Rapper Twista has been hit with a lawsuit relating to his alleged involvement in the death of a bodyguard in 2004.

Arthur 'Butch' Dixon, 45, passed away of multiple injuries after Twista's cousin, Otis Bankhead, fell asleep at the wheel of a tour bus and crashed in Pennsylvania.

And now Dixon's family members have launched a legal battle against the hip-hop star, his record labels and promotional team for failing to stop tired Bankhead, who had a suspended license at the time of the accident, from driving.

Dixon's widow and three children filed a similar suit against the Hope hit-make...

Rapper Juelz Santana was forced to axe a gig in Chicago, Illinois on Friday after his studio in New Jersey was raided and a member of his Skull Gang crew was arrested on gun and drug charges.

Santana's World recording studio was busted by officers from the New Jersey Bergen County Prosecutor's Office and Gang Unit last Thursday following a 10-month undercover investigation.

Rising hip-hop star Hynief, real name Toby M. Raynor, was taken into custody after a search of the building turned up two loaded 9mm handguns with additional boxes of ammunition, while cops also discovered a large st...

Gold and beige were hot colors at last night's Grammy Awards. Beyonce looked fantastic in a form-fitting Stephanie Rolland gown, while Katy Perry wore the same shade in a dress by Zac Posen, complete with gold flowers. Sexy "Tik Tok" pop star Ke$ha wore a flirty gold fringed dress. Carrie Underwood took the stage in a strapless gold gown but wore a white dress with an asymmetrical neckline on the red carpet.

Fergie stood out in her electric blue and gold dress, which had a hint of Egyptian flare. Taylor Swift was one of our top picks of the night in a blue sparkly floor-length Kaufman F...

Young Money/Cash Money/Universal Motown recording artist Lil Wayne is gearing up to release his highly anticipated album Tha Carter III, the final in the trilogy, on May 13th.

Tha Carter III is Lil Wayne's first solo album since the release of Tha Carter II (2005) and not one to disappoint Lil Wayne is bringing a new flavor to everyone's taste buds with the release of his first single, "Lollipop," featuring Static. "Lollipop," which was produced by Jim Jonsin (T.I., T-Pain, Twista) and co-produced by Darius "Deezle" Harrison (Teena Marie & Destiny's Child), is receiving early radio spi...

Reba McEntire has scored her first number one album in America - with a little help from her friends. The country star's Reba Duets release has toppled Kanye West's "Graduation" thanks to an opening sales week of 301,000.

The album features collaborations with Faith Hill, Kenny Chesney, Justin Timberlake and Kelly Clarkson, among others. West's Graduation falls to number two on the new Billboard chart, while 50 Cent's Curtis slips to three.

Crooner Barry Manilow scores his third top five album in a row as The Greatest Songs Of The Seventies debuts at number four. Other new relea...

The manager of Chicago rapper Twista has hit out at U.S. police - blaming a recent raid on the star's tour bus on "racial and rapper profiling." Manager Rawle Stewart believes the rapper was unfairly targeted by Michigan State Police after his tour bus was seized by ten officers en route to Detroit on Wednesday.

The officers were acting on suspicion of handling narcotics and held traffic on the interstate for nearly two hours - only to find no drugs.

Stewart says, "What started out as a two car stop turned out to be six or seven Michigan State Police officers searching the bus. I...

Chicago rapper Twista has been axed from a tour sponsored by fast food giant McDonalds because his lyrics were deemed too offensive. The 10-city concerts will feature performances in McDonalds' parking lots across the U.S. by stars including Ne-Yo, Kenna, Kat De Luna, the Dey, Single File and Kevin Michael.

However Twista has been dropped from the glittering line-up on an August 7th gig due to his lyrical content, McDonalds announced on Saturday. In a statement obtained by AllHipHop.com the firm explains, "McDonald's USA made the decision following concerns raised about the artist's c...

Rapper Twista has hit out at church leaders who have branded hip-hop music "trash" and degrading to women. Chicago-based church The Faith Community of Saint Sabina has attacked ten of the most popular rap artists in the U.S. - including 50 Cent & Snoop Dogg in a new advertising campaign.

The group has put up twenty billboards throughout Chicago urging people to "stop listening to trash" - but Twista insists rap artists are being unfairly blamed for violence.

He says, "People need to stop blaming music for the things that go wrong because it's the people doing things that are doi...

