The Gossip Rag: Celebrity life, photos, gossip, and news

According to TMZ, rapper T.I. has agreed to plead guilty to federal gun charges. The 27 year old rap star, whose real name is Clifford Harris, will spend 12 months in Prison and do 1500 hours of community service.

Last October T.I. was arrested in Atlanta when one of his bodyguards allegedly tried to purchase guns for him. T.I., who isa convicted felon, cannot legally buy firearms. For each count, he faced a maximum of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

The “Greatest Rapper Alive” Lil’ Wayne has appeared in a Public Service Announcement (PSA) for J-Prince’s Strapped Condoms line:

While critics are complaining that the advertisement is plagued by homosexual undertones, I think Lil’ Wayne has got the right idea here. HIV is a big problem in the black American and homosexual communities, and anything he can do to spread awareness is right. XXLMag talks about it a little more:

Launched by the Rap-A-Lot Records founder in 2005, Strapped has embarked on a campaign to educate youth in identifying high risk behavior patterns that contribute to the continuous spread of HIV & sexually transmitted diseases. “In the midst of this crisis where HIV & AIDS is the #1 killer where our race of people is concerned, I salute Lil Wayne as an authority figure for taking a stand to inform our people to use Strapped Condoms & to Stay Strapped for Life,” J-Prince said in a statement announcing the effort.

50 Cent’s third album CURTIS is literally the worst rap album of the year. It’s only got 2.5 / 5.0 stars and is currently, unfortunately, #4 in music. The delivery on his new album is choppy, his rhymes sloppy, and the content generally concerned with women, murder, and cash. If it’s possible, the lyrical intelligence is lower than any of his previous music.

We could have told you a gorilla can’t rap

Kanye’s third album Graduation also sucks, but not as much. It’s got 4 stars on Amazon, and is currently #1 in music, eclipsing 50’s pathetic new album. There are some great songs–Can’t tell me nothing, Stronger–and some terrible songs–Hot and Drunk Girls, Barry Bonds.

Still not cute, Kanye

The guy to watch out for is Chamillionaire, whose album Ultimate Victory is coming soon…. and let me tell you it’s hot! We’ve already heard Morning News where he raps about “Uncle sam want you to pay your taxes / just to learn gotta pay for classes” and other social issues. I can’t wait:

You knew it had to happen. With 50 Cent’s new album Curtis dropping the same day (9/11/2007) as Kayne West’s third album, Graduation, the two up-and-coming rappers are slanging feisty words. MTV recently ranked Kayne West (#5) ahead of 50 (#8) in their 2007 Hottest MCs in the Game, prompting 50 Cent to say:

“MTV can suck my ****. That’s their opinion who they put in this—they put Game number 3 when I wrote the 3 singles that created him. What does that mean? That I’m number 3? Because you’re not in to me this week, I get a chance to sit in the number 8 spot but the project that I created is number 3.”

50 Cent has also offered to stop making crappy music if Kayne outsells him on game day:

Let’s raise the stakes. If Kanye West sells more records than 50 Cent on September 11, I’ll no longer [perform] music. I’ll write music and work with my other artists, but I won’t put out any more solo albums.

We hope this is true! Just compare Kayne’s new single Can’t tell me nothing:

With 50 Cent’s Justin-Timberlake infused hip-pop:

We’ll probably find out Timbaland ripped the background from the modscene again…

I just got the following email from Apple, telling me the 411 on 50’s new album:

Thank you for pre-ordering 50 Cent’s new album “Curtis.” The release of this album, which was originally scheduled for June 26th, has been postponed until later this year. We will notify you via email as soon as the opportunity to pre-order this album is available again.

The new release date is September 4, 2007. The album tracklist so far includes:

• All of Me (featuring Mary J. Blige)
• Amusement Park
• Come & Go (featuring Eminem)
• Fire (featuring Nicole Scherzinger & Young Buck)
• Follow My Lead (featuring Robin Thicke)
• Fully Loaded Clip
• I Get Money
• I’ll Still Kill (featuring Akon)
• Peep Show (featuring Eminem)
• She Want It (featuring Justin Timberlake & Timbaland)
• Straight to the Bank
• Touch the Sky (featuring Tony Yayo)

This looks a lot better than the recent lame releases from Fabolous (sic), R. Kelly (just ewww), or yesterday’s Mims. 50 doesn’t need to tell us about the diamonds on his damn chain.