrock.com. Hard Rock partnered with Allido Records and music executive and producer Rich Kleiman, to release the series exclusively for the brand.

Hard Rock has enlisted Ronson to curat...

Tickets are now officially on sale for Lollapalooza 2007, August 3-5 in Chicago’s Grant Park. Among the 120-plus artists are behemoths Pearl Jam — in their sole U.S. show this year — as well as Daft Punk, Ben Harper & The Innocent Criminals, Muse, Iggy and the Stooges, Interpol, Kings of Leon, Modest Mouse, My Morning Jacket, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Perry Farrell’s Satellite Party, Snow Patrol, The Roots, Paolo Nutini, Femi Kuti and The Positive Force, and many more.

The 2006 edition of Lollapalooza filled Grant Park with more than 166,000 attendees of every stripe—figuratively and literally—...

BET announced today that Snoop Dogg, Ludacris, Young Jeezy, T.I. & Young Dro, The Game, Lil Wayne & Baby are set to perform at the 2006 "BET Hip-Hop Awards." The all-star roster of participants also includes multi-faceted entertainment mogul Diddy, top nominees Lupe Fiasco and Rick Ross, hip-hop diva Remy Ma, Jim Jones, Rhymefest, Sway, Papoose, DJ Scratch, DJ Drama, Saigon and Styles P.

Premiering Wednesday, November 15, at 9 p.m. ET/PT, the stage is set for the "BET Hip-Hop Awards" to be an electrifying evening of non-stop entertainment, celebrating the history and culture of hip-ho...

For the first time ever, MTV2, together with Asylum records, will release a My Block: Chicago – The Soundtrack on October 10 and feature 15 tracks by some of the hottest and most respected artists from the Windy City including Common, Lupe Fiasco, Twista, Kanye West, and much, much more. MTV2's "My Block: Chicago – The Soundtrack" showcases essential tracks from Chicago's celebrated hip-hop history as well as exciting, fresh new sounds from the streets of Chi-town. The first single from "My Block: Chicago – The Soundtrack" is "Got What You Need" by one of Chicago's hottest MC's on the ris...

Since winning a Grammy in 2004 for co-writing Kanye West's "Jesus Walks," along with the release of his first single (and Dave Meyers-directed video) "Brand New," -- and countless exclusive mixtapes in between -- Rhymefest has been dubbed the "one to watch" by critics and fans alike. Now with the July 11 release of Blue Collar, Rhymefest will showcase his lyrical veracity and versatility and live up to the accolades.

Starpulse.com is pleased to team up with Rhymefest to offer fans the chance to win a 30GB video iPod plus copies of his new CD 'Blue Collar.'

Click here to enter the...

With the humor of Biz Markie, the lyrical viciousness of Kool G Rap and the storytelling brilliance of Slick Rick, Grammy Award winning rapper Rhymefest is confirmed to release his highly anticipated major label debut album Blue Collar on July 11 on Allido/J Records.

Since winning a Grammy in 2004 for co-writing Kanye West's "Jesus Walks," along with the release of his first single (and Dave Meyers-directed video) "Brand New," -- and countless exclusive mixtapes in between -- Rhymefest has been dubbed the "one to watch" by critics and fans alike. Now with the July 11 release of Blue Co...