The Almost Famous (The Sexy Lady EP), in stores July 24th, is a special treat for all you who can't wait until August for Yung Berg's debut LP, Look What You Made Me. The 6 song EP includes special features from Twista, Rich Boy and Jim Jones.

"I swear this album's crazy" - Yung Berg

Almost Famous (The Sexy Lady EP)

01. Sexy Lady (featuring Junior)

02. Into It (featuring JFK and Tony Loco)

03. Where Do We Go (featuring Twista)

04. Almost Famous

05. Sexy Lady (Remix featuring Jim Jones, Rich Boy and Junior)

06. Painkiller (Nikki Flores featuring Yung Berg)

Watch...

Hip-hop violinist Miri Ben-Ari escaped a serious car crash yesterday with minor injuries. The musician, who has worked with rappers including Kanye West and Twista, suffered minor head injuries when her Mercedes C Class 550 was struck by a courier truck from behind.

Doctors have ordered Ben-Ari to rest for 48 hours, reports AllHipHop.com.

-More Miri Ben-Ari Pictures

(This news article provided by World Entertainment News Network)

Bone Thugs-N-Harmony will release their long-awaited Interscope/Full Surface debut, "Strength and Loyalty," on April 17, 2007. "I Tried," a track that features Akon is the album's lead single. Mariah Carey rejoins Bone on the melodic "Little Love," the album's second single produced by Jermaine Dupri. Another album gem is the track "Order My Steps," which pairs Bone with Grammy award winning gospel artist Yolanda Adams marking her first appearance on a hip hop album.

"Man, I just feel fortunate to be able to put together something of this quality. We've been working on it for some ...

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...

Independent rap juggernaut Tech N9ne returns November 7 with his first studio album in four years. Everready is the highly anticipated release from Kansas City's rap ruler, who has sold more than 500,000 units independently. The album features guest appearances from gold-selling artists E-40 and Brotha Lynch Hung, as well as production from Rick Rock (Jay-Z, E-40, Fabolous, The Federation) and The Legendary Traxster (Mariah Carey, Twista, Do Or Die, Cam'ron).

The follow-up to 2001's Anghellic and 2002's Absolute Power is a double disc package with more than 145 minutes of music. E...

With ten years in the game and five albums to their credit, veteran Chicago rappers AK, Belo and Nard have done more than lived up to their namesake Do or Die. As one of the first hardcore reality rap group to emerge from the Windy City’s thriving rap scene Do or Die helped to define Chicago street rap as we know it. Although the world would come to know the three pimps swaggering MCs for “Po Pimpin’” it was actually another song called “No Love” that helped to define their rapid fire lyric spit over smoothed-out laid back tracks.

“Everybody outside of the city knows us for “Po Pimpi...

A number of notable new releases this week including new albums from Kenny Chesney, Neil Diamond, Cyndi Lauper, Floetry, Kate Bush and Young Buck; greatest hits collections from the Beastie Boys, Lenny Kravitz, Eurythmics and Limp Bizkit; live albums from Jeremy Camp, The Mars Volta, Tanya Tucker and Sepultura; and a whole bunch of other stuff. There's lots out this week, so check out this list of noteworthy releases for Tuesday, November 8th (many with reviews)...

AZ - A.W.O.L.

Beastie Boys - Solid Gold Hits

Bob Marley and the Wailers - Africa Unite: The Singles Collection

Brave...

Bad Boy Records has announced the superstar line-up for the most eagerly anticipated album in hip-hop history, "The Notorious BIG Duets: The Final Chapter." Over two years in the making, the 22-track collection is slated for release Dec. 20, 2005. The album features rhymes recorded by B.I.G. throughout his career, melded with newly recorded performances by some of contemporary music's greatest vocalists and MCs. Dozens of superstars have come together to perform with and pay homage to the legendary rapper on this unprecedented, history-making release. In addition, "The Final Chapter" incorp...

Academy award-winning actor and Grammy Award-nominated singer and songwriter Jamie Foxx -- currently riding high on pop, R&B, and rap charts as Kanye West's guest on his #1 single "Gold Digger" -- is near completion of Unpredictable, his first album for J Records. Foxx's new album, featuring guest appearances by Kanye West, Mary J. Blige, Pharrell Williams, Ludacris, and Twista, will arrive in stores December 6th.

The official first single will be the album's title track "Unpredictable," featuring rap phenomenon Ludacris and will impact radio on November 7th. "Unpredictable" was writte...